Bill Would Provide Responsible Mining

The state wants to make sure that any company that opens a new mine takes responsibility for cleanup after the mine closes.

The Idaho Department of Water Resources proposed legislation that would put into law a long-standing rule providing assurance that the state won’t have to clean up after mines. The House Resources committee agreed Thursday to introduce the bill.

The rule requires mines to take out a bond in the amount that it would cost to reclaim the area, said Bob Fleenor, chief of the Resource Protection Bureau. “The hope is that mines will be responsible and clean up the tailings themselves.”

The measure already is in effect and has been since the department took over regulation of tailing dams. The mining industry has had no objections thus far to the rule.

“We just decided it was time to put it into law,” Fleenor said.

The committee will rule on it at a later date, after holding a hearing.