.New law frees up idle mining sites
.Posted: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 2:05 am
New law frees up idle mining sites Courtney Vaughn, Hi-Desert Star Hi-Desert Star | 3 comments
EAGLE MOUNTAIN - A Senate Bill awaiting the governor's approval could allow mining operations to continue near Joshua Tree National Park.
SB 108 passed the Senate and Assembly earlier this month without opposition. The bill pushes for less regulation and oversight of underused or defunct mining sites. By revising the parameters for determining whether a mine is idle versus abandoned, the bill would allow sites to maintain an idle status without an approved interim management plan.
Under current law, a mining operation must submit a plan to the lead agency within 90 days of halting operations.
According to the Department of Conservation's Abandoned Mine Lands Unit, there are more than 47,000 abandoned mine sites statewide. Abandoned sites often pose environmental and human safety hazards.
The Eagle Mountain site, which borders the national park to the south and west, was an abandoned iron mine when Kaiser Ventures LLC proposed to use the site for a large landfill in 1987, rather than completing reclamation work on the land.
The Eagle Mountain landfill never made it past lawsuits or environmental scrutiny.
The California Department of Conservation would not comment on the pending legislation.
Chuckwalla Valley residents Donna and Larry Charpeid of the Morongo Basin Conservation Association and the Desert Protection Society, say the bill would pave the way for hazardous mining at Eagle Mountain and give Kaiser license to ignore its reclamation responsibilities.
"All those legislators and all those people didn't do their homework at all," Larry Charpeid said of those who voted in favor of the bill. "This doesn't require any environmental oversight to open up mining again."
Sponsored by the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association and introduced by Sen. Michael Rubio, the Idle Mines Bill was meant to keep low-producing mines open and save jobs, Rubio said.
"If we're no longer building roads at the rate we once were, then these mines are not producing the material that they historically used to produce. If there's a pause in production, (a mine) can be deemed idle," Rubio said by phone Tuesday.
Rubio's district includes Bakersfield and Fresno.
He said saving mines from being classified as idle keeps employees at work and prevents mine operators from having to reinitiate plans with the state before continuing to extract normal levels of minerals or aggregate.
Rubio has also introduced legislation to exempt renewable energy projects from California Environmental Quality Act review and fast-track permitting process for renewable energy projects. When asked how the bill would impact future operations at the Eagle Mountain site, Rubio said he had never heard of Kaiser Ventures.
A newsletter generated by the Morongo Basin Conservation Association suggests former mines like the Eagle Mountain site shouldn't be allowed to change state law as a means of avoiding review processes.
"SB 108 would allow abandoned mines to be reopened under reclamation plans that do not meet current minimum state wide reclamation standards," the letter states. "Mineral resources are vital and necessary to California's economy, but SB 108 would reward mine operators by imposing no consequences for ignoring state law in an attempt to pay lower annual reporting fees."
It's unclear whether Kaiser Ventures plans to use Eagle Mountain for mining again.
Charpeid alleges Kaiser Ventures has already used the mine at the Eagle Mountain site unlawfully, so far without any penalties from Riverside County.
Before Kaiser Ventures declared bankruptcy in the 1980s, the company insisted it would never be able to mine the Eagle Mountain site again. The company's bankruptcy filing prevented many retired mine workers from receiving their pension benefits.
Charpeid says he and his wife have legal documents noting Kaiser Ventures' declaration that no mining would occur on the Eagle Mountain site.
Calls to the company were not returned by presstime.
My mine is pretty idle
.Posted: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 2:05 am
New law frees up idle mining sites Courtney Vaughn, Hi-Desert Star Hi-Desert Star | 3 comments
EAGLE MOUNTAIN - A Senate Bill awaiting the governor's approval could allow mining operations to continue near Joshua Tree National Park.
SB 108 passed the Senate and Assembly earlier this month without opposition. The bill pushes for less regulation and oversight of underused or defunct mining sites. By revising the parameters for determining whether a mine is idle versus abandoned, the bill would allow sites to maintain an idle status without an approved interim management plan.
Under current law, a mining operation must submit a plan to the lead agency within 90 days of halting operations.
According to the Department of Conservation's Abandoned Mine Lands Unit, there are more than 47,000 abandoned mine sites statewide. Abandoned sites often pose environmental and human safety hazards.
The Eagle Mountain site, which borders the national park to the south and west, was an abandoned iron mine when Kaiser Ventures LLC proposed to use the site for a large landfill in 1987, rather than completing reclamation work on the land.
The Eagle Mountain landfill never made it past lawsuits or environmental scrutiny.
The California Department of Conservation would not comment on the pending legislation.
Chuckwalla Valley residents Donna and Larry Charpeid of the Morongo Basin Conservation Association and the Desert Protection Society, say the bill would pave the way for hazardous mining at Eagle Mountain and give Kaiser license to ignore its reclamation responsibilities.
"All those legislators and all those people didn't do their homework at all," Larry Charpeid said of those who voted in favor of the bill. "This doesn't require any environmental oversight to open up mining again."
Sponsored by the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association and introduced by Sen. Michael Rubio, the Idle Mines Bill was meant to keep low-producing mines open and save jobs, Rubio said.
"If we're no longer building roads at the rate we once were, then these mines are not producing the material that they historically used to produce. If there's a pause in production, (a mine) can be deemed idle," Rubio said by phone Tuesday.
Rubio's district includes Bakersfield and Fresno.
He said saving mines from being classified as idle keeps employees at work and prevents mine operators from having to reinitiate plans with the state before continuing to extract normal levels of minerals or aggregate.
Rubio has also introduced legislation to exempt renewable energy projects from California Environmental Quality Act review and fast-track permitting process for renewable energy projects. When asked how the bill would impact future operations at the Eagle Mountain site, Rubio said he had never heard of Kaiser Ventures.
A newsletter generated by the Morongo Basin Conservation Association suggests former mines like the Eagle Mountain site shouldn't be allowed to change state law as a means of avoiding review processes.
"SB 108 would allow abandoned mines to be reopened under reclamation plans that do not meet current minimum state wide reclamation standards," the letter states. "Mineral resources are vital and necessary to California's economy, but SB 108 would reward mine operators by imposing no consequences for ignoring state law in an attempt to pay lower annual reporting fees."
It's unclear whether Kaiser Ventures plans to use Eagle Mountain for mining again.
Charpeid alleges Kaiser Ventures has already used the mine at the Eagle Mountain site unlawfully, so far without any penalties from Riverside County.
Before Kaiser Ventures declared bankruptcy in the 1980s, the company insisted it would never be able to mine the Eagle Mountain site again. The company's bankruptcy filing prevented many retired mine workers from receiving their pension benefits.
Charpeid says he and his wife have legal documents noting Kaiser Ventures' declaration that no mining would occur on the Eagle Mountain site.
Calls to the company were not returned by presstime.
My mine is pretty idle
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