The Rosemont Mine in Pima County, after 10 years, meets the U.S. Forest Service Air and Species Standards. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still has a say concerning the issue of clean water. Our U.S. Congress enacted laws that allow for criminal abuses against mining companies who develop our mineral resources and provide some of our nation’s economic growth.
First of all, government agencies that manage the federally owned land should not be charged to examine the mining companies proposed plans to determine compliance with federal environmental laws. This authority to examine a proposed mining plan for compliance is at best an exercise in speculation of what may occur during the actual mining process. The permitting laws need only to specifically define the federal regulations the mining company must comply with. In the event during the mining activity or after completion, an actual non-compliance factually occurs, the government agency has the duty to immediately notify the U.S. Attorney General who will initiate the appropriate legal action against the mining company. Currently, there is an unreasonable public intrusion in mining companies planning and operating procedures that needs to be redirected to actual operating performance. It is none of their business for the public interest groups to second guess how mining companies ensures for environmental protection and mine safety, as performance is the only measure of compliance. This creates an unreasonable circumstance in that the mining company must answer multiple governmental agencies and every Tom, Dick and Harry that opposes private enterprise. Only one government agency should be involved in the permitting process. Their task should be to summarize all issues and designate the existing federal requirement that addresses the applicable standards.
The law that allows not-for-profit public interest groups to be reimbursed for their legal expenses is a bad law as it victimizes mining companies with fraudulent and frivolous lawsuits, and this federal funding needs to be eliminated. Further, when claims are filed against a mining company, the plaintiff should post a bond to reimburse the mining company if the claim proves to be false, as this creates costly wrongful delays and expenses for the mining company investors. Our nation’s economic health is constantly endangered by evil beliefs that mining operations are not in the public interest, and need to be terminated. Overlooked, is a significant portion of investment capital in stocks and bonds that is owned by IRA’s personal retirement plans. Interference with corporate investment hurts the life savings of the public who provide capital to develop a mine. Those advocates for the prevention in the development of our mineral resources under the guise of protecting our environment are the selfish, sinful and corrupt individuals who want to defile the enterprise that makes America great.
Blame should not be placed upon the U.S. Forest Service for the 10-year delay in approving permits for the Rosemont Mine, as our bad permitting laws gave them an impossible task. They had to cope with various not-for-profit foundations that make a profitable business by destroying mine development. Mining companies are well aware that the primitive and destructive mineral resource developments of the past were not profitable. Modern technology has made mining and refining of precious ore environmentally friendly, because it is more profitable in many ways for both the mining company and the local community. The reasons for bad mine permitting laws is the result of some lazy and incompetent elected Congressional members who feed on meaningless sound bites about saving the environment and then write and pass bad laws.
Since the 1950’s, mining and refining has dramatically changed as more can be made from less, and low grade ore can yield more valuable minerals. In the past, much of the mineral resources went up the smoke stack or was lost in water and the atmosphere. Mining companies are plagued by charlatans who pose as scientists and fail to grasp the big picture as they have never been a meaningful part of the mining industry and rely on invalid hearsay. It appears that when opponents to mining do not get their way, sometimes they resort to violence. This does not make America Great!
The logical way to prevent bad permitting laws is to establish reasonable consensus standards for the protection of the environment. For endangered species, an alternate habitat is more beneficial than restricting land use. Killing the development of mining public land is no different than killing the golden goose with our wealth of mineral deposits. Somehow, the goals of our free marketplace for all enterprise and, in particular, our mining industry have been stolen by a liberal ideology. This ideology lends to a welfare state that bankrupts our government with nearly a 20 trillion dollar debt. Mining permitting should involve only an agreement to ensure for the compliance with the appropriate standards. Failure to ensure for compliance is easily and early detected by contamination that initiates legal action before the hazard becomes critical or irreversible. Our Washington Capitol swamp of bad mining permitting laws needs to be drained.