Ohio Could be an Objective Voice in Western Mining Debate
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September 2, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio could be an objective voice in a national debate out West. Congress is considering reform of the 1872 Mining Law to provide modern environmental and taxpayer protections similar to those already in place for coal mining in Ohio and across the country, including payment of royalties and of clean-up fees.
Tom Bullock, Ohio spokesman for the Pew Environment Group, says those standards are not in place for hardrock mining on nationally owned land.
"Talk about a rip-off to the U.S. taxpayers by some companies, and frequently they are foreign-owned companies, coming in extracting American wealth that Ohioans own just as much as anybody else, and sticking us with the clean-up tab. It just doesn't make sense."
More than six billion dollars in royalty fees were collected from coal mining between 1920 and 2000, but not one cent for gold, copper or uranium mining on federal land. But the issue isn't all about the money; Bullock says these lands hold a national value.
"All of us - every Buckeye - would imagine taking their kids and family members out to see great sites like Old Faithful and Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, and those areas are appropriately preserved in trust and shouldn't be spoiled."
According to Pew Environment, cleanup of well over a century's hardrock mining on public lands would cost an estimated 50 billion dollars. Those against the reform say the proposed royalties are too high and would be a burden on mining communities already struggling to get by. But those in favor say the fees are in line with what other industries pay when taking resources off public land.
Reform of the 1872 mining law has been attempted almost since it first passed, but has always been blocked by lawmakers from Western states with extensive mining industries.