It was a time when the country was expanding west. Cattlemen, prospectors and those seeking to start a new life set out across the vast prairies of the Heartland and began settling in the Rocky Mountains. It was a year when President Ulysses S Grant enacted the 1872 Mining Law, which encouraged citizens to stake claim to the land and flourish. 

One-hundred and thirty-six years later, the 1872 Mining Law is still in affect with many of its original provisions, including the lack of any sensible policy that ensures the preservation of wildlands, wildlife, and water quality.

The United States of America is the only country in the world that does not tax the mining industry a royalty fee for developing our public lands. Put plainly—the interests of mining trump those of water, wildlife and wilderness.

It would seem like common-sense to reform this Civil War era law so that it reflects the common concerns of those who live in the America West today. But efforts to drag this 19^th Century way of thinking into the 21^st Century have often collapsed under the pressure of the mining industry.

New Mexicans however, are in a unique position in that our two congressional Senators, Jeff Bingaman (D) and Pete V. Domenici (R) serve as the highest and second highest members, respectively, on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This committee has recently held hearings on mining reform and is working on a bill that has already passed out of the House of Representatives.

The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act (HR 2262) requires miners on federal public lands to pay royalties of 8% of gross income on new mining operations and 4% on existing operations. The monies raised by this royalty would ensure water quality protection, and place responsible regulations on the quantity of water used in mining operations. To date, there is no such requirement to ensure long-term water conservation.

Such a lack in rational mining reform has resulted in mining operations impacting long-term water supplies. At the former Molycorp mine in Questa, New Mexico, which is now owned by Chevron, water will need to be perpetually pumped and treated so as to prevent the pollution of local water resources. This is not exaggeration—it is a fact that mining has had a free-reign on our public lands, and generations far into the future will still be dealing with the shortsighted policies of centuries past.

Most importantly though, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act would give local communities and land management agencies, like the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, the ability to withdraw certain areas of concern from mining claims. Today, there is no such provision in the 1872 Mining Law that gives the public and land management agencies the opportunity to make their voices heard when it comes to preserving our most precious resources.

It is time for New Mexico’s senior Senators to lead the country on dragging this archaic, Civil War era law into the 21^st Century, and to bring about real changes that secure our future quality of life.