Status of Proposed Reform

This year presents the best opportunity in decades to enact sensible mining law reform in the United States. This is a key time and your voice can make a difference!

On November 1, the House of Representatives passed a moderate bill, H.R. 2262, that included good environmental and social protections to update the 136 year old law. Once passed, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

In short, the House bill as passed includes the following highlights:

Ends patenting (giving away public land for virtually nothing to private interests) Includes royalties of 4 percent on net revenues at existing mines and 8 percent on new mines Requires that two-thirds of the proceeds from the royalties would go towards cleaning up abandoned mines and a third would assist any communities impacted by the law Halts mining in “areas of critical environmental concern” Requires that mines show that 10 years after closure, no additional treatment for toxics would be needed at the site because remediation was successful to meet water quality standards

Before these changes become law, the Senate would have to pass its own bill, reconcile that bill with the House bill in conference committee, and then send it to the President for signature.

Prospects for Comprehensive Mining Law Reform in the Senate

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is now considering introducing its own version of comprehensive mining law reform, which early reports suggest would be weaker than the House bill. Ethical Metalsmiths supports reform that includes environmental and social protections, as well as an end to patenting and a royalty on any minerals taken from public lands.

Jennifer visited staff members in the offices of 9 members of the Senate Committee and spoke with several others during her trip May 13 – 16. On behalf of Ethical Metalsmiths supporters, Jennifer asked for release of a bill this session for consideration by the full Senate.

In meeting with Committee staff, Jennifer learned that the chairman of the committee, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), is considering introducing a bill similar to the one passed by the House in November.

Momentum for reform has stalled overall, though, and we could use more voices to get things moving again. It appears that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the son of a goldminer and father of a Newmont lobbyist, has signaled (yet again) that he will not support mining law reform this year despite recent success in the House. Reports indicate that a major sticking point is the amount of the royalty. Send a letter to your senators today to tell them to convince Senator Reid that NOW is the time for reform!

Other Mining Reform Bills – Something Less Than Ideal, But Signs of Progress

We expect at least two Senate bills this session that amount to something less than the comprehensive mining law reform passed by the House. Each would include components of HR 2262, the House bill passed last fall.

In March, Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill, S.2750, the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Act of 2008. This bill proposes a royalty on mining to be used for cleanup of abandoned mines across the West. While this bill only contains one element of what we would like to see in a modern law, it is a positive move and we applaud Senator Feinstein for moving this issue forward.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is considering introduction of a separate bill that would establish environmental standards for hardrock mines.

We applaud Senators Feinstein and Cantwell for their efforts to reform U.S. mining law. Please sign up on our mailing list for future updates on the status of these bills.