Suit Says Forest Service Did Not Adequately Protect Tribal Sacred Site In Permitting Uranium Mine

Yesterday, the Havasupai Tribe, along with three environmental groups, filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service challenging its decision to allow operation of a uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park based only on a 1986 federal environmental review. (Press release).  The complaint (full text) in Grand Canyon Trust v. Williams, (D AZ, filed 3/7/2013) claims that the Forest Service failed to comply with environmental, mining, public land, and historic preservation laws. It alleges, among other things, that while the Forest Service has designated the area as Traditional Cultural Property and has recognized that it is a sacred site to the Havasupai Tribe and has begun consultations with the Tribe, it refuses to carry out a complete "Section 106 process" under the National Historic Preservation Act, which would include developing a memorandum of agreement with the tribe and state historic preservation office before restarting mining operations.