Despite firm opposition from the Havasupai Tribe, Arizona regulators on July 6 permitted a higher level of arsenic in groundwater under a uranium mine near the tribe’s place of emergence. Before the approval, two groundwater scientists submitted comments urging the state Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to require the owner of the Pinyon Plain uranium mine to give more proof that the higher levels were naturally occurring and not due to mining discharge or activities. Energy Fuels Resources, the mine owner, says its investigation was thorough and that operators aren’t at fault. It also disputed those scientists’ findings. 

Related:

• The Arizona Republic (Phoenix): State’s raising of arsenic limits at mine well ‘affects every Arizonan,’ tribe says
• The Land Desk: Blog: Havasupai Tribe slams Ariz. regulators over uranium mine arsenic easing