Hard Rock Mining Council of Environmental Quality Written by David Sheridan For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Stock No. 041-011-00034-3 Engin 7-31-78 Preface In his Environmental Message to Congress, President Carter called for major reform of the federal law governing hard rock mining on the public lands. The President noted that the Mining Law of 1872 is "outdated and inadequate" because it fails to set forth clear authority for establishing environmental standards, ignores the need for balanced management of resources, and does not require payment to the public treasury for the development of public resources. Accordingly, the President proposed replacing the Mining Law of 1872 with new legislation. The Secretary of Interior submitted such a bill to the Congress in September 1977. The Council on Environmental Quality sponsored this report, Hard Rock Mining on the Public Land, to enrich the public debate on the Mining Law of 1872. The report's purpose is to penetrate the myths and misconceptions which so often surround the subject of hard rock mining and to provide citizens and the Congress with an accurate, up-to-date synthesis of the information and views relevant to the issue of hard rock mining on the public's land. The Mining Law of 1872 has evolved over the years through legislative, administrative, and legal actions, but, as this report shows, it remains an anachronism. The Law does promote private exploitation of the mineral wealth of the public land; indeed, that was the original and sole intent. Today, however, efficient and equitable management of public resources is more complex; it requires that mineral exploitation be considered an objective but not the objective. Other objectives which are not met under the present law are delineated in this report: -Multiple use of the public lands -Environmental protection -A fair market return to the public -Retention of public ownership -Efficient allocation of resources -Energy conservation -Competition in the mineral industry -Adequate information for public decisionmaking. Hence, reform of the 1872 Law is necessary and is long overdue. The major finding of this report is that the Law can be reformed to incorporate the objectives cited above while still providing an adequate incentive to private enterprise to explore for and mine minerals-a key factor in filling the nation's mineral needs. Charly Warren CHARLES WARREN |