Native News
Analysis Finds Elevated Arsenic at Uranium Mine Near Havasupai Tribe’s Only Water Source
An active uranium mine on the ancestral lands of the Havasupai Tribe is showing elevated levels of arsenic, according to a new analysis of more than 30 years of groundwater sampling of nearby aquifers.
The Pinyon Plain uranium mine, owned and operated by Energy Fuels Inc., sits inside the boundaries of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni — Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The mine received permits in the mid-1980s; a drop in uranium prices shuttered it in 1992. It sat dormant for decades until 2023, when it began extracting ore.
The existing permit allowed the company to avoid restrictions imposed by a 2012 rule banning uranium mining on the 1 million acres surrounding the Grand Canyon. The Havasupai Tribe, the nonprofit Grand Canyon Trust, and other conservation groups sued Pinyon in 2013 to stop mining, but a court ruled against the plaintiffs in 2022.
The mine sits near the Havasupai’s sacred mountain, Red Butte, and above the deep Redwall-Muav aquifer, which feeds Havasu Creek and is the tribe’s only water source.
The Grand Canyon Trust conducted the new analysis, which reviewed arsenic concentrations at 40 wells and springs in the Grand Canyon region using water quality data collected between 1993 and 2025.
Four sites had average arsenic concentrations exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water limit of 10 micrograms per liter. Three of those four sites were monitoring wells at the Pinyon Plain uranium mine. Advocates and tribal leaders are raising concerns about potential contamination of Havasu Creek.
Earlier this year, Arizona raised the permitted arsenic levels in groundwater near the mine after Energy Fuels said the increased levels were naturally occurring — despite strong tribal opposition.
At a virtual press conference Tuesday, Oct. 27, hosted by the Grand Canyon Trust, several scientists disputed claims that the rising arsenic levels are natural, pointing out that arsenic concentrations in groundwater around the mine are much lower than those within the mining property.
Kramer, an emeritus professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the mine’s explanation is flawed.
“The mine’s argument right now is that natural background arsenic is being drawn in, and that is what is creating the high arsenic levels,” Kramer said. “However, the natural background all around the mine is much, much lower, 20 to 30 times lower than what’s being seen in the monitoring wells.”
Laura Crossey, an emerita professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico, followed up by explaining that contaminated groundwater could end up in Havasu Creek.
“Groundwater can flow the distance between Pinyon Plain Mine and Supai Village by looking at tracer studies that have been conducted over the past two decades, which have shown that water in the Grand Canyon region does flow comparable distances,” Crossey said. “It’s not out of the question.”
While the sparkling turquoise waters of the creek draw tourists from around the globe, Havasupai Tribe Chairwoman Melinda Yaiva said at Tuesday’s press conference that it is much more than that. Contamination of the creek would touch every aspect of the tribe’s daily life, culture and economy.
“Something that we teach our children from birth for the Havasupai people is that water is life, and water is sacred to us,” Yaiva said. “Havasupai Creek is not just a beautiful place on a map. It is the lifeblood of our homeland. Our people drink this water. We cook with it. We grow food with it. We care for our animals with it, and depend on it every day. It is also part of our ceremonies, our traditions, and our culture and our identity as Havasupai people.”
“If Havasu Creek is contaminated, there is no backup water system waiting for us. There is no second river we can turn to. We are asking that elevated arsenic be investigated, not normalized.”
The post Analysis Finds Elevated Arsenic at Uranium Mine Near Havasupai Tribe’s Only Water Source appeared first on Native News Online.