A bill sponsored by recipients of contributions from the mining industry would make sure companies can dump mine waste on public lands.
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Senators rush to keep mining law stuck in the 1800s
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Thursday, April 27, 2023
An open pit mine in Nevada, Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Jim Risch of Idaho introduced ([link removed]) S.1281, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act ([link removed]) , which would allow mining companies to dump mine waste on public lands where the company has a mining claim but has not proven that valuable minerals exist. Until recently, mining companies relied on an interpretation of the General Mining Law of 1872 which held that if a company had staked a mining claim on public lands, it could dump mine waste on adjacent public lands. However, recent court decisions ([link removed]) have adopted a stricter interpretation
([link removed]) of the law, finding that a mining company must prove that valuable minerals exist on a claim before it can dump waste on those lands, and that federal agencies must verify the existence of valuable minerals rather than taking the company's word for it. S.1281 would change the law to make sure that companies can dump mine waste on public lands.
Cortez Masto claims ([link removed]) the bill is "consistent with long-standing and historical application of the law," but the provisions in the bill are actually worse than the 1872 status quo. By eliminating the need to prove the existence of valuable minerals in order to validate a claim, this bill would allow anyone to establish rights on any available public lands—regardless of their mining potential—by simply staking a mining claim, which could interfere with conservation designations, renewable energy projects, and transmission line construction. Furthermore, if this bill were to pass, not only could companies dump mine waste on public lands without discovery of a valuable mineral deposit, they could also conduct mining-related activity, such as building and maintaining roads, on any public land without holding any mining claim at all.
After over 150 years of scientific and technological advancement, the scope and scale of mining activities would be unrecognizable to miners and policymakers from the 1870s, and yet our nation's policies and regulations have remained essentially unchanged. As Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby explains in a new blog ([link removed]) post ([link removed]) , it's time for an overhaul of the legal and regulatory framework that governs extractive industries so companies are held accountable when they occupy public lands to extract public resources.
Quick hits
** Senate bill would counteract mining law ruling
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Common Dreams ([link removed])
** San Carlos Apache call for international intervention over copper mine at Oak Flat
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High Country News ([link removed])
** Wyoming's number of spills per barrel of oil produced remains high
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Wyoming Public Radio ([link removed])
** New Mexico's air quality is worsening—especially near oil-rich Permian Basin
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KUNM ([link removed])
** Residents of 'wildcat' developments, free of taxes and regulations, are now running out of water
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Yale Climate Connections ([link removed])
** Officials propose leaving more toxic contaminants in Clark Fork River floodplain to cut costs
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Montana Standard ([link removed])
** Colorado snowpack powers "pulse" of water through Grand Canyon
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Denver Post ([link removed])
** How first-ever tribal member on Colorado's top water board plans to tackle her new role
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” This is just so massively out of step for a state that depends on its outdoor economy to support the way of life that we all love in this state. With all due respect to Mr. Rosendale, this is not Montana.”
—Mary Hollow, Prickly Pear Land Trust, KTQV ([link removed])
Picture this
** @canyonlandsnps ([link removed])
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Canyons are great places to reflect. This spring, we're feeling grateful for trees, water, sunlight, and towering sandstone walls that make us feel small. What are you grateful for today?
📸: NPS/Verdin
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