By Jayne Hanson
Today’s Sierra Vista News-Herald
It was decided in federal court Tuesday that Mohave County can’t be dismissed by the U.S. government when it comes to uranium mining and its peripheral revenues.
The measure means the county has gained ground in challenging the Obama Administration’s closure of one million acres of uranium-rich lands in northern Mohave County.
“It means we have legal standing,” said Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, R-Dist. 3, on Thursday. “We have the right to and a duty to protect the citizens and the environment.”
The 47-page Arizona District Court ruling by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell included Mohave County, as a member of Arizona-Utah Local Economic Coalition, as in good standing with its claims that U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s decision to close the lands to future uranium mining mine claims or exploratory efforts could cost the county tens of millions of dollars of lost revenue. Furthermore, the county claimed the closures could lead to other environmentally harmful types of energy generation, such as coal-fired plants that could be detrimental to desert tortoise habitats; and future inability to pave 1,277 miles of roads. Judge Campbell agreed on all counts.
