skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

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

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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.

Report Puts Billion Dollar Price Tag on Mining Law "Inaction"

play audio
Play

Wednesday, January 28, 2009   

Las Vegas, NV – It's hardly news to people in Nevada that the mining industry is doing business under a very old set of rules - but now there is a billion dollar price tag being placed on that state of affairs. Velma Smith is manager of the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining, which just released a report on the cost of mining subsidies to taxpayers. She says the mining law needs to be updated, because the nation can't afford to ignore a $1.6 billion stream of untapped revenues over the next 10 years.

"Certainly now that the country is going to have to make hard decisions about spending, you know where we put our money, and trying to get people back to work — it's just way past time to do this. "

On Tuesday a measure to update the 1872 Hardrock Mining law and create royalties for the industry was introduced in the U.S. House. Mining companies agree that some royalty payments would be fair, but they oppose other fees and loss of industry tax breaks in the proposal. The measure is called the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009

Smith says right now taxpayers are losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in fees that other industries normally pay for cleanup. She says coal companies pay to help clean up abandoned mines, and the laws need to be changed so that other kinds of mining companies pay those costs as well.

"There are so many sites where we can use these funds to go in and do cleanup and reclamation, and treating water; we can employ people cleaning up from the past."

The mining industry opposes payment of reclamation fees. An identical bill to update the mining law passed by a wide margin in the House last year, but the Senate did not take up the measure. Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has said he is interested in addressing the mining reform issue.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


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…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

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