Today Governor Richardson along with
Governors of Washington and Oregon
sent a letter to the Senate Energy Committee calling for reform of the 1872
Mining Law. The 1872 Mining Law governs mining practices on federal lands
today, but is a relic of frontier-era America.
“The1872 Mining Law is a relic of frontier-era America, and inadequate to meet the
needs of the modern West,” said Governor Richardson. “We need new a
mining law that fairly compensates taxpayers for the use of public lands, and
adequately protect our precious water and most fragile landscapes.”
-text
of letter follows-
June 20, 2008
The Honorable Jeff
Bingaman
United
States Senate
703 Hart Senate Office
Building
Washington,
D.C. 20510
The Honorable Pete
Domenici
United
States Senate
328 Hart Senate Office
Building
Washington,
D.C. 20510
Dear Senators Bingaman
and Domenici:
As governors of western
states, we are writing to thank you for continuing the process of reforming the
1872 Mining Law. As you know, the House has already passed strong mining
overhaul legislation, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007, and the
West has a vital interest in the Senate passing comparable reform and the
President signing a bill this Congress.
The 1872 Mining Law made
sense for the West when it was written, but that was during the administration
of President Ulysses S. Grant. Fundamentally unchanged since then, the law
still governs mining practices on federal lands and today it is a frontier-era
relic.
We all know the law is
woefully antiquated at this time. We are no longer trying to settle the west
and we need to halt the practice of privatizing federal lands without fair
compensation to taxpayers. Additionally, hardrock mining companies should pay
royalties for these publicly owned minerals, which would restore billions of
dollars to the public trust. Finally, we need to put adequate environmental
protections in place to ensure mining activities no longer degrade the streams
and landscapes throughout our region.
We urge you to support a
Senate mining law bill that will produce the reforms needed for the 21st
century. It should include a permanent end to the land patenting system,
equitable royalties that will help fund future abandoned mine cleanup projects,
strong environmental and reclamation standards and the ability for federal land
managers to ban new mining on sensitive federal lands.
In addition, the bill
should include the provision that would allow the state, county and tribal
governments to petition the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw specific
tracts of federal land to protect cultural resources, watersheds, wildlife or
scenic vistas. It is critical that the interests of western communities whose
economies rely on the protection of surrounding public land be respected by
allowing them to have a voice in mining decisions that impact their fiscal and
environmental health.
Thank you for your
attention to this issue, and if we can be of any further assistance in
advancing this important reform legislation please do not hesitate to call on
us.
Sincerely,
Bill Richardson
Governor, State of New Mexico
Christine Gregoire
Governor, State of Washington
Ted Kulongoski
Governor, State of Oregon
