2 Oct (NucNet): The US Supreme Court yesterday said it would not hear a case challenging the government’s ban on uranium mining in the Grand Canyon.
The court said it would not hear the case brought by the National Mining Association and the American Exploration and Mining Association, which challenged the ban as being based on an unconstitutional provision of the law.
The rejection leaves in place a December 2017 appeals court decision that upheld the ban.
In 2012, Obama administration interior secretary Ken Salazar instituted the ban, partly because the neighbouring Havasupai Tribe relies on groundwater from the area to survive.
In March, the industry groups asked the court to review the ban, which prohibited uranium mining on public land next to the Grand Canyon for 20 years.
According to The Hill, the Supreme Court’s decision to not take the case leaves uranium mining companies no more avenues to challenge the ban in court. However, media reports said they are lobbying the Trump administration to support renewed mining in the US for both economic and national security reasons.
