Feds sued over new mining rules

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 | 11:14 a.m.

Environmental groups announced today that they have filed suit to block new mining rules established last month by Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

The rules overturned regulations put in by the Clinton administration, and Nevada's powerful mining backed the change.

Suing the federal government to roll back the clock on the mining rules are the advocacy groups Mineral Policy Center, Great Basin Mine Watch and Guardians of Our Rural Environment.

The groups argue that Norton failed "to prevent undue degradation" of public lands. Norton oversees the Bureau of Land Management. Most of Nevada's gold mines, a $2.5 billion-a-year industry, are on BLM land.

"Secretary Norton turned her back on communities and the environment when she decided to gut strong environmental mining rules," said Lexi Shultz, legislative director for Mineral Policy Center. "The mining industry's track record demonstrates that an essentially unsupervised mining industry unlawfully damages public land."

The industry had argued that the Clinton rules unfairly duplicate other federal and state regulations governing mining. The industry particularly targeted a rule giving the BLM a veto over new mines if they would cause, in the eyes of BLM administrators, substantial environmental harm.

Russ Fields, president of the Nevada Mining Association, said the legal challenge was expected.

But the Interior Department went through a thorough review of the previous rule and the latest changes, he said.

"We think the outcome is justified based on that review," Fields said.