New Mexico delegation introduces bill to ban uranium mining in Chama Watershed

Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation on Thursday announced they’d introduced a bill that would prohibit uranium mining throughout the Chama Basin Watershed, after a Canadian company earlier this year sought federal permits to conduct exploratory drilling.

The Chama Basin Watershed Protection Act, sponsored by U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, all New Mexico Democrats, if enacted, would prohibit all forms of uranium mining through much of Rio Arriba County, including in the Santa Fe and Carson national forests.

In a statement, the three elected officials cited fears of potential impacts of uranium mining on the watershed and Chama River, which ultimately flows into the Rio Grande, along with concerns about uranium contamination on ranchers, tribes and acequias.

“These cherished lands and waters must be protected for future generations,” Luján said in a statement. “I will not stand by and allow a foreign mining company to threaten the communities of the Chama Valley and disregard the respect these communities deserve.”

The lawmakers said the legislation is in direct response to a proposal from Gamma Resources, Ltd. to drill up to 12 exploratory uranium boreholes up to 500 feet deep near Canjilon as part of its “Mesa Arc” project. The company told potential investors that it believes up to 3 million pounds of uranium exists in the area it seeks to drill.

The company has faced sustained backlash since Source NM first reported in March on its exploratory permit application to the Carson National Forest. Opponents include community groups, environmentalists and elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. 

Many of the critics cite the legacy of environmental and public health impacts due to uranium in New Mexico, particularly among Indigenous communities. Leger Fernández, in a statement Thursday, said abandoned uranium mines must be cleaned up before any new mines are approved. 

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“New Mexicans know the true cost of uranium mining,” Leger Fernández said. “Across our state, abandoned uranium mines have poisoned our land, threatened our water, and harmed generations of families. Before anyone talks about opening another uranium mine, we should finish cleaning up the mess that was left behind.”

A Carson National Forest spokesperson previously told Source NM the United States Forest Service is reviewing the company’s application. The company must also receive state approval from the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division, but Gamma has not yet filed for a permit at the state level, according to a division database.

The Gamma proposal is just one of multiple examples of renewed global interest in extracting New Mexico’s uranium since President Donald Trump’s second term began. Heinrich, in his statement Thursday, said the legislation sends a clear message to the company:

“Back off,” he said. “The Chama Watershed belongs to the acequia parciantes, Tribal communities, ranchers, and rural families who care for and depend on this landscape and its water — not a foreign mining company looking to exploit it for profit.”