Mining Claims On The Rise; Congress Must Fix 1872 Law to Protect
Published March 15, 2008
The failure of Congress to reform the nation's 135-year-old mining law has left communities in Oregon and throughout the West vulnerable to a modern-day gold rush of new mining claims on federal land.
A new report by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group says there are more than 50,000 active mining claims on federal land near Western cities and towns, an increase of nearly 50 percent since 2003. The increase in claims has been fueled by a global boom in demand for gold, copper, uranium and other metals that has sharply driven up prices.
In Oregon, there are now more than 540 mining claims within five miles of 33 cities and towns. There are 6,121 claims statewide, an increase of 20 percent since 2003, the report says.
Oregon communities with claims within five miles include Grants Pass, with 56 claims, a 143 percent increase over the 23 claims on file in 2003. Cave Junction has the most claims within five miles — 119, a 19 percent increase over the 100 claims on file in 2003. As of January, no claims have been filed within five miles of Eugene or Springfield.
Under the General Mining Law of 1872, local, state or tribal governments have no recourse if they object to mining operations, which can leave a legacy of open pits, water polluted with chemicals such as cyanide and sulfuric acid, and, in the case of uranium mining, radio active waste.
This dinosaur of a law has wreaked environmental havoc across the West and is responsible for mining that has created more Superfund toxic cleanup sites than any other industry. Among the most recent additions to the national Superfund list is the abandoned Formosa mine in Douglas County. It spews 5 million gallons of acid water each year and so far has killed at least 18 miles of salmon-rearing stream at the headwaters of an Umpqua River tributary. The cleanup, which may take years, even decades, to complete, will cost more than $10 million, with most or all of it coming out of the taxpayers' pockets.
The existing mining law gives absolute precedence to mining for hard rock minerals above all other land uses, including watershed protection. For Oregon communities increasingly concerned about water shortages, the prospect of increased mining activity is hardly welcome, regardless of the jobs it provides. Mining requires vast amounts of water for the processing of metal ore and can contaminate the streams, rivers and groundwater that provide drinking water for communities.
The House has approved legislation that would overhaul the 1872 mining law. Sponsored by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the bill would authorize federal officials for the first time to reject mining applications in favor of other uses of public lands, including recreation, wildlife habitat and watershed protection. It would close environmentally sensitive national treasures such as the Grand Canyon and Crater Lake National Park to mining.
Rahall's bill would require mining companies to pay royalties on metals mined on federal lands, just as timber, coal, oil and natural gas producers pay royalties on the resources they extract from public lands. It would also impose new environmental restrictions and require companies to restore shuttered mining sites.
With mining claims on the rapid rise in Oregon and throughout the West, the Senate should waste no time in transforming a 19th century mining law into one that meets the needs of the 21st century.
