For the 5th time in history, the House Natural Resources committee invoked its authority and ordered the Bush administration to stop mining claims in the Grand Canyon. The measure was urged by Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva of Tucson, chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands.
The withdrawal halts thousands of mining claims in national forest areas surrounding the Grand Canyon amid fears that resumption of uranium mining presents a danger to drinking water for some 25 million people in the southwest.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano had requested that Interior Secretary Kempthorne withdraw the Grand Canyon area from mining. The request was denied on the grounds that Congress must make the request.
The four previous emergency withdrawal authority requests were authored by Rep. Morris Udall, who was Chairman of the House Interior Committee.
Will the Bush administration abide by this authority, or is Bush still “the decider”?
Source: Press Release from The Sierra Club
Image Credit: www.inetours.com/…/ Tours/Grand_Canyon_7739.jpg