A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 13, 2008
3. Watersheds
DELTA ISSUES:
Letters to the Editor: Biggest threat to Delta: time - Stockton Record
MINING IN THE WEST:
Bill aims to seal up old mines; Feinstein seeks fund - San Bernardino Sun
The new West: Mine claims crowd booming cities Mining industry, still regulated by 1872 law, is nation's top polluter - YubaNet.com
DELTA ISSUES:
Letters to the Editor: Biggest threat to Delta: time
By Lester Snow, DWR Director
The editorial "Ditch the canal. Again" (Monday) fails to explain the enormity of the problem facing our Delta. If steps are not taken immediately to improve fisheries and other wildlife habitat, water quality, levees and water systems, we will be faced with an irreversible ecosystem collapse.
That's why Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in coordination with the Legislature, last year created the Delta Vision Task Force, whose December report outlined several actions that could be taken now to protect the Delta. One such action is to rapidly pursue improvements to the water conveyance system in the Delta. Responsible and thoughtful planning must include an exploration of alternatives to current Delta conveyance.
Unlike in 1982, there is now consensus for a comprehensive water solution, with supporters from the environmental community, agriculture, business, labor, water agencies and local governments all calling for bold action.
The biggest enemy is time, and status quo in the Delta is simply unacceptable. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/A_OPINION02/803130316/-1/A_OPINION
MINING IN THE WEST:
Bill aims to seal up old mines; Feinstein seeks fund
By Robert Rogers, staff writer
Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill on Wednesday that proposes establishing a fund to clean and secure abandoned mining sites.
According to a news release from Feinstein's office, 12,220 abandoned mines dot
The bill, titled "The Abandoned Mine Reclamation Act of 2008," would direct the secretary of the interior to develop an inventory of abandoned mines nationwide and establish priorities for where cleanup monies would be used initially.
The funds would come from fees on mining companies.
Feinstein's bill, which estimates that more than 500,000 abandoned mines pockmark the United States, including 47,000 in California, will go before a Senate committee.
"Abandoned mines in California and across the country pose a serious threat to public safety and health," Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement from her office in Washington, D.C. "Minerals from the mines have already begun to pollute our drinking water, crops and fish. ... It's clear that something must be done to clean up these hazardous mines."
Abandoned mines have become a growing nuisance with population and development growth in the county.
Many of the excavation sites were dug in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the wide-open land and industry weren't subject to regulation, said John Dearing, U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman.
The bureau oversees 15.6 million acres statewide, including 6.1 million in
"She's absolutely correct," Dearing said of Feinstein's claims that mines pose safety and environmental hazards.
Arsenic and other pollutants used for mineral and metal excavation are known to seep into water sources, he said.
As for mapping all the mines nationwide, Dearing said the BLM does not have the resources to undertake such a job but would welcome the chance and tools to do so.
"To go out there and comb the land for all the sites ... that's something we would support," he said.
Scott Gerber, a Feinstein spokesman, said introducing the bill was a key first step.
"We're hopeful that the concepts in this bill become law," Gerber said. "The concept of federal funds toward the cleanup of abandoned mines."
Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said
But he also said he was concerned about legislation that levies fees on the mining industry that employs about 2,500 people in the county.
"I think Sen. Feinstein has the right goal in mind, but I'm concerned about the possibility of fees impacting one of our county's key industries," he said. #
http://www.sbsun.com/search/ci_8554415?IADID=Search-www.sbsun.com-www.sbsun.com
The new West: Mine claims crowd booming cities Mining industry, still regulated by 1872 law, is nation's top polluter
YubaNet.com – 3/11/08
By Environmental Working Group (EWG)
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2008 -- Soaring prices for gold, copper, and uranium have sparked an explosion of mining claims that are encroaching on booming cities, sprawling suburbs, small towns and rural recreation havens throughout the western United States, according to a new analysis of federal records.
At a telebriefing today with the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining, Environmental Working Group (EWG) released an analysis of the most recent data from the Bureau of Land Management and found that metal mining claims within 5 miles of cities and towns throughout the West jumped from 35,350 to more than 51,000 between 2003 and 2008: an increase of more than 46 percent.
Interactive Google maps showing all active claims near Western cities and towns are available at: www.ewg.org/sites/mining_google/communities
As the Senate prepares this week to consider reform legislation, EWG's analysis shows some of the nation's largest and fastest-growing metropolitan areas are on a collision course with the mining boom.
Mining interests have staked more than 5,800 claims within five miles of residential areas in metro
In 2006, hardrock metals mining was the No. 1 source of toxic pollution in the United States, generating 1.22 billion pounds of toxic chemical waste, the majority of which was dumped into the environment near the mine. Mining has been the nation's No. 1 toxic polluter for nine straight years, ever since reporting has been required.
New claims may be good news in some mining communities, but may not be welcome or expected elsewhere. Some historic mining communities that have been transformed by the tourist and high-tech economy of the new West, may be leary of a resurgence of mining. The resort town of
As metals prices rise, it is increasingly probable that some of the 52,000 active claims will be developed into mines. This prospect is made much more likely by the nation's antiquated 1872 Mining Law, which does not provide citizens or government officials clear authority to stop a mine from being developed on valid claims, regardless of the importance of the area for other uses or the potential impacts of the mining operation. Until federal mining law is amended, the only sure option for protection in such instances has been the buyout of claims.
"The pressures of global markets have already pushed uranium mining along the rim of the
"The only way to make sure people in communities across the west are protected from looming large scale mining operations is for Congress to overhaul the nation's antiquated federal mining law."
The report, released in conjunction with the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining, documents the reach of the current mining boom as momentum for mining reform is building in Congress. Last fall, the House passed a comprehensive reform bill authored by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall of
"Hardrock mining has real and measurable impacts across the West," said Jane Danowitz, Director of the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining. "The Senate should act quickly to put us on a new path where mining is balanced with other uses of public lands and western communities have a meaningful voice in protecting their surroundings." #
http://yubanet.com/usa/The-new-West-Mine-claims-crowd-booming-cities.php
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