GOP spending bill would overturn Grand Canyon uranium mining ban

By Andrew Restuccia - 07/06/11 01:27 PM ET

A spending bill unveiled Wednesday by House Republicans would prevent the Interior Department from banning new uranium mining on 1 million acres of land near the Grand Canyon National Park.

The fiscal year 2012 Interior and Environment spending bill prevents the Interior Department from making the land off-limits to new mining claims without authorization by Congress.

Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for the Appropriations Committee, told The Hill Wednesday that any new claims would still be subject to full environmental review and the prerequisite permitting process.

The spending bill is slated to come up for a vote in a subcommittee of the House Appropriations panel Thursday. Read more about the bill here.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last month took emergency action to extend an existing ban on new uranium mining in the region for six months while the Interior Department mulls a plan to block mining on the land for 20 years. Salazar said the 20-year ban is the Interior Department’s “preferred alternative.”

The Interior Department proposed a two-year moratorium on the practice in the area around the Grand Canyon in 2009.

Republicans have blasted Salazar’s decision to extend the ban.

“Instead of using his executive power to create policies that foster greater energy independence he has done the exact opposite, driving us toward increased reliance on foreign resources,” said Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) — chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee’s National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee — when Salazar announced the extension.