Current Projects:
Remediation
The San Juan Mountains have a rich mining legacy that has left acid rock drainage, mine tailings piles, and historical hard rock mining structures dotted throughout our landscape. SMA’s goal is comprehensive mine remediation in past and future mining operations. In 2019, SMA helped to get House Bill 19-1113 to Protect Water Quality from Adverse Mining Impacts passed into law at the Colorado State Legislature. This law, which will help prevent future spills like the Gold King Mine disaster, requires all new mining permits to include a remediation plan for water and eliminates self-bonding, ensuring that future mining operations in Colorado complete their remediation plans, and the burden for cleanup does not fall upon taxpayers.
Uranium
In 2017, the license for the Pinon Ridge Mill was revoked. Shortly after, the permittees gave up their water rights filing, signaling the end of the project. SMA, along with our conservation partners and hundreds of concerned citizens, believes that the future of our region is best served by keeping these low-grade uranium reserves safely in the ground. We actively work to facilitate and direct funds to remediation of the hundred of abandoned mines and other contaminated sites that are ubiquitous in our watershed.
Oil & Gas Monitoring
We monitor oil and gas and mining development throughout the region we watch over, ensuring that species and cultural heritage protections are enforced, and that waterways are protected. We actively advocate against inappropriate oil and gas development in the Southwestern Colorado region, and ensure that our communities are informed of any potential oil and gas leases.
Clean Energy
SMA is passionate about renewable clean energy development. We currently sponsor a fellow who empowers community co-op members to advocate for cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy. We have a unique geography and longstanding history in the area that will allow us to mobilize our large membership base and move our local energy co-op forward, eventually gathering a critical mass to ensure a just transition for the communities most affected by the changes in our nation’s energy landscape, and access to cleaner, more affordable energy for rural communities across the West.
The agrarian Paradox Valley, home of the proposed Piñon Ridge Mill Whit Richardson Photography
Ongoing Projects
Monitoring and responding to citizen concerns about new mining developments in our watershed
Advocating for the cleanup of “zombie mines” that have not produced in decades, but continue to leak, polluting our clean water sources.
Keeping tabs on oil and gas lease sales and unregulated fracking.