近距离内射合集

Outgoing State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard on Friday announced a ban on uranium mining on state lands, a move she says will help stave off President Donald Trump鈥檚 aggressive push to mine the radioactive metal. But critics call the action largely symbolic.

Flanked by politicians and environmental advocates at a news conference in front of her downtown Santa Fe office, Garcia Richard said New Mexico has a 鈥減ainful and long history as the site of the development of the nuclear bomb and as the largest producer of uranium ore in the 近距离内射合集 States鈥� history.鈥�

鈥淭his history has negatively impacted countless New Mexicans, from Indigenous and local communities contaminated by nearby uranium production to the downwinders of the Trinity test site,鈥� she said, referring to the first detonation of a nuclear bomb. 鈥淭hese New Mexicans have been overlooked by the uranium industry and the federal government for far too long.鈥�

The executive order, which goes into effect immediately, has its critics. 

鈥淏anning something that doesn鈥檛 exist isn鈥檛 policy, it鈥檚 a press release,鈥� Matt Thompson, a lobbyist and executive director for the New Mexico Mining Association, wrote in an email. He called legacy contamination from uranium mining a 鈥渞eal problem.鈥� But he said the problem was created by mines that predate New Mexico鈥檚 1993 Mining Act, which sets bonding and remediation requirements that future mining projects would have to comply with.

The executive order cites some of that history, including what it calls 鈥渙ne of the largest radioactive environmental disasters in U.S. history at the Church Rock mill site鈥� in 1979, which resulted in the spill of 94 million gallons of radioactive material onto nearby lands and into the Rio Puerco. Numerous have documented high rates of lung cancer and respiratory illnesses in New Mexico鈥檚 uranium mining population. 

There are no active uranium mining projects on state land, Garcia Richard said. Garcia Richard, a Democrat, said the order is not connected to her campaign for lieutenant governor. 

Rather, Garcia Richard said she issued the order in her final months in office 鈥� during which, for eight years, has not approved a uranium mining project on state trust land 鈥� for two reasons. One is pressure from the Trump administration to open up uranium mining. Secondly, there are two uranium projects with leases on state land. The leases expire in the 2030s, she said. 

But she acknowledged that the executive order is not 鈥渓egally binding.鈥� 

鈥淲e are putting this out there so that if a future land commissioner wants to mine uranium, they鈥檙e going to have to overturn this,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we will be asking them why they 鈥� did not uphold this document.鈥�

Juan De Jesus Sanchez III, the Democratic candidate for state land commissioner, wrote in a text message that he fully supports Garcia Richard鈥檚 executive order.

鈥淲hen it comes to uranium mining, our focus needs to be on cleanup of the dozens of abandoned mines on state trust land and hundreds throughout the state, not more mining that harms our communities,鈥� he said. 

Michael Perry, the Republican candidate, said that he considers himself an environmentalist and his 鈥済ut reaction鈥� to uranium mining is to oppose it on state land. The State Land Office does 鈥渘eed to find a responsible way to replace that revenue stream in the future when oil and gas goes by the wayside,鈥� Perry said. 

鈥淚 really think we need to get the input from those local communities before we step all over them with any kind of decision,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 mean, this might be something that those communities need for gross receipts tax revenue.鈥� 

Elizabeth Bisbey-Kuehn, an environmental compliance manager with the State Land Office, said there are 50 abandoned uranium mines on state trust land. State officials are currently cleaning up four of them 鈥� remediation projects that cost the state up to $10 million each. Lawmakers have appropriated $20 million for uranium mining cleanup, she added. 

Thompson, the mining lobbyist, said that 鈥淣ew Mexico currently has no commercial uranium production anywhere in the state, including on state trust land.鈥� 

Energy Fuels, a Lakewood, Colorado-based mining company that bills itself as the largest U.S. uranium producer, has a lease for its Roca Honda Project, northwest of Grants in McKinley County. The company the project could produce up to 2.7 million pounds of uranium annually. The company did not return a request for comment. The state lands lease, signed in 2015, expires in 2030, a spokesperson for the State Land Office said. 

Joey Keefe, a State Land Office spokesperson, said the other project鈥檚 lease, signed in 2018, expires in 2033. Laramide Resources Ltd., a publicly traded mining company based in Toronto, owns the Crownpoint-Churchrock project through its subsidiary Nufuels Inc., Josh Leftwich, vice president for operations and strategic development, wrote in an email. A section of that project is on state trust land. 

Leftwich said the company believes Garcia Richard鈥檚 announcement 鈥渟hould be considered in the context of the significant effort now underway at the federal level to rebuild a secure domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.鈥� 

The Trump administration has for the U.S. to start mining and enriching uranium again for national security purposes and to support the nuclear power industry.

鈥淭he 近距离内射合集 States remains heavily dependent on foreign sources of uranium, while the federal government has made rebuilding domestic uranium production and nuclear fuel-cycle capacity a national priority,鈥� Leftwich said. 

鈥淲e also recognize New Mexico鈥檚 difficult legacy from historical uranium mining.鈥� But addressing 鈥渢hat legacy and considering responsible future uranium development do not have to be mutually exclusive,鈥� Leftwich added. 

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., cited the cancers and birth defects created by the mining as her reason for supporting the executive order. 

Asked whether she opposes all uranium mining in the 近距离内射合集 States 鈥� and, if so, where the country should acquire its uranium 鈥� she said the U.S. should push renewable energy development. She said the U.S. needs to 鈥渇ind a way to make (uranium mining) safe.鈥�

鈥淲hen things go wrong, they go really wrong,鈥� she said. 

Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.