U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WVA) reintroduced his proposed revision of the 1872 Mining Law today, with a bill identical to the one that passed the House in 2007. The measure would impose a 4% royalty on existing mines and an 8% royalty on new mines. The Congressional Budget Office says approximately $1 billion in non-coal metals are produced on federal lands each year. It follows on the heels of yesterday's release of the Pew report cricitizing the existing law.
Among the provisions listed by MineWeb.com, the "Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009" would:
- allow the federal government to withdraw wilderness study areas, area of initial environmental concern, and areas in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
- impose strong permitting requirements for mines proposed near national parks, such as the Grand Canyon
- end the sales of public lands that contain mineral resources
- establish a clean-up fund for abandoned hardrock mines on public lands
- create a community impact assistance account to provide financial assistance for communities impacted by mining, including funds for infrastructure and public services
- allow for the suspension of mining permits
- allow the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to order mines to cease operations if serious environmental pollution becomes a crisis
- would limit mine operators to suspend mining operations for no more than 180 days without seeking the permission of the federal government
- allow the Secretaries to deny mining plans of operations or exploration permits
- provide for citizen lawsuits against mining or exploration programs