Mining
The 1872 Mining Law was passed only seven years after Congress abolished slavery and nearly five decades before women won the right to vote. It is surely time to update it.
Document Actions
Ongoing Threats to Coho Demand Mining Reform
In 1872, Americans were not concerned about environmental protections
because natural resources appeared endless. As a reflection of those
times, the Mining Law doesn't contain environmental safeguards.
Communities and environments have paid the price. In 2010, we know all
too well the impacts of mining on our land, air and water. Nationally,
there are hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines on public lands that
pollute water quality and threaten public health and safety.
Click here to take action now by sending an automatic letter to your congressional representatives asking them to promote meaningful mining reform for the sake of clean water, imperiled species and the American taxpayer.
At Taxpayer Expense
The antiquated Mining Law allows mining interests to take valuable hardrock minerals including gold, silver, and uranium from public lands without royalty payments to the taxpayer, unlike other mining industries that extract coal, oil or natural gas. The law also allows mining interests to buy valuable mineral bearing public lands at 1872 prices, which translates to no more than $5 per acre, and does not sufficiently insure restoration of degraded resources after the mining operation ends.
Not only doesn’t the American Taxpayer get any return for private profits ripped from public lands, she is also on the hook to pay for the cleanup.
The Toxic Legacy
In the Rogue Basin, the Bureau of Land Management estimates that there are approximately 700 abandoned mines on the Medford District alone and it is unknown how many are discharging heavy metal toxins into our waterways. The 2009 economic stimulus package allocated money to inventory these mines, but a source for money to clean them up remains unknown. The Almeda mine on the Wild and Scenic Rogue R
iver is a toxic example of such negligence on the part of mining operators. The abandoned mine has been discharging toxins into the Rogue for years, if not decades. The operator is long gone and the BLM (ie taxpayers) are now responsible for cleanup, with funding sources and a thorough reclamation plan unidentified.
The cleanup of mining operations often falls to the taxpayer or never occurs. For instance, a miner who was convicted of illegally mining on Sucker Creek filed for bankruptcy after leaving jail, thereby leaving reclamation costs to the U.S. Forest Service. Oregon’s largest operating underground gold mine located on a tributary that flows into the Wild and Scenic Rogue River had its bond revoked due to illegal activity and negligence, but the paltry amount will not nearly cover the costs it would take to fully restore the site.
This is all in addition to potential taxpayer liability in cleanup costs at currently operating mines.
The Continuing Threat
From early hydraulic mining techniques that dramatically changed the morphology and hydrology of streams, to current mining operations that kill juvenile fish and dump sediment into streams, Coho salmon have perhaps been one of the biggest victims of mining in the west. Coho were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1997 and populations are still in dangerous decline.
Current mining proposals in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness threaten the Wild and Scenic Chetco River. A miner on Sucker Creek proposes an expanded mining operation in a key watershed for coho recovery after he was arrested and convicted of illegal mining operations in the same watershed in 2009. Expanded suction dredging further threatens the Rogue Basin.
California recently banned suction dredging due to its impacts on Coho and suction dredger miners are planning to migrate to Oregon for the 2010 season. The regulatory framework in Oregon is unclear and enforcement budgets anemic, posing further threats to Rogue Basin salmon this year.
Please take a moment by clicking here now to send the following letter to Oregon’s congressional delegation asking for reform of the 1872 Mining Law:
SAMPLE LETTER/Auto-Email
Dear Senators and Representative,
I am writing you today because I am deeply concerned about the ecological and economic impact caused by the out-of-date 1872 Mining Law. I believe it is past time we pursue meaningful reform of mining laws in this country, and I am asking you to take a strong stand on behalf of clean water, imperiled species and the American taxpayer.
The antiquated Mining Law allows mining interests to take valuable hardrock minerals from public lands without royalty payments to the taxpayer. The law also allows mining interests to buy valuable mineral bearing public lands at 1872 prices, which translates to no more than $5 per acre, and does not sufficiently insure restoration of degraded resources after the mining operation ends.
Nationally, there are hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines on public lands that pollute water quality and threaten public health and safety. Not only doesn’t the American taxpayer get any return for private profits ripped from public lands, she is also on the hook to pay for the cleanup.
In the Rogue Basin, the Bureau of Land Management estimates that there are approximately 700 abandoned mines on the Medford District alone and it is unknown how many are discharging heavy metal toxins into our waterways.
Examples abound of cases where the cleanup of mining operations falls to the taxpayer or never occurs. For instance, a miner who was convicted of illegally mining on Sucker Creek filed for bankruptcy after leaving jail, thereby leaving reclamation costs to the U.S. Forest Service. Oregon’s largest operating underground gold mine located on a tributary of the Wild and Scenic Rogue River had its bond recovered by the state due to illegal activity and negligence, but the paltry amount will not nearly cover the costs it would take to fully restore the site, which includes a damaged creek and harmful sediment ponds.
Coho salmon have perhaps been one of the biggest victims of mining in the west. Coho were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1997 and populations are still in dangerous decline.
Current mining proposals in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness threaten the Wild and Scenic Chetco River. A miner on Sucker Creek proposes an expanded mining operation in a key watershed for coho recovery after he was arrested and convicted of illegal mining operations in the same watershed in 2009. Expanded suction dredging further threatens the Rogue Basin.
It is time to reform a law that is woefully outdated. Thank you for your consideration of this important issue. I hope to thank you in the future for taking bold initiative to finally enact substantial, common sense changes to America’s mining laws.
Sincerely,
