Introduction
The mining law of 1872, signed by President Ulysses S. Grant, began
life as a replacement for the earlier mining acts of 1866 and 1870. The
intent of the law was to grant free access to individuals and corporations
to prospect for minerals on public domain lands, and upon making a discovery,
stake a claim on the deposit. Although the law has only been subjected
to minor revisions over time, its scope has been dramatically reduced by
the passage of other legislation. Most notable was the creation of the
National Park system and National Historic Sites, which prevented mining
at those locations. Also removed from the purview of the mining act were
Native American and military reservations, wilderness areas, and water
and power projects. However, there have been numerous attempts to make
significant changes to the statute itself, all of which have failed, resulting
in a law that has remained remarkably intact for well over a century.
The Conflict
Since the dawn of the environmental movement, the battle for revision
has focussed on mineral development versus environmental protection. Environmentalists
have been concerned that the 1872 law contains no environmental protections,
while the mining industry contends that reform may introduce stringent
environmental regulations that would burden the industry. Recently this
struggle has prevented Congress from revising the statute in ways that
would conflict with the wishes of the Administration. Combat has,
therefore, been joined in the budgetary arena involving federal regulations
and legal interpretations. In last year's budget, Congress used the power
of the appropriations process to address two issues: the Department of
the Interior's legal opinion on millsite size, and the Bureau of Land Management's
(BLM) revision of Section 3809 regulations governing exploration and development
of locatable minerals. Only the second issue will be discussed in this
article. Minerals considered locatable are precious metal ores, ferrous
metal ores, certain industrial minerals, and those not classified as leasable
or saleable. Acquisition of locatable minerals is accomplished by staking
a mining claim over the deposit and then acquiring the necessary permits
to explore or mine. Leasable minerals include oil, gas, coal, geothermal
resources and a few others including all minerals on the Outer Continental
Shelf. Saleable minerals tend to be very common materials such as sand,
gravel and stone.
National Research Council Report
With passage of the 1999 fiscal year Interior Appropriations Act, Congress
decreed that BLM delay the release of revised 3809 regulations until the
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) could review the existing regulations
and report on their assessment of the adequacy of the regulatory framework
for hardrock mining on federal lands. The charge to the Academy had three
major components: 1) Identify federal and state statutes and regulations
applicable to environmental protection of federal lands in connection with
mining activities; 2) Consider the adequacy of statutes and regulations
to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the federal lands, and 3)
Offer recommendations for the coordination of federal and state regulations
to assure environmental protection, increase efficiency, avoid duplication
and delay, and identify the most cost-effective manner for implementation.
Since the study targeted federal lands, the results would not only apply
to the Department of the Interior's BLM lands but also to lands of the
Department of Agriculture's Forest Service which together comprise 38%
of the total area of the western states. The National Research Council
(the operating arm of the NAS) released its report entitled Hardrock Mining
on Federal Lands in September 1999, offering several conclusions and 16
recommendations. The report issued the following general conclusions:
For the complete text of the conclusions and recommendations see
(http://books.nap.edu/html/hardrock_fed_lands/index.html).
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) applauded the conclusions of the NAS report stating that it confirmed to his and his western colleagues opinion that existing federal and state laws affecting mining were generally effective in protecting the environment. Shortly after the release of the Academy report, language was inserted in the omnibus FY 2000 appropriations bill allowing BLM to move ahead with its revised regulations provided they were not inconsistent with the report. At the same time, BLM released its revised 3809 regulations for public comment. The comment period remained open from October 1999 to late February 2000. As of this writing, the comment period is still open.
Metal Mining and the Environment Booklet
On a related note, AIPG members may be interested in a newly released
booklet, Metal Mining and the Environment, that addresses the environmental
impacts of mining metals as well as the scientific and technological advances
that modern miners use to prevent or reduce potential environmental impacts.
It is published by AGI in cooperation with the Society of Economic Geologists,
the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., and the U.S.
Geological Survey with the support of the AGI Foundation. Part of
AGI's Environmental Awareness series, it is available at (http://www.agiweb.org/pubs/pubdetail.html?item=604002).
Also of possible interest is a legislative update on Mining Law issues
in the 106th Congress available on the AGI Government Affairs website (http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/miningup99.html).
This article is reprinted with permission from The Professional Geologist, published by the American Institute of Professional Geologists. AGI gratefully acknowledges that permission.
Please send any comments or requests for information to the AGI Government Affairs Program.
Contributed by John Dragonetti, AGI Government Affairs.
Posted June 7, 2000
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