SANTA FE - New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard held a news conference Friday to announce her issuance of an executive order banning the leasing of state lands for new uranium mining and related activities.
The order also directs the State Land Office to focus on cleaning up legacy uranium sites and calls on the uranium industry and the federal government to address the legacy problems caused by uranium production.
“New Mexico has always been at the center of uranium production in this country, but our citizens have been ignored and disrespected by the industry and the federal government for far too long. That stops now,” said Commissioner Garcia Richard.
New Mexico has over 1,000 former uranium mining, milling, and exploratory drilling sites in the state, of which 250 are considered abandoned because they are not associated with a viable responsible party (at least 50 of the sites involve state trust lands), according to a news release from the commissioner's office.
Garcia Richard said, "Indigenous communities and New Mexico families have suffered the environmental and health effects inherent in living near a uranium pit or downwind from a nuclear testing site. The Trump administration’s push for aggressive uranium development is a low blow to these communities, and I will keep doing everything in my power to fight back.”
President Trump issued an executive order in May of 2025 ordering a reinvigoration of the country's nuclear industrial base.
According to the New Mexico Environment Department, from the mid-20th century through the 1980s, New Mexico was a hub for uranium mining. However, as the industry dwindled in the 1990s, numerous sites were neglected, leading to environmental and health concerns.
The NMED started developing a plan to address abandoned mines in 2023 after passage of the Uranium Mine Cleanup Act of 2022.