Outdoor Groups Line Up Behind Mining Reform
Posted on: Monday, 12 May 2008, 03:00 CDT
By French, Brett
Hunting and angling groups, including 30 from Montana and four from Wyoming, are adding their voices to a growing chorus calling for reform of the 1872 Mining Law.
Irv Wilke, president of the Billings Rod and Gun Club, said his group signed on to support reform of the mining law after it was brought to the 15-member board of directors' attention by fellow members. He said the part of the current law that concerns him most is the provision that allows mining companies to claim public lands with only minimal payment to the federal government.
"That's something the taxpayers ought to take notice of," Wilke said. "We're losing enough ground as it is to out-of-staters without something like this."
Land Tawney, of Sportsmen United for Sensible Mining, called the 1872 law a "relic of days gone by."
"If this is going to happen, it needs to happen now," he said in a telephone press conference.
More than 400 groups signed a Tuesday letter addressed to U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Pete Domenici, R N.M., who sit on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which is crafting reform of the law. Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., also sit on the panel. The House passed its reform proposal late last year. The Senate has held two hearings on the issue but is still working on its version.
Tester would like to see a bill that would create a program to restore Montana's abandoned mines, protect water quality for future generations and make sure the public is getting a fair return from mines on public lands, said Aaron Murphy, Tester's spokesman.
"A good mining reform bill will balance the public's needs with the needs of the mining industry," Murphy said in an e-mail, "Jon wants to make sure the public gets a fair return from mines on their land. He wants clean water and a clean environment. And he wants old mines cleaned up. But he also believes in making sure the mining industry has what it needs to responsibly stay in business."
Hunting and angling groups have become increasingly vocal on government issues relating to the environment in the past few years, including lobbying for programs important to wildlife contained in the Farm Bill.
Tawney said a 2005 proposal to sell federal lands may have sparked sportsmen and sportswomen to get more involved in national issues. The groups may carry more political clout in Washington than environmentalists, he said, since they come from all areas of the political spectrum.
"Our voice is more reasonable and practical; we're not asking for something extreme," he said.
With respect to the 1872 Mining Law, Tawney's coalition has targeted four areas for revision:
* Assessing a royalty from any minerals taken from public lands to fund fish and conservation programs and abandoned mine reclamation.
* Strengthening protections against mining effects on fish, wildlife and water.
* Allowing "good Samaritans" reclamation incentives and common- sense liability
* Prohibiting the patenting or sale of public lands under the Mining Law.
In Montana, currently permitted mines cover only 0.04 percent of the state, according to the Montana Mining Association, and produce such valuable commodities as copper, molybdenum, platinum and talc. Nationwide, the industry estimates its total value at $205 billion.
The National Mining Association has said that although it supports reformation of the 1872 law, the House-passed bill would impose "enormous costs" on the hard-rock mining industry while failing to provide mining companies with greater security when operating on federal lands. The result, the group says, would be an increase in the nation's "growing reliance on imported minerals."
According to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality more than 300 abandoned mill and mine sites statewide need reclamation, seven of which are considered a high priority for cleanup. The state has counted more than 5,000 abandoned sites that vary from a hole in the ground to five acres of disturbance.
Some mining companies have left the public holding the bill for cleanup. Pegasus Mining Co. declared bankruptcy, leaving the government to pick up the $30 million tab to finish restoration at its Zortman-Landusky Mine in the Little Rocky Mountains of northeastern Montana. The federal government also bought the New World Mine, just northeast of Yellowstone National Park, in 1996 for $65 million to prevent Crown Butte Mining from working its claims just outside Cooke City. The area is now being reclaimed and acid mine water discharge is being treated under guidance of the Gallatin National Forest.
"There have been too many examples of this happening where it shouldn't have occurred," said Jim Lyon of the National Wildlife Federation, calling the New World Mine a "bad idea for a bad mine in a bad place."
Steve Moyer of Trout Unlimited said his group has proved that restoration of waters can occur with proper funding. A new bill needs a "good, strong funding source" and liability protections for groups such as his to encourage them to help clean up abandoned mines.
Craig Sharpe, of the Montana Wildlife Federation, which acts as an advocate for the state's hunting and angling groups, said his group and its affiliates have become increasingly active in energy and environmental issues out of necessity.
"We don't want to be in opposition of every development, but we want to target those areas we find highly valuable for hunting and fishing," Sharpe said. Examples would be the Rocky Mountain Front and the headwaters of the Beaverhead River, areas where the group has lobbied to prevent development.
"Clubs have recognized that Montana is a focus point for development," Sharpe said. "How can we balance between environmental integrity and ecologically important areas and the need for energy? By incorporating and using local rod and gun clubs, we're trying to find that balance.
"It's a bigger battle, and more is at stake," Sharpe said. "Hunters and anglers do have a strong voice in Montana, and our representatives respect that voice."
Tawney said uniting such voices from across the country will prove effective.
"We look forward to having mining reform passed this year," he said.
Copyright Billings Gazette Apr 9, 2008
(c) 2008 Billings Gazette, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Billings Gazette, The
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