By admin 
GRAND CANYON, AZ (AZFamily) — A uranium mine about 10 miles south of the Grand Canyon is now asking the state to increase the levels of arsenic that can legally be found in the groundwater they use.
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Advocates said mining in this area and increasing arsenic levels is too risky with the mine’s proximity to a large aquifer. Mine representatives said this is all routine and advocates are fearmongering.
The workers at the mine have pumped out more than 80 million gallons of groundwater from within the mine shaft since 2016. That water contains lead, arsenic, and uranium.
Miners at the Pinyon Plain uranium mine have been extracting uranium here since 2023.
The mine is located inside the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, which is just south of the Grand Canyon.
the mine submitted to the ADEQ, from 2023 to 2025, arsenic has increased 3,443 times the safe drinking limit, lead 593 times, and uranium a whopping 3,040 times.
Amber Reimondo, the energy director for Grand Canyon Trust, said this is concerning because the mine sits above one of the largest aquifers in the southwest. It’s the sole water source for the Havasupai tribe and feeds into the Colorado River.
“They’re correct that that is normal with hard rock mining, and that is exactly why it’s not safe in the Grand Canyon region, where the geology is so complex, and the risks are so much higher if anything goes wrong,” Reimondo said.
Curtis Moore, representative for Energy Fuels Inc. who owns the mine, told our team this is normal and no one should or will drink the water from the mine.
“Firstly, even without a mine, the water would not meet EPA drinking water standards,” Moore said. “Secondly, because it is an active mine, water flows through active mining areas and dissolves more metals into the water. Thirdly, I hope your viewers know not to drink untreated water from any source (a stream, a pond, a lake, the gutter in front of your house), much less an active mine.”
Reimondo said the risk of the contaminated water from the mine mixing with the aquifer is too high.
Now, Energy Fuel Inc is asking state regulators to allow it to increase the level of arsenic allowed in one of its aquifer monitoring wells by 10 percent.
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“They finally put in three c aquifer wells on site, and then when it starts to raise red flags, and they ask for changes that just prevent those red flags from getting raised again,” Reimondo said. “It really does not do much to instill confidence in those of us who are concerned about groundwater impacts from this mine.”
Officials from the State Department of Environmental Quality tell our team the increase in arsenic is not the mines’ fault. They said the metal is naturally occurring in the soil.
“The mine shaft creates a cone of depression that draws shallow groundwater with naturally occurring arsenic and other constituents inward toward the mine,” Moore said. “What is happening is the opposite of a release, and clearly not evidence of contamination moving offsite or threatening any regional groundwater or drinking water.
Reimondo said other monitor sites nearby tell a different story.
“Other C aquifer data sources or samples from the Grand Canyon region do not show arsenic levels as high as that,” she said. “So, why is it high at a mine and not elsewhere if it’s supposedly naturally occurring?”
Moore said the Trust is trying to scare the public, and they are working closely with the state to follow all safety protocols.
Reimondo said with so much at stake, she hopes state regulators analyze the risks.
“What we would like to see is honesty from the mining company and close regulation by the state and the federal government,” she said.
ADEQ representatives said they are conducting the technical and substantive review for a potential minor amendment to the Individual APP permit. Once they reach and publish a decision can be found here.
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