Friends,
Across the arid west, from Texas to Wyoming, small, black boxes dot the landscape. They look benign enough — horses and cows may graze nearby — but they're busy pumping chemicals into scarce western groundwater, leaching uranium off the rock, and leaving a contaminated mess.
This dangerous mining method, known as "in-situ leach" (ISL) mining, has been practiced for decades with no EPA oversight.
After years of study, the Obama administration proposed a rule last year that would protect this water and the communities that depend on it.
Now, President Trump's EPA has a chance to weaken that rule — a decision that would be a boon to the energy industry and foreign-owned business while leaving Americans across the western states to pay the price with a future of contaminated groundwater.Tell EPA Administrator Pruitt not to halt implementation of critical protections for western water — add your voice before the public comment period ends on October 16.Uranium mining anywhere poses significant risks. But for this vast expanse of the American west, where water resources are already dwindling, it makes no sense at all.
As uranium-rich fluids are drawn out of the earth, chemically and radioactively toxic groundwater in the aquifer is left behind. Additional radioactive pollutants must be pumped into deeper aquifers.
Once ISL mining takes place and the groundwater is contaminated, it's been proven nearly impossible to clean up. Mining companies' promises to restore groundwater quality have repeatedly failed, leaving ISL sites across the west with hazardous chemicals in their water and the possibility that these will eventually spread beyond the mining site.
Plus, attempts to restore groundwater quality can lead to a large drop in water tables, which means communities are stuck with water supplies that are not only contaminated but rapidly dwindling.
At this critical moment, when the one rule that would protect communities across the west hangs in the balance,
we must generate nothing less than an all-out national outcry that will compel Pruitt to protect the American people from polluted groundwater — and hold the polluters accountable.
Tell Administrator Pruitt: We will not stand by and let scarce western groundwater, a crucial resource for Americans, be contaminated with toxic, radioactive, and chemical waste — finalize a strong rule!Thank you for speaking out in defense of clean water for all.
Sincerely,
Rhea Suh
President, NRDC
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