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Last updated: 04/04/03

Embargoed until 10:00 a.m. EST, April 4, 1997

Contacts:

Celia Boddington, 1.202.452.5128
Bob Anderson, 1.916.979.2860

BLM Task Force Releases Plan on Developing New Hardrock Mining Rules

Bureau of Land Management Interim Director Sylvia Baca announced today the opening of the "scoping" period on the proposed revision of the "Section 3809" regulations under which the BLM administers hardrock mining on the public lands. The notice, wh ich appears in the April 4, 1997 Federal Register, invites the public to submit comments and to participate in meetings so that the agency can prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and proposed regulations.

Baca said, "The scoping period provides an excellent opportunity for all those with an interest in hardrock mining on the public lands to help us develop our new rule." Baca added, "Suggestions from the public would be particularly helpful in the ar eas of use of best-available technologies or other technology-based standards for preventing 'unnecessary or undue degradation' and in formulating operation and reclamation requirements, including backfilling."

The BLM is taking this action in response to a January 6, 1997 memorandum from Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, who directed the BLM to resume an effort to modern ize the agency's hardrock mining regulations, which are known as Section 3809 regulations. The BLM has formed a task force to address several hardrock mining issues, includin g (1) the use of "best available technologies" to prevent "unnecessary or undue degradation" of public lands; (2) performance standards for the conduct of mining and reclamation activities; (3) alternatives to the current rules that apply to mining operat ions of five acres or less; and (4) ways to improve coordination between the BLM and state regulatory programs. The task force is headed by Bob Anderson, the BLM's Deputy Assistant Director for Minerals, Realty and Resource Protection.

The BLM recently released an "action plan," which outlines a two-year timetable that the task force will follow in developing new hardrock mining regulations. Under the timetable, the BLM expects to publish proposed revised regulations for public review and comment by April 1998 and would send final regulations to the Federal Register by March 1999.

The BLM will hold the following scoping meetings:

May 13 - Spokane, WA

Cavanaugh's Inn at the Park, 303 N. River Drive, Spokane, WA

May 13 - Denver, CO

Colorado Room, Holiday Inn, 14707 W. Colfax Ave., Golden, CO

May 15 - Fairbanks, AK

Carleson Center, Pioneer Room, 2010 Second Avenue, Fairbanks, AK

May 15 - Phoenix, AZ

Park Suite, Best Western Executive Park Hotel, 1100 North Central, Phoenix, AZ

May 20 - Reno, NV

Silver Legacy, 407 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV

May 22 - Washington, DC

Pan American Room, Capitol Hilton, 16th and K Streets, NW, Washington, DC

May 28 - San Francisco, CA

Holiday Inn, 1300 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA

May 28 - Helena, MT

Colonial Inn, 2301 Colonial Way, Helena, MT

Comments on the scope of the EIS may be submitted to Paul McNutt, 3809/EIS Team Leader, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada State Office, 850 Harvard Way, Reno, NV. Comments may also be sent electronically (3809eis@wo.bl m.gov). BLM will accept comments until 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on June 23, 1997.

More details on the Section 3809 effort can be obtained from the BLM's home page on the Internet (http://www.blm.gov/nhp/Commercial/SolidMineral/3809).

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