Northwest Miners Sue Over Blm Rules

A Spokane-based mining group has sued Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt, claiming he blindsided the nation’s hardrock miners with unfair rules that will drive small mining companies out of business.

The 2,900-member Northwest Mining Association filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the first of eight public meetings called by Babbitt to advance long-overdue changes to the nation’s hardrock mining laws.

A 14-member task force will open the first public hearing at 1:30 p.m. at Cavanaugh’s Inn at the Park in Spokane.

The meeting will be repeated at 7 p.m. in Spokane and later in the month in Alaska, Arizona, California and Montana.

The association contends that Babbitt and Interior’s Bureau of Land Management violated the Administrative Procedure Act and other federal laws when a final rule was issued without comment to restrict exploration on public land to only large, well-financed operators.

The law, which went into effect in February, ensures that taxpayers never pay reclamation costs on public lands if a mining operator goes bust. To provide this guarantee, BLM requires operators to secure financial backing for maximum reclamation costs before exploration begins.

Prior to the change, an operator who disturbed less than five acres of public land needed only to notify BLM of the exploration activity. A bond was not required.

The association claims the rule change makes mining exploration prohibitive for small operators because projected reclamation costs can escalate into thousands of dollars.

BLM officials in Washington, D.C., could not be reached for comment on the suit.

, DataTimes