NWMA opposes amendments

The Northwest Mining Association (NWMA) is urging U.S. mining companies to oppose recommended changes to regulations governing hardrock mining on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The NWMA says the proposed changes would duplicate, and in some cases supersede, state regulatory programs.

The proposed changes are the recommendations of a task force set up in January 1998 and were announced in February of this year

by Bruce Babbitt, secretary of the interior.

The task force recommended subjecting the industry to environmental performance standards, and requiring all operations, including small-scale miners, to post financial guarantees equal to the cost of reclamation. Also, mining companies would be required to obtain approval from the BLM for mining and reclamation plans.

However, the NWMA’s executive director, Laura Skaer, believes the proposed changes would result in no appreciable improvement in environmental protection and, moreover, that they would slow down the permitting stage.

In the eyes of the NWMA, existing regulations have proved effective in preventing undue degradation to the environment and any changes should be done within the framework of those regulations.

A public comment period extends through May, and the proposals, if passed, will come into effect at the end of September.

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