Energy Fuels Inc. will stop trucking uranium ore across the Navajo Nation to Utah, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced, until the company and the tribe discuss safety concerns.
She called Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren on Thursday night to report that the company had voluntarily agreed to stop its shipments to Utah through the Navajo reservation, “to give both sides an opportunity to engage in good faith negotiations.”
A spokesperson for Hobbs’ office said that the governor reached the agreement with Energy Fuels on Tuesday night. It was not immediately clear why Hobbs did not tell Nygren about the deal when it was reached, or whether she had done so before the Thursday night call described in her Friday statement.
She added that the Arizona Division of Emergency Management will work with tribal law enforcement “in developing an emergency response plan in the event of a road incident.”
Energy Fuels also did not disclose the agreement in multiple statements, including one released as late as Thursday afternoon.
In a Friday afternoon statement, Energy Fuels confirmed its agreement with Hobbs to temporarily pause its transportation of uranium ore across the reservation. But the company also asserted that it can “legally restart transport at any time.”
“While Energy Fuels has already gone above and beyond any legal requirements,” Energy Fuels CEO Mark Chalmers said in the statement, “we are willing to voluntarily pause transport to work together to provide additional information and education to the Navajo President and learn what more can be done to alleviate any remaining reasonable concerns he may have.”