mining

Land-Auction Meddler Has a New Plan

The University of Utah student who foiled a federal oil and gas lease auction the Friday before Christmas hopes he can buy time for Utah's scenic redrock desert -- and himself -- until the Bush administration is out the door.

Tim DeChristopher announced Wednesday afternoon that he would pay the U.S. Bureau of Land Management $45,000 to hold the 13 lease parcels he won in a Dec. 19 sale. His aim is to fend off drilling at least until President-elect Barack Obama takes office and new officials are in charge of the federal Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management.

Posted in conservation, mining, protest

Biker Gives Appalachian Towns a Voice

Sam Evans wants the voices of Appalachian families near coal mining sites to be heard, so he's cycling to Washington, D.C., to hand-deliver protest letters written by mining communities.

"The bike ride for me is just a way to take the voices of the people who aren't being heard right now and take them to Washington, D.C.," said Evans, a third-year law student at the University of Tennessee. He plans on leaving Tennessee Jan. 9 and arriving in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20.

Posted in Activism, coal, Environment, mining, protest

Idaho Miners Won't Have to Restore Groundwater

BOISE, Idaho - Monsanto Co., Agrium Inc., and J.R. Simplot Co. will be able to mine phosphate without being forced to restore groundwater beneath their operations to its natural condition, according to a new rule awaiting approval by the 2009 Legislature.

The rule is backed by industry but opposed by environmentalists including the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Idaho Conservation League, who say it gives mining companies near the Idaho-Wyoming border license to pollute forever.

Posted in Environment, mining, water, water quality

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 31, 2008
10:03 AM

CONTACT: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Luke Eshleman (202) 265-7337

Drilling and Mining in Store for Two Iconic Southwest Parks

Falling Commodity Prices Brings Brief Reprieve for Petrified Forest and Aztec Ruins

WASHINGTON - December 31 - Drilling and mining may soon be affecting Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona and Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico, according to an internal Interior Department document released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Only plummeting commodity prices caused by the current recession have delayed groundbreaking for new natural gas wells and potash mining in or adjacent to the parks.

The Interior briefing for Assistant Secretary Lyle Laverty dated October 5, 2008 outlines pending plans for subsurface extraction on or adjacent to the two parks:

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Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a national alliance of local state and federal resource professionals. PEER's environmental work is solely directed by the needs of its members. As a consequence, we have the distinct honor of serving resource professionals who daily cast profiles in courage in cubicles across the country.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Links:

Posted in Environment, mining

Coalition Sues Over Mining Ruling

A coalition of environmental groups including Kentucky Waterways Alliance has sued the Interior Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seeking to overturn a new rule that will make it easier for mining companies to dump waste rock into streams.

The revisions, made final Dec. 12, will let mining companies disregard a 100-foot stream buffer zone if they are able to convince regulators that no other option was available and that they had taken steps to minimize harm to the environment.

Posted in Environment, epa, mining, pollution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2008
12:10 PM

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Erin Allweiss, 202-513-6254 or 202-277-8370 (cell)

Auction Proceeds, But Legal Action Delays Damage to Utah Wilderness

Negotiations Provide Opportunity to Save Utah's Wild Areas

WASHINGTON - December 19 - In a move that could save 100,000 acres of pristine Utah wilderness from destruction, an agreement between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and a coalition of environmental and preservation groups was filed in court late last night. The deal will temporarily prevent BLM from issuing leases on 80 contested parcels of Utah wilderness, including land adjacent to national parks, for 30 days (until January 19). Although BLM will go forward with today's auction, the agency has agreed not to issue the contested leases. This will give Judge Urbina of the U.S.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

Posted in conservation, mining

Redford, Conservationists Seek Injunction to Stop Utah Lease Sales

WASHINGTON - Today, Robert Redford joined members of Congress and a coalition of environmental, preservation and business groups in an effort to stop the Bureau of Land Management from auctioning Utah wilderness to oil and gas companies.

Posted in conservation, Environment, mining

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2008
3:21 PM

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Erin Allweiss, 202-513-6254 or 202-277-8370 (cell)

Robert Redford, Members of Congress, and Broad Coalition Call on Administration to Halt Midnight Land Sale in Utah

Environmental and Preservation Groups Take Legal Action against

WASHINGTON - December 17 - Robert Redford joined members of Congress and a coalition of environmental, preservation and business groups to stop the Interior Department from auctioning Utah wilderness to oil and gas companies. Congressmen Baird (D-WA), Hinchey (D-NY), and Holt (D-NJ) are leading the charge on the Hill to stop the auction, which is scheduled to take place on December 19.

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Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society, Earthjustice, National Parks Conservation Association, Grand Canyon Trust, Sierra Club, National Trust for Historic Preservation

Posted in conservation, mining

Environmentalists Wary of Obama’s Interior Pick

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama's choice to lead the Interior Department, Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, will inherit an agency demoralized by years of scandal, political interference and mismanagement.

Posted in after bush, conservation, Energy, Environment, mining, Politics

Bush Publishes Changes to Mountaintop Removal Rule

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Bush administration today will publish its final rule to revoke key water quality protections, a move that critics say helps to protect mountaintop removal coal mining from tougher restrictions.

The changes approved by the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement are scheduled for publication in today's Federal Register.

Posted in mining, pollution