Mining Reform

I have actively been protecting our environmental treasures from the threats posed by irresponsible mining. I am proud to have participated in the first mining reform victory in the U.S. House of Representatives in decades. The FY2000 Interior Appropriations Bill originally contained language that would have exempted mining companies from the 5-acre limitation of public land available for a mine to dump its wastes. This would have resulted in more polluted streams and unusable public lands. To stop this irresponsible policy, I, along with Rep. Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia) and Rep. Chris Shays (R-Connecticut), passed an amendment to the Interior Appropriations Bill to address this issue.

Our amendment, which passed the House by a vote of 273 to 151, removed the loophole that would have allowed mining companies to dump their waste within the 5-acre limitation. The passage of this amendment, which was endorsed by the Taxpayers for Common Sense, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Mineral Policy Institute, effectively prevented the Republican controlled House from rolling back an important environmental protection. President Clinton signed the Interior Appropriations Bill into law in November of 1999 with our amendment largely intact.

I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 504, the Abandoned Hardrock Mines Reclamation Act. This legislation would require any person producing hardrock minerals from a mine within an unpatented mining claim to pay the Secretary of the Interior a percentage-based reclamation fee for deposit into the Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund. H.R. 504 would also establish an interest-bearing Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund for reclamation and restoration of eligible areas and approved State reclamation programs and Federal remediation activities. I believe that this legislation will go a long way towards ensuring that irresponsible mining practices do not continue to jeopardize our precious wild lands.