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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2007
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Contact: Zach Goldberg
202-225-5801 (office) |
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HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE APPROVES HOLT AMENDMENT TO PROTECT NATIONAL PARKS FROM HARMFUL MINING ACTIVITIES
Holt Amendment would restrict mining detrimental to National Parks,
Monuments and other treasured lands
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(Washington, DC) – Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today successfully introduced an amendment to the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act (H.R. 2262) that would restrict mining activities that would damage National Parks and Monuments. Holt’s amendment, introduced with Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington and approved by the House Natural Resources Committee, requires the Secretary of the Interior to carefully consider the impact of mining activity on National Parks and Monuments before approving mining permits. Metal mining is the leading source of toxic pollution in the United States, according to the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory. The Committee later passed the historic legislation, which would reform hard rock mining laws for the first time since 1878.
“This is a vital protection for our most treasured lands and an important way to prevent taxpayers from being forced to spend millions of dollars to clean up damages to park lands and resources,” Holt said. “I am pleased that the Committee recognized this and ensured new oversight before any mine is permitted that would harm the natural, cultural, and scientific features that make our National Parks and Monuments unique.”
According to data from the Bureau of Land Management, in July 2007 there were about 8,300 mining claims within 10 miles of National Parks and about 5,000 claims within 10 miles of National Monuments. Thousands of mining claims have been made in close proximity to Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Arches National Park in Utah, and Death Valley National Park and Sequoia National Monument in California. Claims near National Parks and Monuments represent less than 2 percent of all mining claims in the U.S, and Holt’s amendment would not affect the hundreds of thousands of remaining mining claims.
“These are some of our nation’s most beautiful and valued lands,” Holt added. “Given the potential magnitude of mining damages, we should do all we can to provide the necessary safeguards to ensure that future generations can enjoy them as well.”
Under current federal law, land managers are unable to prevent mining once a claim is staked. As a result, land managers either have to allow mining to proceed and risk disastrous pollution problems or take costly measures such as when land managers paid $65 million in 1996 to buy out patented claims near Yellowstone National Park.
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