House Democrats and environmental groups have joined forces in an effort to stop a controversial rider included in a House spending measure that would open up the lands around the Grand Canyon to new uranium mining.

The rider, which is part of the fiscal 2012 EPA-Interior Appropriations spending bill (HR 2584), would stop the Obama administration from studying whether to bar mining in the region for 20 years.

Environmental advocates said at a news conference Tuesday that they are rallying grass-roots support for efforts by Arizona Democrats Ed Pastor and Raul M. Grijalva to strip the drilling rider from the bill.

Noting that radioactive waste from past uranium mining has leaked into four streams in the park, Anna Aurilio, Washington director for Environment America, said that new accidents could harm the Colorado River, which flows through the canyon and provides drinking water for 25 million people in the Southwest.

The drilling provision, authored by Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, was added to the spending bill in subcommittee. When the measure came to the full committee, Pastor unsuccessfully sought to remove the drilling language, but gained the support of three committee Republicans -- Steven C. LaTourette of Ohio, Frank R. Wolf of Virginia and C.W. Bill Young of Florida.

Since then, during a House Rules Committee meeting, Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Ga., voiced concern about Flake's efforts to open the door to uranium mining.

Now Pastor and Grijalva say they are talking with other Republicans in hopes of winning more bipartisan support for their amendment. "The Grand Canyon, being the crown jewel of our national park system, deserves much more than a little rider snuck in the back door on an appropriations bill," Grijalva said. "I think we can get more colleagues to back this amendment."

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