The U.S. Interior Department has proposed amending the new 3809 regulations governing hardrock mining on public lands promulgated in January 2001. Clearly, the Bush Administration is seeking a balance between the important goals of environmental protection and responsible development of our nation's mineral resources.

• The NAS study supports suspension of the new 3809 rules.
  Congress called for a National Academy of Sciences study to assess the effectiveness of the existing 3809 regulations. The study, "Hardrock Mining on Federal Lands," concluded that the existing array of federal and state laws is generally effective in protecting the environment, and improvements in the implementation of existing regulations present the greatest opportunity for improving environmental protection and efficiency of the regulatory process.
  
• The new 3809 rules were promulgated illegally.
  The FY 2000 Interior Appropriations bill prohibited the promulgation of any new 3809 rules except for those "which are not inconsistent" with the recommendations in the NAS study. The new 3809 regulations are clearly inconsistent with the NAS study.
  
• Industry opponents are DEAD WRONG when they say suspending the new 3809 rules reverses rules requiring mining companies to pay for clean-up of their sites.
  Bonding is required on all major mining operations, and the mining industry supports the National Academy of Sciences recommendation that the bonding requirement be expanded to include reclamation of disturbances to the environment caused by all mining activities beyond those classified as casual use.
  
  NMA's May 7, 2001 comments to the Department of Interior specifically state:
  
  "Consistent with the recommendations of the NRC Report that 'financial assurance should be required for reclamation of disturbances to the environment caused by all mining activities beyond those classified as casual use, even if the area disturbed is less than 5 acres,' NMA supports the application of financial guarantee requirements to notice level operations. The new rule contains provisions to ensure that notice level operations are bonded and these provisions should be retained."
  
• Industry opponents are DEAD WRONG when they say the hardrock mining industry is the nation's largest toxic polluter. Under provisions of the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), U.S. mining companies are required to report the volume of materials and substances they move, manage and handle. Because mining and metals companies move a large volume of earth in order to extract metals and minerals, the volume of substances reported to the EPA is correspondingly large. The majority of the substances (typically 85 to 99 percent, depending on the operation) reported by mining and metals companies to EPA occur naturally in low concentrations in rock which is moved, processed and managed in safe, designated areas at the respective companies facilities.
  
• Suspension of the new 3809 rules will NOT change how the placement and disposal of mining wastes is regulated. The placement and disposal of mining wastes is strictly regulated on federal, state, and private lands through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Clean Water Act as well as numerous state laws and regulations protecting ground water resources. Suspension of the new 3809 rules will not alter the industry's compliance with these important environmental statutes.
  
• The mining industry is NOT fighting to rollback or lessen any necessary environmental regulations. The mining industry supports and complies with a numerous local, state and federal environmental laws and regulations and supports the addition of any new rules consistent with the recommendations of the NAS study.
  
• This proposed suspension by BLM demonstrates its pursuit of balance between the important goals of environmental protection and responsible development of our nation's mineral resources. The U.S. hardrock mining industry needs regulatory relief now.
  
• Permitting delays for new mineral exploration projects and mines were already a major problem, but the new 3809 regulations will make permitting delays intolerable.
  
• Permitting costs to obtain regulatory approvals from the BLM and other federal and state agencies were already extremely high, but the new 3809 regulations push the regulatory cost burdens ever higher without offsetting environmental benefits, at a time when mineral commodity prices are depressed.
  
• The new "mine veto" authority in the new 3809 regulations is destroying all remaining incentives to pursue mineral exploration in the western U.S. Mining companies will not invest the millions of dollars required to discover and develop a commercial mineral deposit unless there is some reasonable assurance that they will be allowed to proceed.
  
• Unnecessarily strict new performance standards and expanded liabilities are created under the new 3809 regulations, which greatly disrupt the pre-existing coordination between BLM and Western States regarding the environmental regulation of mining. A number of the new performance standards are prescriptive, one-size-fits-all requirements that are inconsistent with the NRC's recommendations that mining regulations should be based on site-specific performance-based standards.
  
• Severe Economic Impacts - Indirect jobs in manufacturing, light and heavy industry in every district in the nation will be put in jeopardy (see appropriate Dunn & Bradstreet statistical materials.) Interior's own final environmental impact statement ("EIS") estimates that up to 6,000 jobs and up to $877 million in annual mining industry output will be lost as a result of implementation of the final 3809 regulations, and that 70% of this impact will be felt in the State of Nevada. These adverse economic impacts are already being felt in Nevada and the other Western States. Rural communities and county tax revenues for schools, police, and other vital functions are threatened without reason by these new rules.