The clean, safe water New Mexicans need for our families, our farms and ranches, and a thriving economy is threatened every day by the devastating drought.
So why would New Mexico open a new uranium mine—like the proposed Roca Honda mine—that would use millions of gallons of our scarce water every day?
Uranium mining also has a record of contaminating New Mexico’s air, land and water. Communities near the mine site in Cibola and McKinley counties are already living with the contamination of the past. Families living nearby abandoned uranium mines and mills have noticed increased rates of cancers and other health problems. For example, state health assessments report that between 2008 and 2010, cancer was the leading cause of death in McKinley County (located directly west of Mount Taylor).
As New Mexicans, it’s up to us to ensure that agencies, like the Forest Service, take into account the price our neighbors in these communities have already paid before allowing new mines to open. Call the Forest Service and urge them to include information about all potential impacts the proposed Roca Honda mine may have on our communities in their Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). >>
In June, community members, including Conservation Voters like you, submitted nearly 9,000 public comments in response to the Forest Service’s DEIS of the proposed mine. Ninety-eight percent of all comments submitted were in opposition.Then last Friday evening, CVNM Education Fund brought together community members, leaders and organizations for a town hall in Gallup, New Mexico and discussed uranium mining, water safety and conservation in the region. The Forest Service sent representatives to listen to the community dialogue. Help us make sure the Forest Service takes the information they’ve gathered and adds it to the DEIS. Call the Forest Service today.