Havasu Canyon back in operation after flood damages water system

News reports last week about flooding in Havasu Canyon sounded dire with water supplies to Supai Village knocked out.   But news coming out of the remote area that has no road access to the outside world is that the flood was relatively minor and just hit a couple of sensitive spots. Our contacts report no major damage. Their water line broke but is now fixed. They said their sewer line across the river backed up but was not broken. 

They are pretty much back to normal it seems, and are celebrating their annual Peach Festival for four days this coming weekend. All housing and camping areas will be flooded with about 1,000+ Native Americans from all over Arizona and the Southwest. It will be quite an event.  [Right, mule pack train in Supai Village.  Mail and supplies to the village have to come by mule or helicopter. My photo]

AZGS geologist Brian Gootee will be heading down the canyon shortly to assess stability of trails and the slopes below tribal cemeteries that were damaged in previous floods, and offer advice on additional work to be done.

Video of flash flood in Page, US89, and Antelope Canyon

 Monsoon rains produced flash floods in Page this week, covering stretches of US89 with thick deposits of mud.   The video below from David Rankin captured the action.

Value of natural resources on public lands: over 30,000 jobs in Arizona

The US Dept.of Interior calculates that the  "FY 2012 value added and economic contribution associated with production and activities on DOI [ie,public] lands are estimated to be $210 billion and $371 billion, respectively. These outputs are estimated to have supported 2.3 million jobs in FY 2012" in  a new report issued this week.  [Right, public lands in the US.  Credit, Forest Council]

"Non-fuel mineral [ie, hardrock] production was associated with an estimated value added of $13 billion; estimated output of $21 billion; and estimated employment supported about 111,000 jobs."

In Arizona the value of Interior Dept. resources for 2012 amounted to: 

• Recreation = $1.88 billion
• Energy & Minerals = $1.11 billion
• Grazing & Timber = $0.05 billion
• Total = $3.44 billion

Economic activities on Interior Dept. public lands supported 30,964 jobs in Arizona, according to the report.

The report cautions that economic value from mining and energy production are diminished because of unquantified environmental effects ("While minerals are generally traded in competitive markets (though some markets may be localized or thin), prices may not incorporate the external costs associated with mining.").    

But similar concerns are not voiced about the environmental impacts of millions of users of public lands for recreation purposes.  Can it reasonably be argued that external costs of recreation are not incorporated in the prices charged?  

Another issue not addressed is the difference between salaries, with those in the leisure industry typically among the lowest and those in mining among the highest.

Havasupai hit again by flood - drinking water lost

The Havasupai Tribe was hit by floodwaters again last week, knocking out the water supply for the village.   Floods appear to have been hitting Havasu Creek more frequently in recent years, although most of the problems have been downstream impacting trails, campgrounds and visitor facilities.    This time, newspaper reports say that Supai Village was hit by the flood.

A Phoenix-area foodbank sent most of their bottled water to the village as a stop-gap effort.

[Right, Havasu Creek following the 2008 flood.  My photo]

Preview our new publications with video abstracts

We're trying something different to help showcase new publications from AZGS - video abstracts (short, one to two minute) summaries from the authors, describing the key points and significance of their work.  

Geologic Extension Service chief Mike Conway tested the idea out recently to very positive reviews and suggestions on how to make them more effective.   We're always looking for your feedback.

Discovery of more ore will extend life of northern Arizona uranium mine

A newsletter from Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, says the Arizona #1 uranium mine [right, credit Energy Fuels Resources] has found more ore which triggered getting new EPA permits, but those have been approved now.  The following is excerpted from the newsletter:

Lake Havasu City, AZ –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently approved an application submitted by Energy Fuels Resources, the operators of the Arizona 1 Uranium Mine, located near the Arizona Strip in Mohave County.  “I would like to commend the EPA for taking a look at the concerns regarding the permitting of the Arizona 1 Uranium Mine, and coming to the conclusion that the mine was safe to continue production,” Supervisor Buster Johnson said.

The Arizona 1 Uranium project is one of four mines under full or partial development in the Arizona Strip that was not included in a federal ban in 2012 by the Department of the Interior declaring a “withdrawal” of 1 million acres of lands from new mining claims.  The mine had been inactive from 1992 to 2009 causing some concerns and confusion on if new permitting was required through the EPA in order for them to restart production.  

In 2008, then owner Denison Mines, Inc., submitted a letter to the EPA regarding its intention to reactivate the Arizona 1 mine.  They had originally thought the mine was only going to produce 70,000 tons of uranium deposit.  Under current EPA standards, mines less than 100,000 tons are exempt from being required to obtain a permit.  In 2009, Denison obtained their air quality permit from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and shortly after began production on the Arizona 1 Mine.

The EPA alleged that the Arizona 1 Mine was operating illegally because Denison had restarted mining without obtaining prior and full permission from them.  In 2012, Energy Fuels acquired all of Denison Mines production assets and mining operations in the United States.  Upon review they discovered that the Arizona 1 mine had more ore at depth which would require obtaining the EPA permits.

With the discovery of more ore and the approval from the EPA to mine over 100,000 tons, Energy Fuels anticipates the Arizona 1 Mine to be in production longer than they had originally anticipated.  “The continued operation of the Arizona 1 Uranium Mine is great news for Mohave County.  This will keep uranium mining production going in Mohave County for at least 2 more years while we work towards lifting the Department of Interior’s ban on new mining claims near the Arizona Strip,” Supervisor Johnson said.

The permit Energy Fuels obtained concludes the fact that the mine is ventilated for the safety of the workers, a process that releases radon gas to the environment.  Based on a thorough review of data and supplemental modeling, EPA has determined that the public would not be exposed to levels of radon that would impact public health. The levels of radon released from the mine would be much lower than 10millirem/year, the allowable limit under the Clean Air Act.

Long-time Tonto National Forest geologist Karyn Harbour retiring

Forest Geologist Karyn Harbour is retiring from the Tonto National Forest after 21+ years. She also served as Minerals Program Leader, Minerals Administrator II, Minerals NEPA Expert.  A reception is scheduled for 11 a.m. on August 8, in Phoenix (details below).

Phoenix geologist candidate to head AEG

Ken Fergason, with AMEC Environment & Infrastructure in Phoenix, is running unopposed for Vice President/President-Elect of the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG).

Ken's been particularly active, including helping establish Arizona Chapter in 2007.

July episode of Arizona Mining Review posted online

We broadcast the July episode of Arizona Mining Review online yesterday and posted it to our YouTube channel.  The feature is an extended interview with Fred Banfield, founder and Chairman of Tucson-based Mintec, a world leading mining software company.

This episode marks a switch from our previous attempts to broadcast the entire show live.  We had too many glitches with remote guests losing their video or audio connections, and it puts a lot of stress on our production crew to pull it off.   So now, we are filming segments in advance which gives us better opportunities to add video clips and slides and make sure all of our guests are given the chance to focus on the interview rather than scrambling onto our set.

Let us know what you think.