skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Bingaman to Tackle Mining Update in the Senate

play audio
Play

Monday, February 25, 2008   

Albuquerque, NM – Today's hardrock mining law, which includes uranium mining, is 135 years old. Many consider an update long overdue, and the effort to reform the law has moved to the U.S. Senate. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee, led by New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman, is soon expected to release its version of the bill.

Jane Danowitz, with the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining, says New Mexico is one of the states hardest hit by pollution from abandoned mine sites. The legislation would charge royalties to companies taking resources from public lands, using some of the money to help pay for cleanup.

"It's important to remember that these international corporations are still allowed to take precious resources from U.S. public land without compensating taxpayers."

The royalties would be similar to what coal, gas, and oil companies pay; opponents argue the proposed royalty amounts are too high.

Jeremy Vesbach, with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, believes updating the federal law is especially important here in New Mexico, where another uranium mining boom is just getting underway.

"We've been called 'the Saudi Arabia of uranium mining' by USA Today, and it makes sense to get ahead of this boom and make sure that we can deny a claim to, for instance, protect our water supplies. Under current law, if a mine is staked on public lands, you can't say no."

Danowitz says the original mining law of 1872 may have been prudent legislation in the late 1800s, but times certainly have changed.

"When the law was passed, it applied mainly to lone prospectors with pack mules. Today, it's a modern mining industry recording record profits."

The U.S. House has already passed its version of the "Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act," HR 2262.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021