Uranium mining ban enacted for New Mexico lands

The State Land Office also said the Trump administration is "aggressively pushing to increase uranium production nationwide despite the fact that the federal government and responsible private parties have failed to address the thousands of unremediated uranium sites in New Mexico and beyond."

Nuclear history of New Mexico: New Mexico has long been associated with the United States' nuclear history. Los Alamos is, of course, where J. Robert Oppenheimer directed the development of the first atomic bombs as part of the Manhattan Project, and is the home of Los Alamos National Laboratory. New Mexico is also home to the Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, near Carlsbad, and Urenco USA's National Enrichment Facility, near Eunice.

The Grants uranium district in northwestern New Mexico was the largest source of uranium in the United States from 1951 to 1980. Today, there are hundreds of abandoned uranium mines in the state, but no active mines. Some of the abandoned mining sites have had cleanup projects initiated, such as the former Northeast Church Rock Mine in northwestern New Mexico.

The old Grants region and other areas in New Mexico remain sites of interest for potential future uranium mining operations, and there are currently two active uranium leases in the state.

New Mexico has no commercial nuclear power plants. Most of the state's electricity is generated by-in order of decreasing percentage-wind, natural gas, coal, and solar, with other renewables providing lesser amounts.

A contentious topic: At a press conference announcing her executive order, Commissioner Garcia Richard accused federal authorities of ignoring and disrespecting the citizens of New Mexico regarding uranium legacy sites, pledging, "That stops now." Since becoming land commissioner in 2019, she said, "I have not allowed any uranium mining on state lands, and today's action solidifies this prohibition to protect our communities and our land and water."

She added, "Indigenous communities and New Mexico families have suffered the environmental and health effects inherent in living near a uranium pit or downwind from a nuclear testing site. The Trump administration's push for aggressive uranium development is a low blow to these communities, and I will keep doing everything in my power to fight back."

State Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (D., 3rd Dist.), whose constituents include those in northern and most eastern parts of the state, including Los Alamos and the Grants uranium district, expressed her gratitude to Garcia Richard, saying that "all of the people who protect and hold sacred the land that we are standing on today are saying, 'no more uranium mining.'"

Leger Fernández noted that she has cointroduced legislation in the state legislature "to withdraw federal lands from uranium mining in the Chama watershed [which is in southern Colorado and north-central New Mexico] because we know that that watershed is precious and it is fragile. That Chama watershed is important not just for the Native Americans who rely on it, not just important for the people who might want to go and be enjoying themselves at Abiquiu Lake or Ghost Ranch. It is the water that feeds our crops along the acequias. It is the water that feeds into the rivers that feed and nourish Santa Fe."

In recent years, officials in New Mexico have set up certain obstacles to nuclear-related development in the state. In 2023, for example, legislation was passed to ban the storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste in New Mexico without the state's explicit consent. That legislation played a role in Holtec International's canceling its plans last year to build a consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico.

Nuclear advocacy: Although some in New Mexico are opposed to uranium mining, as well as to nuclear energy in general, there are also forces advocating on behalf of nuclear development. The New Mexico Nuclear Alliance made its debut as a nuclear energy advocate late last year, specifically noting support for new uranium mining in the state. The Clean Energy Association of New Mexico is another nuclear advocacy group in the state.