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The time has come for the U. S. Senate to stand up to the hard rock mining industry and either repeal or reform the Mining Act of 1872. As recent events in Leadville and Crested Butte, one the result of abandoned mines and the other caused by the power of mining interests to prevail over all other claims, remind us, Colorado has a big stake in the outcome of this legislation. The recent revival of molybdenum mining and the potential onslaught of uranium emphasize the urgent need for a 21st century mining law.
Passed during the Grant administration, when government generosity to corporations surpassed even the largess of George W. Bush, this law was from the start a giveaway to the mining industry; does anyone really believe the gold rush would not have happened had the government exacted a reasonable tax on the riches of its newly acquired California territory?
Since 1872, mining has extracted $245 billion worth of royalty free minerals from public land, in the process contaminating over 40 percent of western watersheds and leaving behind a legacy of abandoned sites that could cost more than $50 billion to clean up. The giveaway continues each day the Senate waits to act on the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 (H.R. 2262) passed by the House last year to reform these outdated 1872 laws.
This antiquated law has allowed rape-and-run to become the normal way of doing business for too many irresponsible mining operations, attracted by the availability of practically free mineral-rich land, from which valuable ore can be extracted without payment of royalties.
“At stake here are the health, welfare and environmental integrity of our people and our precious federal lands, the public interest of all Americans, and the future of the hardrock mining industry in this country,” said Rep. Nick Rahal, author of the House bill.
Abandoned mines and a lack of resources for reclamation is a chronic problem throughout the west. Toxic waste leaks into watersheds, streams and underground water tables, polluting precious western water. Mining claims patented for less than $5 per acre under 1872 rules have enabled developers to invade protected landscapes to build private mansions. So long as the 1872 Mining Act continues in effect, land more valuable for wildlife habitat, recreation and other uses will continue to be sacrificed to mining for a less than a fraction of its actual value.
Under the House bill, the practice of granting patents on mining claims would be permanently repealed. A 4-percent royalty would be collected on minerals extracted from existing unpatented claims, while new mines would pay 8 percent. Seventy percent of funds collected from mining royalties would be designated for cleanup of abandoned mine sites. The remaining 30 percent would be returned to communities impacted by mining operations. The bill would also subject the mining industry to stricter environmental standards.
Rep. Mark Udall, who supported the bill, pointed out that another benefit for local communities would be to “modify the administrative and judicial procedures related to mining activities, including establishing a means for local governments to petition for withdrawal of federal land from the staking of new mining claims. That will enable local governments all over Colorado to have a much greater voice regarding activities that could have the potential to cause problems for their residents and for them to seek protection for such resources and values as watersheds and drinking water supplies, wildlife habitats, cultural or historic resources, scenic areas. In addition, Indian tribes will be able to seek protections for religious and cultural values.”
Though passed by a margin of 244 to 116 in the House, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act faces tough opposition in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, from the mining state of Nevada, opposes serious mining reform. While Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman seems to favor some reform, his Republican counterpart, New Mexico Sen. Pete Dominici, is dead set against the environmental provisions in the House bill. “I believe that the scope of our efforts should be limited to patenting, royalty and abandoned mine issues,” he said.
Sen. Ken Salazar informed a Mesa County crowd on his recent state tour that he favored reforming the 1872 mining law, though he was not specific on what provisions he seeks to change. If senators Bingaman and Dominici introduce legislation that does not address all the issues included in the House Bill, Sen. Salazar should not support it without amendments to expand its scope to include public land and environmental protections, and to assure citizens a voice in public land decisions that impact their communities. The law must recognize that precious minerals are not the most valuable resources we have in our Colorado mountains, valleys and canyons. There is gold in an aspen forest and silver in a mountain stream.
<i>Bill Grant is president of Western Colorado Congress board of directors. He is also a member of Club 20. Opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not represent any organization.</i>
Passed during the Grant administration, when government generosity to corporations surpassed even the largess of George W. Bush, this law was from the start a giveaway to the mining industry; does anyone really believe the gold rush would not have happened had the government exacted a reasonable tax on the riches of its newly acquired California territory?
Since 1872, mining has extracted $245 billion worth of royalty free minerals from public land, in the process contaminating over 40 percent of western watersheds and leaving behind a legacy of abandoned sites that could cost more than $50 billion to clean up. The giveaway continues each day the Senate waits to act on the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 (H.R. 2262) passed by the House last year to reform these outdated 1872 laws.
This antiquated law has allowed rape-and-run to become the normal way of doing business for too many irresponsible mining operations, attracted by the availability of practically free mineral-rich land, from which valuable ore can be extracted without payment of royalties.
“At stake here are the health, welfare and environmental integrity of our people and our precious federal lands, the public interest of all Americans, and the future of the hardrock mining industry in this country,” said Rep. Nick Rahal, author of the House bill.
Abandoned mines and a lack of resources for reclamation is a chronic problem throughout the west. Toxic waste leaks into watersheds, streams and underground water tables, polluting precious western water. Mining claims patented for less than $5 per acre under 1872 rules have enabled developers to invade protected landscapes to build private mansions. So long as the 1872 Mining Act continues in effect, land more valuable for wildlife habitat, recreation and other uses will continue to be sacrificed to mining for a less than a fraction of its actual value.
Under the House bill, the practice of granting patents on mining claims would be permanently repealed. A 4-percent royalty would be collected on minerals extracted from existing unpatented claims, while new mines would pay 8 percent. Seventy percent of funds collected from mining royalties would be designated for cleanup of abandoned mine sites. The remaining 30 percent would be returned to communities impacted by mining operations. The bill would also subject the mining industry to stricter environmental standards.
Rep. Mark Udall, who supported the bill, pointed out that another benefit for local communities would be to “modify the administrative and judicial procedures related to mining activities, including establishing a means for local governments to petition for withdrawal of federal land from the staking of new mining claims. That will enable local governments all over Colorado to have a much greater voice regarding activities that could have the potential to cause problems for their residents and for them to seek protection for such resources and values as watersheds and drinking water supplies, wildlife habitats, cultural or historic resources, scenic areas. In addition, Indian tribes will be able to seek protections for religious and cultural values.”
Though passed by a margin of 244 to 116 in the House, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act faces tough opposition in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, from the mining state of Nevada, opposes serious mining reform. While Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman seems to favor some reform, his Republican counterpart, New Mexico Sen. Pete Dominici, is dead set against the environmental provisions in the House bill. “I believe that the scope of our efforts should be limited to patenting, royalty and abandoned mine issues,” he said.
Sen. Ken Salazar informed a Mesa County crowd on his recent state tour that he favored reforming the 1872 mining law, though he was not specific on what provisions he seeks to change. If senators Bingaman and Dominici introduce legislation that does not address all the issues included in the House Bill, Sen. Salazar should not support it without amendments to expand its scope to include public land and environmental protections, and to assure citizens a voice in public land decisions that impact their communities. The law must recognize that precious minerals are not the most valuable resources we have in our Colorado mountains, valleys and canyons. There is gold in an aspen forest and silver in a mountain stream.
<i>Bill Grant is president of Western Colorado Congress board of directors. He is also a member of Club 20. Opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not represent any organization.</i>
