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| Community members took over the Laramide meeting organized by the New Mexico Environment Department over its Discharge Permit application on August 6, 2026 at Fire Rock Casino in Gallup, New Mexico. Photo by Sarah Knopp. |
NM Environment Dept. Meeting about the Crownpoint Uranium Project Reveals Deep-Seated Anger That Contamination from Previous Mining Has Still Not Been Cleaned Up
Coalition Statement, August 12, 2026, Censored News
GALLUP, New Mexico -- Impacted community members took over an informational meeting scheduled by Laramide Resources on August 6th at the Fire Rock Casino near Gallup, New Mexico, to discuss its plans and required permitting to conduct uranium in situ leach mining in Churchrock.
GALLUP, New Mexico -- Impacted community members took over an informational meeting scheduled by Laramide Resources on August 6th at the Fire Rock Casino near Gallup, New Mexico, to discuss its plans and required permitting to conduct uranium in situ leach mining in Churchrock.
While Laramide said it would not take public comment, community member Jenn Nez took over the mic after a brief Laramide presentation, and community members living with the legacy of earlier uranium mining and milling spoke out against uranium mining and its harmful effects for the rest of the meeting.
The outpouring of frontline member resistance to renewed uranium mining took over the event and epitomized the rage and resistance people living in the Grants Uranium Belt have for the legacy of uranium and the prospect of new uranium mining projects. Near the area of the proposed mine is the two Superfund sites, the Northeast Churchrock Mine and the Quivera/Kerr McGee Mine and one uranium mill Superfund site, the United Nuclear Corporation Churchrock Mill.
It is also near the site of the 1979 Churchrock Uranium spill, the largest nuclear disaster in U.S. history. On July 16, 1979, an earthen dam owned by the United Nuclear Corp. broke and released 1,100 tons of radioactive uranium tailings and 94 million gallons of toxic wastewater into the Rio Puerco, contaminating the river for at least 80 miles.
In the face of the onslaught of uranium mining projects in the area, some “fast-tracked” by the current administration and others jumping on the increased price of uranium, the community members seized this opportunity to express their rage at the history of contamination and opposition to more.
Currently, there are at least six uranium projects in the Grants Mineral Belt for which developers are actively seeking required mining and/or discharge permits: Crownpoint and Churchrock (which involve different sections of land), La Jara Mesa, Roca Honda, Grants Precision Energy and Cebolleta. Several other companies are seeking uranium exploration permits in the same region.
For communities still struggling with the Cold War uranium contamination and the resulting health impacts and groundwater contamination, the Laramide meeting created an opportunity to loudly and clearly say NO! to new uranium mining in their homelands.
Ava Curtis, EJ Coordinator for MASE, said, “Laramide thought that they could come into this community and convince the people that their operations would be safe, but what they didn’t realize is this is a community that has been living with health impacts from the uranium industry for decades and will defend themselves.”
Bertha Nez, Red Water Pond Road Community, told Laramide representatives, “We lost a lot of workers so we don’t want any more uranium mined on the Navajo Nation.”
Teracita Keyanna, Red Water Pond Road Community, added, “Our waters are already being depleted. We live in a state that is already a desert. We just had water issues in Gallup. This is going to impact our communities and the surrounding communities.”
Larry King, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, who lives across the street from the proposed mine, said, “It’s stated even by EPA that there has never been an ISL mine that has restored an existing aquifer back to its pre-mining stages, it’s always left more highly contaminated than ever.”
Public Comment Period
Ways for the public to engage: A 60-day comment period has begun and ends on October 7. Submit a written comment to NMED regarding the discharge permit for Laramide’s Crownpoint Uranium Project, the Churchrock Section 8 ISR. Submit a comment here.
In the face of the onslaught of uranium mining projects in the area, some “fast-tracked” by the current administration and others jumping on the increased price of uranium, the community members seized this opportunity to express their rage at the history of contamination and opposition to more.
Currently, there are at least six uranium projects in the Grants Mineral Belt for which developers are actively seeking required mining and/or discharge permits: Crownpoint and Churchrock (which involve different sections of land), La Jara Mesa, Roca Honda, Grants Precision Energy and Cebolleta. Several other companies are seeking uranium exploration permits in the same region.
For communities still struggling with the Cold War uranium contamination and the resulting health impacts and groundwater contamination, the Laramide meeting created an opportunity to loudly and clearly say NO! to new uranium mining in their homelands.
Ava Curtis, EJ Coordinator for MASE, said, “Laramide thought that they could come into this community and convince the people that their operations would be safe, but what they didn’t realize is this is a community that has been living with health impacts from the uranium industry for decades and will defend themselves.”
Bertha Nez, Red Water Pond Road Community, told Laramide representatives, “We lost a lot of workers so we don’t want any more uranium mined on the Navajo Nation.”
Teracita Keyanna, Red Water Pond Road Community, added, “Our waters are already being depleted. We live in a state that is already a desert. We just had water issues in Gallup. This is going to impact our communities and the surrounding communities.”
Larry King, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, who lives across the street from the proposed mine, said, “It’s stated even by EPA that there has never been an ISL mine that has restored an existing aquifer back to its pre-mining stages, it’s always left more highly contaminated than ever.”
Public Comment Period
Ways for the public to engage: A 60-day comment period has begun and ends on October 7. Submit a written comment to NMED regarding the discharge permit for Laramide’s Crownpoint Uranium Project, the Churchrock Section 8 ISR. Submit a comment here.
Media Contacts:
Ava Curtis, EJ Coordinator, Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE), acurtis@swuraniumimpacts.org
Larry King, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, l_king2013@yahoo.com,
NM Dept. of Justice Intervenes on Crownpoint Uranium Project to NRC
Also, MASE and NMELC are pleased to see the New Mexico Department of Justice filed a Petition to Intervene on the Crownpoint Uranium Project to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on August 6, 2026. Read more about the petition from the Attorney General’s Press Release.
Ava Curtis, EJ Coordinator, Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE), acurtis@swuraniumimpacts.org
Larry King, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, l_king2013@yahoo.com,
NM Dept. of Justice Intervenes on Crownpoint Uranium Project to NRC
Also, MASE and NMELC are pleased to see the New Mexico Department of Justice filed a Petition to Intervene on the Crownpoint Uranium Project to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on August 6, 2026. Read more about the petition from the Attorney General’s Press Release.
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