All Articles
Legislative and Regulatory Update
April 2001 by Scott Harn
The Bureau of Land Management has proposed a rule to substantially increase fees for all document filings related to mining (see chart). BLM says these increases are going to allow them to recover costs associated with processing documents.
BLM recommends that the Notice of Location fee be increased from $10.00 to $15.00, and all other categories are proposed to at least double.
The fee for filing a protest would go from $10.00 to $50.00. Filing for an extension of a prospecting permit was free, but they propose charging $80.00. Adverse claim filings would increase from $10.00 to $80.00, an increase of 800%.
The comment period expires on April 16, 2001. Please get your comments in before the deadline.
Address email comments to: WOComment@blm.gov and place “AC64” in the subject field to identify the regulation you are commenting on.
Mail comments to: BLM, Administrative Record, Room 401 LS, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.
You can view the entire document at www.blm.gov by clicking on the appropriate regulation, or going to: www.blm.gov/nhp/news/regulatory/ 3000_gp/3000etal.html
• Jumping frog wins federal habitat protection
The California red-legged frog won critical habitat designation on more than 4 million acres of the state.
The red-legged frog already was listed as “threatened,” but the new designation by the US Fish & Wildlife Service exposes developers to greater federal scrutiny by mapping out where frog populations live or could recover.
The government developed the habitat plan after environmental groups successfully sued, claiming the government had to declare a critical habitat for any species protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, said they were pleased with the ruling but were disappointed parts of the Sierra Nevada—including Calaveras County where Mark Twain set his classic tale “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”—were not protected.
Even though the frogs have only been found in four areas, the US Fish & Wildlife Service has designated parts of 28 counties as critical habitat. The agency could try to place restrictions on mining and development even if no frogs live in the area.
David Smith, general counsel for the Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation, stated, “We still have grave concerns about it. Because the (Fish and Wildlife) Service blurs the line and treats unoccupied habitat like occupied, land that should be free of regulation is inappropriately pulled in.”
• NMA challenges “midnight” water regulation
The National Mining Association petitioned a federal court to overturn stringent new arsenic drinking water regulations issued in the final days of the Clinton Administration.
The new rules, published the day after President Clinton left office, were in spite of congressional efforts to have the Environmental Protection Agency develop better scientific evidence on the risks of arsenic in water.
NMA’s comments said that while the mining industry supports the goals of the Safe Drinking Water Act and agrees it is essential to ensure the safety of our water supply, it is also critical that there be a basis of sound science and consideration of the benefits and costs that Americans will experience.
The acceptable level of arsenic in drinking water was 50 parts per billion (ppb). EPA’s new standard would reduce the acceptable level by 80 percent, well below levels that often occur naturally in water supplies.
“The final rule was a political decision and is not supported by science,” NMA said. “EPA itself admitted it was ‘unable to specify a safe threshold level’ and EPA’s own Science Advisory Board criticized the proposed rule as unjustified by the evidence and prohibitively expensive.”
© ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal, CMJ Inc.
Additional articles that might interest you...
International Wayside Resurrects Gold Rush in British Columbia
November 2006
Gold rushes are the stuff of legends. Who can read Jack London’s stories of the Klondike or hear the fabulous tales of the California Gold Rush of 1849 without their heart beating just a bit faster? But there was also a third gold rush, just as dynamic...
Gold rushes are the stuff of legends. Who can read Jack London’s stories of the Klondike or hear the fabulous tales of the California Gold Rush of 1849 without their heart beating just a bit faster? But there was also a third gold rush, just as dynamic...
Who Says You Have to Own a Claim to Find Gold?
April 2012
Most of us know making a profit as a small-scale miner is difficult; however, sometimes we combine luck with a little skill and bring home a few ounces of the yellow stuff.
Most of us know making a profit as a small-scale miner is difficult; however, sometimes we combine luck with a little skill and bring home a few ounces of the yellow stuff.
PLP President Intervenes on Behalf of Dredgers
February 2006
Jerry Hobbs, president of Public Lands for the People, is taking action to prevent undue restrictions on miners utilizing suction dredges in California.
Jerry Hobbs, president of Public Lands for the People, is taking action to prevent undue restrictions on miners utilizing suction dredges in California.
A Prospecting Adventure in Mexico
July 2017
There you’re expected to be personally responsible in making decisions, and yes, it can be costly. When you are responsible for your own life, you live life more, and with it you certainly risk more.
Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
January 2014
Conrey Dredge No. 4—Part II
December 2017
These were the men who periodically picked up the gold amalgam from the tables and sluices in the dredge, processed it, and transported the gold ingots to the railroad express office in Alder. Their trustworthiness must have commanded a prominent wage.
Gold of the Iditarod Mining District, Alaska
March 2014
It was the middle of winter and the valley was covered in snow, making prospecting a matter of sinking shafts in the ground.
It was the middle of winter and the valley was covered in snow, making prospecting a matter of sinking shafts in the ground.
Subscription Required:
The Bawl Mill
• Our Readers Say
• Gold & Fish in Washington
• Original Sixteen to One Goes to Court—Challenges MSHA Citations
• The Great Gold Rush of Nome, Alaska
• Picks & Pans: Red Mountain Planted Nugget Hunt
• Silver at Calico, California
• The South Pass Gold Placers, Western Wyoming
• Discovery of the Silver Bullets
• Tonopah Historic Mining Park
• Melman on Gold & Silver
• Mining Stock Quotes and Mineral & Metal Prices
• Mine Forced to Pay for Grizzly Habitat and More
Free:
