Аризона муж улсын албаны хүмүүс Гранд Каньон үндэсний цэцэрлэгт хүрээлэнгийн ойролцоох Pinyon Plain уурхайн хяналтын худгуудад зөвшөөрөгдөх хүнцэлийн хэмжээг нэмэгдүүлэх шийдвэр гаргалаа.
Аризонагийн Байгаль орчны чанарын алба (ADEQ) долдугаар сарын 6-нд хүнцэлийн дээд хязгаарыг литр тутамд 50-аас 55 микрограмм болгон нэмэгдүүлсэн нь байгаль хамгаалагчид болон нутгийн уугуул иргэдийн эсэргүүцэлтэй тулгарч байна. Тус уурхай нь Havasupai овгийн усны гол эх үүсвэр болох Redwall-Muav гүний усны давхарга болон жуулчдын очих дуртай Havasu Creek-ийн эх дээр байрладаг юм. Албаны хүмүүс энэхүү өөрчлөлт нь байгалийн гаралтай геологийн нөхцөл байдалтай холбоотой гэж тайлбарласан ч, мэргэжилтнүүд гүний ус бохирдох эрсдэл нэмэгдэж байгааг анхааруулж байна.
Гранд Каньон үндэсний цэцэрлэгт хүрээлэнгээс 7 милийн зайд орших энэхүү уурхайн үйл ажиллагаа нь бүс нутгийн экосистем болон аялал жуулчлалд сөргөөр нөлөөлж болзошгүй гэж үзэж байна. Жил бүр 40,000 орчим жуулчин зорин ирдэг Havasu Falls-ын усны чанар нь байгалийн аялал жуулчлалын хамгийн чухал хүчин зүйлсийн нэг билээ. Гэвч усны гүний урсгал нь маш нарийн төвөгтэй бүтэцтэй тул бохирдол тархах эрсдэлийг урьдчилан таамаглахад хүндрэлтэй байгааг шинжээчид онцолж байна.
Байгаль хамгаалагчид болон Havasupai овгийн төлөөлөгчид энэхүү шийдвэрийг усны нөөцийг хамгаалах үүргээ умартсан үйлдэл гэж үзэн эсэргүүцэж байна. Явган аялагчид болон жуулчдын хувьд ундны усны аюулгүй байдал нь нэн чухал бөгөөд энгийн шүүлтүүрүүд нь хүнцэл зэрэг хүнд металлыг бүрэн шүүх чадваргүй байдаг. Иймд тус бүс нутагт аялахаар төлөвлөж буй хүмүүс усны эх үүсвэрийн аюулгүй байдалтай холбоотой мэдээллийг тогтмол хянаж байхыг зөвлөж байна.
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Arizona officials just voted to allow a uranium minenear Grand Canyon National Park to raise the allowable levels of the highly toxic heavy metal arsenic level in a monitoring well located near the Grand Canyon.
The mine, called the Pinyon Plain Mine, also sits atop an aquifer that provides the sole water source for a local tribe, and the source of Havasu Creek, a tributary of the Grand Canyon.
On July 6, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) raised the allowable levels of arsenic in Pinyon Plain Mine’s monitoring well from 50 to 55 micrograms per liter. Environmental groups and the Havasupai Tribe say the decision could have large ramifications for the Grand Canyon National Park and beyond.
“These monitoring wells are the canaries in the coal mine. They tell you something’s off here,” Amber Reimondo, energy director for the nonprofit Grand Canyon Trust, told Outside. “The original maximum allowed level was already five times the drinking water standard.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), by comparison, sets the arsenic standard for drinking water at ten micrograms per liter due to its potential to cause several types of cancer, including bladder, lung, skin, kidney, liver, and prostate.
In an email to Outside,ADEQ spokesperson Caroline Oppleman said that the decision does not allow the “introduction of pollution or a weakening of safeguards.”
“Over four-and-a-half years of rigorous, site-specific data confirm that the mine is not adding arsenic to the groundwater,” she said. “Rather, the physical structure of the mineshaft has created a hydraulic sink that draws existing, naturally-occurring geological arsenic from the surrounding area toward the perimeter wells. Adjusting these limits simply reflects this natural geological reality.”
Located seven miles south of Grand Canyon National Park, the Pinyon Plain Mine was built in the eighties, spans 17 acres, and runs nearly 1,500 feet deep. The mine also sits atop the Redwall-Muav aquifer, which is both the sole water source for the local Havasupai people and the source of Havasu Creek, a tributary of the Grand Canyon famous for its iconic turquoise waterfalls. As many as 40,000 tourists visit these falls each year.
Nonprofits like the Grand Canyon Trust say that shifting the arsenic limits in the mine’s monitoring well introduces a dangerous variable into a fragile ecosystem. If arsenic seeps into the deep groundwater pathways, it could reach the aquifer and permanently pollute the canyon’s natural springs, the group said.
“These arsenic increases were detected back in January 2025, but we only happened to find out about it this January, when I noticed that there was a permit in progress at Pinyon Plain Mine,” Reimondo said. “If arsenic increases are detected, that should trigger an intensive investigation to understand the cause, not just changing the level at which alarm bells go off.”
Hydrology in the Grand Canyon is complex, Reimondo said, making it difficult to determine where water runs and the extent of potential contamination.
“It’s difficult to know, if water is contaminated at a given point, where it can go. It can travel vast distances horizontally and vertically. Mining in the region has the potential to cause contamination to the springs both inside the Grand Canyon and the groundwater,” she said.
Havasupai Tribal Council chairwoman Melinda Yaiva opposed the decision, said in a Facebook post the decision is “a profound attack on the Tribe’s inherent responsibility to guard and protect the waters of the Grand Canyon.”
Environmental groups like the Sierra Club say the decision could put the aquifer and the waters of the Grand Canyon at risk and, as a result, public health. Arsenic could also pose a major risk to backcountry hikers—standard backpacking filters catch bacteria, but not dissolved heavy metals like arsenic.
“ADEQ ignored the voices of the Havasupai Tribe, other Tribal Nations, elected officials, scientists, conservation organizations, and countless members of the public who urged ADEQ to place the protection of Arizona’s groundwater above the interests of a foreign mining company,” Yaiva said.
The post Arizona Officials Will Allow More Arsenic to Flow into the Grand Canyon’s Water. The Local Tribe Is Outraged. appeared first on Outside Online.
