Arizona AG Backs Hualapai Tribe's Request for Injunction Against Lithium Mining Project

Arizona AG Kris Mayes argues that the BLM failed to assess the full environmental impact on the sacred Ha'Kamwe' spring.Photo byImage: Tysonomo Multimedia

PHOENIX – The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of the Hualapai Indian Tribe’s request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against a lithium mining project, according to court documents.

The brief, filed on September 16, 2024, argues that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to meet its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by not taking a "hard look" at the potential impacts of the project on local water resources, including the sacred spring Ha’Kamwe’.

Ha'Kamwe' is located within Cholla Canyon Ranch in Wikieup, Arizona, at the meeting of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts in the Big Sandy River basin. The ranch is managed by the Hualapai Tribe, while the surrounding ancestral homelands of the Hualapai people are under the jurisdiction of the BLM.

"The sacred Ha'Kamwe' spring has sustained the Hualapai people for generations, and its protection is critical for the Tribe," said Attorney General Kris Mayes in a written statement. "The failure to properly evaluate the impact of this project on such an important water source is unacceptable.”

The State of Arizona expressed concerns that the BLM did not fully evaluate how the project’s exploratory drilling could affect water resources in the region, relying instead on outdated data from a 2000 study.

According to the brief, newer studies indicate that Ha’Kamwe' is fed by both shallow and deep aquifers, and the drilling could disrupt the fragile hydrogeology of the area.

The Tribe’s hydrological study suggests that drilling could cause irreversible damage to the spring and nearby water sources. Mayes emphasized the importance of protecting Arizona’s water resources, noting that more than 40% of the state’s water supply comes from groundwater.

"Water is a matter of life and death," the brief states, underscoring that the project could have lasting impacts on the aquifers that sustain the local ecosystem and communities.

The brief also highlighted the tension between the state's growing mining industry and the need to safeguard water resources.

While acknowledging the economic benefits of lithium mining, the state urged caution to prevent the irreversible harm that could result from inadequate environmental reviews.

The court is expected to rule on the Tribe's request for an injunction as the case proceeds.