Editorial: Bush shouldn’t cave in to industry over rules

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2001 | 8:53 a.m.

Bill Clinton, on his last day as president, adopted new regulations that would restrict mining on public lands. One of the key provisions of the new rules would allow the Bureau of Land Management to prevent mining on public land if it believed the operation would result in substantial and irreparable harm to the environment. Mining companies, which heavily backed George W. Bush's bid to be president, opposed the Clinton-era rules, saying that they could cripple the industry by stifling further exploration. Bush revoked the regulations soon after taking office and directed Interior Secretary Gale Norton to come up with a new set, which she is expected to unveil next week. If the first half-year of Bush's presidency, in which he scuttled or postponed a number of other regulations that would protect the environment, is any indication, those who back sensible mining reforms should be worried.

The mining companies contend that unless Bush considerably weakens the Clinton regulations, they may be forced to relocate to countries where the regulations aren't as stringent, a threat they've made before when new rules have been proposed. Well, guess what? Many of them have left anyway, even though there hasn't been a significant change made to mining regulations since 1980. They have no compunction about quickly shutting down operations in Nevada and leaving ghost towns in their wake. And while reclamation is much better than it once was, the reality is that the industry, by its very nature, does alter the environment. For that reason, a sensible mining policy should ensure that mining operations don't seriously harm the environment or destroy a community's water supply. The Clinton-era rules may need to be tweaked, but overall it would be a mistake f or Bush to gut them.