Posted on 11/03/2007 9:00:40 AM PDT by george76
Measure passed in U.S. House aims to protect environment.
A measure that would amend the General Mining Law of 1872 to establish environmental protections and eliminate land patenting passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.
Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo, voted with the 244-166 majority and hailed the legislation for its environmental protections and reclamation requirements on hard-rock mining.
“I have heard from constituents in Crested Butte, the Summitville area, and throughout Colorado who want to protect our precious water resources,” said Salazar, whose 3rd Congressional District includes most of the Western Slope. “After 135 years, I am glad the House has finally decided to act.”
President Bush, however, has said he will veto the measure if it reaches his desk.
Sporting associations including Sportsmen United for Sensible Mining, the National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, welcomed the vote.
The National Mining Association opposed the measure, saying it would impose punitive taxes on industry and drive jobs out of the country.
One Colorado-specific feature of the bill would be the codification of the Clinton administration roadless rule, Colorado Mining Association President Stuart Sanderson said.
The provision would “shut down coal mining in Colorado,” ...
(Excerpt) Read more at gjsentinel.com ...
What effect, if any, would this have on oil and gas drilling on Federal Leases?
I can just see the ecowhackos buggering that up even more.
True, but think how helpful they'll be to Chinese coal. Once the Democrats with their Commie/Environmental whackos manage to shut down our mining, we'll be forced to import coal to make electricity and we'll export whatever manufacturing jobs are left in mining here. They see all those hundreds of years of coal we have here as standing in the way of their future plan of having us live in caves eating berries again.
Not sure exactly, but liberals would love to stop this too...
What effect, if any, would this have on oil and gas drilling on Federal Leases?
No one noticed this? Do some research on land patents and then ask yourself why they would wish to eliminate it...
Nothing beneficial to leaseholders or conducive to more production, you can be quite certain.
There’s a bumper sticker that I used to see plastered to the belongings and facilities of mining/mineral engineering students and professors in college. It said something like “If you can’t grow it, you gotta mine it!” And it’s literally true; besides air and water, every product that you ever buy ultimately derives from some combination of mineral ores and agricultural crops. You cannot oppose mining on its face without sending us back to the Stone Age. Oops, where do we get stones without extracting them from the lithosphere? I guess we have to go even further back beyond the Stone Age. Ouch.
How about simply giving away vast tracts of public lands to just anyone who wants them? Sure, the environmentalists will pick up a few, but so will miners and oil-drillers and ranchers and ordinary Americans. Who ever said that the government was particularly proficient at managing land? Karl Marx perhaps but he never got citizenship. Distinguished members of Congress can manage public lands to finance and ensure their reelections.
couldn't agree more.........
Liberals think that we just need ‘peace’ ...to live.
“Closing public lands will increase our energy costs when coal mines are closed...”
I wonder if any foreign energy companies spread any money around on Capitol Hill?
Of course this also sounds suspiciously like part of the UN plan to turn the U.S. into a giant nature preserve.
Call me crazy.
The first line of my post was “we need mines”. that should have made it clear that i wasn’t opposed to closing anything. My only point was that getting the use of govt lands should pay the same as those renting similar grazing lands from the public or paying royalties on minerals.
Why not, far too many in the US want to do that to Alaska. And have succeeded with over 100 million acres. Insanity.
bookmark
Yes. This is supremely important. Without a patent land is not owned, just occupied under color of title at the whim of government.
Now consider this nightmare: If the United States ever has to redeem its worthless Federal Reserve Notes with something tangible, it is quite likely land will be given away no matter who thinks he “owns” it.
Remember, you only own the land if you have the patent. The government has been keeping the patent to most land for quite some time and transferring deed to that land under color of title, not patent. Plus, Eminent Domain is now being unconstitutionally used to steal land at any unit of government’s convenience for any purpose.
Property Rights are fundamental to the formation of this country. And they are just about gone. Eliminating land patenting is just one more step in that direction.
Arizona - 11,368
To add just a footnote, the mining industry in the USA has already been drastically reduced by the EPA and other government regulations, cheap foreign competition, fluctuating metals market, labor costs, etc. In Arizona alone, the company I worked for alone, Magma, employed 7,000 in 1982. It is out of business and its mines either closed or with drastically reduced production and employment. All to the delight of the environmentalists.
Grrrrr
The Mining Law is still a major source of annoyance to those who want to develop mineral resources if they are little family businesses. If they are Anaconda or BP they are happy as clams.
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