All Articles
Legislative and Regulatory Update
September 2006 by Scott Harn
• Roadless Rule
The Bush administration had the right to overturn a ban on road construction in portions of national forests, but may have needed to weigh possible environmental effects at the same time, a federal judge said.
US District Judge Elizabeth Laporte said the Forest Service appeared to be “on solid ground” last year when it reversed Clinton’s Roadless Rule.
But she questioned whether the agency violated federal law by skipping environmental studies—the heart of two lawsuits brought by 20 environmental groups and the states of California, Oregon, New Mexico and Washington. The cases have since been consolidated.
Laporte said she did not know when she would issue a final decision.
The legal dispute stems from the Clinton-era rule that prohibited logging, mining and other development on 58.5 million acres of forestland in 38 states and Puerto Rico.
Timber companies dependent on national forest land and some western states challenged the Clinton rule, and the Bush administration, in May 2005, replaced it with a voluntary state-by-state petition process.
• Eastern Oregon miners forced out of water
A federal judge has ordered that gold mining operations along the North Fork of the Burnt River in Baker County, Oregon, be suspended.
Environmentalists had filed a lawsuit against the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, claiming that allowing mining in this area violated the Clean Water Act.
Judge Papak agreed. “The Forest Service may not ignore or defer its responsibility to remedy existing water pollution in the project area based on a misguided notion that the right to mine trumps federal and state environmental laws,” wrote Judge Papak.
Key to the lawsuit were claims that the North Fork of the Burnt River and two of its tributaries do not meet federal water quality standards for temperature and clarity.
A total of 49 known mining operations are affected by the ruling.
• Colorado city pushes for more regulations
Environmentalists in Grand Junction, Colorado, have gathered enough signatures for a ballot measure in that city that could create additional regulations for public land users. The sponsors hope to limit the areas open to exploration, and create their own water quality and monitoring standards.
The Grand Junction City Council will decide either to pass its own version of the proposal or place it on the November ballot.
Some local residents were upset that federal oil and gas leases were sold in areas that supply drinking water to the city. The Bureau of Land Management had already agreed to suspend development of leases for one year to address residents’ concerns.
The ballot proposal would apply to logging, mining, oil and gas development, and cattle operations.
• Kensington project moves forward
US District Judge James Singleton dismissed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s approval of the Kensington Mine’s plan to dispose of waste rock into Alaska’s Lower Slate Lake.
The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and the Sierra Club are expected to appeal to the 9th Circuit.
Construction continues on the Kensington Mine, operated by Coeur Alaska, a subsidiary of Coeur d’Alene Mines of Idaho. The company hopes to open the mine in 2007, and currently employs about 300 workers. 
Cartwrights Celebrate 40 Years in Nevada
by Ron James
State Historic Preservation Officer
Fields of Gold
Imagine being able to get gold from plants. This phenomenon is called phytomining. But it’s not as easy, or as profitable, as it sounds. You may have heard of phytoremediation—the process of extracting metal contaminants from soil.
Welcome to Nothing
…a small part of Buddy‘s business was the half-dozen or so “miners” down the bad, single-lane road behind Nothing. I was told that there was more partying and drinking than mining at these claims, though.
Melman on Gold & Silver
To say that the international environmental community took exception to President Trump’s decision to remove America from the 2016 Paris Accord would be an understatement of enormous proportions.
The Bawl Mill
- “Pensions before Honesty. Great slogan.”
- An untimely death…
Mineralized Calderas in Colorado
A caldera is a large circular volcanic depression caused by collapse due to the removal of molten magma from an underlying magma chamber. The removal of magma is due to explosive venting of lava and pyroclastic material.
BLM Swindles War Hero Out of Gold Mine
The Purple Heart license plates on Oliver Gregerson’s car inspire respect from everyone, except employees of the federal government. Oliver Gregerson says he has indisputable videotape evidence that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is guilty of criminal conspiracy and fraud, and he is taking them to federal court to prove it.
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The Bawl Mill
• The Yukon-Klondike Goldfields—Part I
• New Mine from Century-Old Gold-Silver Bonanza
• Solar Powered Placer Equipment
• The Treasure Detective—Part III
• Countries Want More Concessions From Miners
• New Interim Rules For Washington Miners
• Detecting for Possible Mid-Range Eluvial Gold
• Melman on Gold & Silver
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