Lay the Reckless 1872 Mining Law to Rest!
- by: Earthworks
- recipient: US House of Representatives
The 1872 Mining Law was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant - before women could vote, before the invention of the light bulb, before environmental protection was even a consideration.
Urge your Representative to cosponsor the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 (HR2262). Sign today!
It’s past time the 19th century mining law caught up with 21st Century.
The 135-year-old mining law still in place today:
- Pollutes clean water.
It contains no environmental protection provisions. Because of the reckless law, mining has polluted 40 percent of the headwaters of western watersheds. - Puts special places at risk.
A U.S. Forest Supervisor claims that because of the 1872 Mining Law, he can't deny a mine proposed directly beneath a declared wilderness area. - Rips off taxpayers.
Since 1872, the mining law has forced taxpayers to give away more than $245 billion in publicly owned minerals.
House Natural Resources Committee Chair Nick Rahall and Jim Costa, Energy and Minerals Subcommittee Chair, introduced a mining reform bill that would fix these problems and more.
Dear [Decision maker],
Please cosponsor HR 2262, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007.
The Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Nick Rahall, introduced the bill on the 135th birthday of the 1872 Mining Law. HR 2262 bill would comprehensively reform the mining law, which governs hardrock minerals like gold, copper and uranium.
The 1872 Mining Law is a law whose time has come and gone. It was passed to encourage the settlement and development of the western United States. The west is settled. Now we need mining reform to protect the people who settled there.
Everyone in the U.S., whether residing in the west or not, needs protection from the 1872 Mining Law. Consider:
- It costs us billions of dollars.
More than 245 billion dollars in publicly owned minerals have been given away without royalty since 1872. In contrast, gas and coal industries pay anywhere from 8 to 12.5% of the value of minerals they take from public land.
- It pollutes clean water.
As a result, EPA estimates that 40% of the headwaters of western watersheds are polluted by mining.
- It put special places at risk.
Got a favorite vacation spot? Hope there aren't minerals upstream from it. Federal land managers refuse to deny mines that could harm special places (like Wildernesses, or National Parks), citing the 1872 Mining Law.
Chairman's Rahall bill simply brings a 19th century law into the 21st... a task at least 107 years overdue.
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