Go here to see a video of Chairman Rahall responding to an amendment proposed by Representative Pearce during consideration of the mining reform legislation. The Chairman states, “I see no reason – no reason whatsoever – why good public land law should be linked to Gross National Product.” Pearce resonded, " “Frankly, I find that position highly irresponsible. Of course, public policy has an affect on the economy. Hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of investment could be lost to countries like China and India.”

Hope no one out there needs a job.

Making Gold Miners Pay For 135 years, the mines have taken wealth out of the public domain under the protection of the General Mining Law — a let-'er-rip relic of the wild frontier past that allows mines to stake claims on almost any federal land. Since the law's enactment in 1872, the U.S. government has given away more than $245 billion in mineral reserves through patenting or royalty-free mining, says Rep. Nick Rahall, the West Virginia Democrat who is behind the new bill. Compare that, he says, to the $35 billion the Treasury has reaped from coal, oil and gas produced on federal lands between 1994 and 2001 alone. "So with that scenario," says Rahall, "we are indeed Uncle Sucker." Rahall's bill would require companies to make royalty payments on "net-smelter" profits from ore mined off federal claims. Two-thirds of those collections would go toward remediation of the $32 billion in environmental mining damage already incurred in the U.S., and one-third to help local communities adversely affected by mining operations. Though his original bill called for an 8% royalty (in contrast, companies that lease federal lands to produce crude oil, natural gas and surface-mined coal pay the government a royalty of 12.5% of the current market value of the commodity), in a recent amendment, Rahall suggested restricting the fee to new mines, and exempting existing mining operations — a move that frustrated environmental groups. After a committee vote taken last Thursday, the bill would instead oblige existing mines to pay lower royalties of 4%; new mines, 8%....
Key House Committee Passes Mining Law Rewrite A key House committee has passed legislation rewriting the antiquated General Mining Law of 1872 to impose the first federal royalties on hard-rock mining. The bill passed the House Natural Resources Committee on a vote of 23-15 and now goes to the full House. It would impose royalties of 4 percent of gross revenue on existing hard-rock mining operations, and royalties of 8 percent of gross revenue on new mining operations. The mining industry says the royalties are too high, but the committee rejected an amendment by Congressman Dean Heller of Nevada -- the nation's biggest gold-mining state -- to impose a lower amount. The legislation is opposed by the Bush administration. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada opposes royalties for existing mining operations and says he's working on his own bill.
Company hoping to mine uranium A Casper firm seeking to mine uranium deposits in Campbell County expects to file state and federal permits by the end of the year and perhaps begin production by 2011. "We're hoping to get a permit to construct and operate an in situ recovery uranium permit," Glenn Catchpole, president and CEO of Uranerz Energy Corp., said. "We'd employ between 60 and 70 people." Uranerz is one of two companies expected to file permits with the state Department of Environmental Quality in the coming weeks for operations in Campbell County. Energy Metals, a subsidiary of Uranium One, has already filed a permit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build an in situ recovery facility in Campbell County. "In situ" means that the ore would be processed on the site. Both projects would inject water and chemicals into rock formations to extract uranium from what are known by geologists as "roll fronts" of uranium. Roll fronts are essentially small deposits of uranium left behind by underground streams over millions of years, said Paul Michalak, a project manager for uranium recovery licensing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The in situ process brings the uranium out of ore deposits in concentrated forms that can be sold to power producers....
Wilderness vs. energy: battle brews over pipeline A proposal to build a pipeline through 8.3 miles of inventoried roadless areas is spawning a battle that cuts to the heart of the conflict between wilderness campaigns and America’s energy industry. Environmental and hunting groups have teamed up to oppose a proposed pipeline that would cut a permanent 50-foot swath through three roadless areas, Clear Creek, Bald Mountain and East Willow, all southwest of Carbondale in the White River National Forest and Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison National Forests. Roadless areas are the necessary precursor to wilderness designation by Congress, a goal of some of the environmental groups that argue that building a new pipeline would be illegal under what is known as the Clinton rule, a law against building new roads in inventoried roadless areas. “The Clinton roadless rule prohibits the construction of roads even if they are temporary,” said Sloan Shoemaker, executive director of the Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop. “Not only is it illegal, it’s bad landscape ecology planning. You don’t bifurcate large wildlife corridors with disturbances like this.” The joint proposal for the 25.5 mile pipeline comes from a Dallas company, SG Interests and Gunnison Energy, a subsidiary of the Oxbow Corporation. “The pipeline right-of-way is not a road, it is considered a right-of-way,” said Brad Robinson, president of Gunnison Energy....
Canary in the coal industry The stunning rejection last week of a proposed coal-fired power plant by Kansas regulators was a watershed moment. And it's not just because it's the first time a plant was nixed solely because of the greenhouse gases it was projected to emit. The rejection crystallizes the very difficult choices that will have to be made as the world attempts to wean itself of cheap coal-fired electricity and get a handle on carbon dioxide emissions. In Colorado, we'll have a front-row seat to the drama. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, based in Westminster, is a partner in the $3.6 billion Kansas project that was denied. The electrical cooperative was counting on power from the project in Holcomb, Kan., to play a big role during the next two decades in providing power for its members, which include 19 systems in Colorado. The electricity generated by the coal-fired plants would have provided energy for rural Colorado, where a large portion of users are industrial or agricultural. That's important because while residential users tend to push up use at key times, like late afternoon, commercial customers have a more steady demand....
Panel Urges Global Shift on Sources of Energy Energy experts convened by the world’s scientific academies yesterday urged nations to shift swiftly away from coal and other fuels that are the main source of climate-warming greenhouse gases and to provide new energy options for the two billion people who still mostly cook in the dark on wood or dung fires. In a report commissioned by the governments of China and Brazil, the 15 experts called for, at a minimum, a doubling of both public and private energy research budgets and a firm — and rising — price on emissions of greenhouse gases to encourage a shift in investments toward cleaner or more efficient technologies. The report, “Lighting the Way — Toward a Sustainable Energy Future,” was posted online at www.interacademycouncil.net by the InterAcademy Council, a group representing the world’s 150 scientific and engineering academies. Bruce M. Alberts, a former president of the United States National Academy of Sciences and a co-chairman of the InterAcademy Council, said the independent academies would now press the case for their proposals with their respective governments....