Executive Summary
The PLF fully supports mineral exploration and development on the public lands to enable private industry to help the federal government evaluate the mineral resources of the public lands. However, the BLM should have the authority to restrict or deny mineral exploration activities in areas where critical and/or significant surface resources would be destroyed by such activities. A permitting system in tandem with the mining claim system is appropriate and necessary to ensure that reasonable surface protection and reclamation occurs. The level of BLM effort and review of proposed exploration and mining plans should be commensurate with the size and potential the proposed operations and the significance of the surface resources.
Background
The Public Lands Foundation fully supports mineral exploration and development on the public lands. Mineral resource development is one of the multiple uses of the public lands, and in many places, mineral extraction is the highest and best use of the land, and provides the greatest economic benefits to the economy. However, the Public Lands Foundation believes that new guidelines need to be established in both law or regulation to give the BLM the tools it needs to coordinate the utilization and protection of the public's surface and subsurface resources. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 brought an end to the unrestricted private appropriation of public lands for agriculture purposes, it is time to apply similar restrictions on mineral activities.
Guiding Principles
PLF therefore recommends that the new 3809 regulations be guided by the following principals:
1. The Department of the Interior should facilitate mineral exploration on the lands for federally owned minerals that are managed by the BLM, to enable private industry to help the Federal Government evaluate the mineral resources of these lands. The Federal Government spends millions of dollars on inventories and evaluation of surface resources, but relies mainly on the private sector for the expensive process of exploration and evaluation the publicly owned subsurface resources.
2. Prospectors and mining claimants should be required to obtain approval from the BLM before beginning any surface disturbing activities on the public lands.
3. BLM should evaluate the impact that the proposed exploration and mining activities would leave on the affected resources, both on site and off site., before approving surface disturbing activities, and should include provisions in the approval that will ensure reasonable land reclamation and restoration measures.
4. BLM's concerns should focus on the requirements for land reclamation and resource protection, and not endeavor to direct how the properties should be mined. Results rather than methods should be BLM's prime concern.
5. The BLM approval process should be applied to all public land areas and sites, not just to those that exceed 5 acres in size. The present system allows unrestricted entry into many of the smaller environmentally sensitive sites without a review.
6. The BLM should have the authority to restrict or deny mineral exploration activities in areas where critical and/or significant surface resources would be destroyed by such activities. It is not necessary nor is it good public policy to require that all un-withdrawn public lands be available at any time to anyone who wants to attempt mineral development. Where significant surface resources are involved, the public should be able to bank the mineral potential of the land for future generations to explore when and if necessary, and hopefully with improved techniques and methods that will reduce the impacts on surface resources.
7. The BLM should accept State standards for land reclamation where they meet or exceed a set of minimum federal standards, which BLM should developed. The BLM needs to retain the ultimate responsibility and authority for mine closure and subsequent land use, and should retain the ultimate authority to enforce appropriate standards for land reclamation.
8. There should be a common process on all Federal public lands managed by the BLM and the US Forest Service so that mining claimants and prospectors do not face complex and inconsistent regulations. Consistency will facilitate public understanding and acceptance of the regulations and fairness in application of the process.
Recommendations
Implementation of the 3809 regulations should be guided by the following concepts;
a. The level of effort and review should be commensurate with the size and potential of the proposed operation, and the significance of surface resources. BLM should focus its limited resources on major development proposals and environmentally sensitive lands. The casual prospector owing a small claim should normally receive authorization within a few days.
b. Administration efficiency and ease of process must be a priority.
c. Strong consideration should be given to requiring that the cost of the approving and review process for development being paid by those seeking to profit from the developing the public owned minerals.