Legislation & Regulation
Legislative and Regulatory Update
March 2019 by Scott Harn
• Massive 660-page lands bill passed in the Senate
Senate Bill 47 (S47), the Natural Resources Management Act, introduced by Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska), was chock full of land conveyances, mineral withdrawals, park boundary adjustments, and gifts to various Senators to get their support. Our biggest concern is that it included permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is the primary vehicle used by the federal government to place more public lands off-limits to mining.
Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced an amendment in an attempt to limit authorization of the LWCF to a period of four years.
In support of the LWCF limits, Senator Lee stated, “...the program has regrettably drifted far from its original intent and has become rife with abuse.
“Indeed, the Land and Water Conservation Fund—or LWCF, as it is often described—has instead been used as a primary tool for more Federal land acquisition rather than to actually help people access or to help the government care for the land we already manage.”
Senator Lee also noted the federal government currently administers 640 million acres and there is an $18.5 billion maintenance backlog on federal lands.
Senator Lee’s amendment was defeated by a vote of 68 to 30.
S47 received a full, recorded vote on February 12, and it passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 92-8. The eight Senators who voted against the bill were Cruz (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), Johnson (R-WI), Lankford (R-OK), Lee (R-UT), Paul (R-KY), Sasse (R-NE), and Toomey (R-PA).
The bill now awaits consideration in the House.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
- Oregon miners to petition for US Supreme Court review
- Two executive orders to reign in federal agencies
- Petition for Joshua tree as a threatened species
Modern-Day Claim Jumping
We soon found that our discovery post and other claim markers were gone and replaced with new posts and a notice of location with an earlier date than had been on our notice of location.
Legislative and Regulatory Update
- Property rights advocate in running for top BLM spot
- “Draining the swamp” at Interior
EPA Tries to Intimidate Alaskan Miners
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell has ordered an investigation of the recent raids, saying he will not tolerate a state agency's participation in the sort of conduct displayed.
Mining Community Loses A Great Leader: Gerald "Jerry" Hobbs
He certainly wasn’t afraid of a fight or a court battle, and he didn’t back away from calling out those who tried to compromise the rights of miners.
The Disappearance of State Mining Departments
Unfortunately, mining is politically unpopular and support of the mining industry, no matter how many jobs it brings to a state, even in times of difficult financial need, is never popular among politicians of any stripe.
SB 838 and the Future of Mining in Oregon
The verbage is SB 838 is vague and ambiguous to say the least. As a result, there is quite a bit of misinformation floating around the rumor mills.
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