Environmental, Indigenous groups join in calls against Blanding uranium mill

SALT LAKE CITY — Standing Ute Mountain Ute Tribe calls for closure of the Energy Fuels uranium mill adjacent to tribal land south of Blanding are getting support from a coalition of environmental and Indigenous groups.

More than 20 organizations signed on to a letter sent Tuesday to Gov. Spencer Cox and members of the Utah Legislature in opposition to the White Mesa Mill, which processes uranium ore hauled in from other locations. The facility sits adjacent to the White Mesa Ute community in San Juan County.

“This practice perpetuates environmental harm and systemic injustice against Indigenous peoples who have long borne the disproportionate impacts of the nuclear industry. White Mesa must not continue to be treated as a sacrifice zone for international radioactive waste dumping by the nuclear industry and governments,” reads the letter. They express opposition to continued operation of the mill and “dumping” of radioactive waste at the site.

Carmen Valdez, with the Health Environment Alliance of Utah, one of the signatory groups, expressed concern at the possibility of radiation exposure stemming from the White Mills facility, a threat downplayed by Energy Fuels officials. Once exposure occurs, “it’s hard to get rid of, which is our biggest concern,” she said.

The White Mesa Ute community and their advocates have held public marches, protest walks and other activities over the years to call attention to their concerns about the uranium mill. Whether the latest campaign, publicly announced Wednesday, sways change remains to be seen. But a rep from Energy Fuels reiterated the firm’s stance that its operation near Blanding is safe.

“There is no reason people of good faith should have any concerns about the White Mesa Mill. It is a clean, modern, highly regulated facility with an exceptional track record of safety and environmental compliance. It is also crucial to producing the raw materials needed for numerous clean energy, defense and other technologies,” company spokesman Curtis Moore said in a statement. Company officials think the critics’ concerns “are mostly based on misinformation, and perhaps pursuing a broader agenda opposing domestic mining and energy production.”

Uranium mining of yore in the southwestern United States has a dark legacy in many Native American communities, which colors present-day opposition. Indeed, the critics in their letter from Tuesday also expressed concern with the disposal of radioactive waste, uranium mining and hauling of uranium through Indigenous communities.

Hauling of uranium ore from Arizona through the Navajo Nation to the White Mesa Mill sparked an uproar among Navajo leaders last year due to worries about the threat of radiation exposure. The sides ultimately reached an accord meant to minimize the worries, but concerns persist.

“White Mesa is not a dumping ground for the nuclear industry,” reads the statement issued by the coalition of groups that sent the letter seeking closure of the White Mesa Mill. “We reject the treatment of Indigenous lands and communities as sacrifice zones and call for an end to the harmful legacy of uranium contamination.”

Among the 20-plus groups that are part of the call are the Environmental Justice Clinic at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, the Grand Canyon Trust, the Sierra Club of Utah and the Indigenous Environmental Network.