skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump's emerging team of loyalists is primed for a fast start in his second term; GA activist focuses on zoning violations to advocate for environmental health; Federal tax credits help clinics expand in low-income IL communities; Experts say antibiotic resistance is growing in VT due to 'superbugs.'

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Immigrant rights groups and librarians react to Trump's win. The President-elect names philosophical allies and deregulators to White House positions and Democrats wonder how they can fight Trump policies, given the GOP's congressional majority.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Texas women travel some of the longest distances for abortion care, Californians the shortest, rural living comes with mixed blessings for veterans, an ancient technique could curtail climate-change wildfires, and escape divisive politics on World Kindness Day.

Congress Talks about ID Mining “Bling”

play audio
Play

Friday, November 2, 2007   

Boise, ID – Idaho's mining history could soon be rewritten. The U.S. House has passed the "Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act," an update of the 135-year-old mining law that covers public lands. If it becomes law, mining companies would have to start paying royalties for what they take from public lands, just like the oil and gas industry. The money would be used to clean up toxic, abandoned mining sites in Idaho and throughout the West.

Jane Danowitz, director of the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining, says until now, the law has given mining companies a virtual "free pass," that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

"Mining companies can not only take public resources from public lands, but they don't have to clean up after the messes that they've made."

Idaho Senator Larry Craig has said the royalties approved by the House are too high, and the environmental requirements too stringent. Those requirements would affect plans for a gold mine north of Boise that is close to a public water supply. But Danowitz says the proposed law brings mining rules into line with similar industries that profit from public land.

"None of the safeguards that have been applied to coal or gas or oil for decades apply to hardrock mining. The law here sticks out like a sore thumb."

The new law is intended for mining companies, not aimed at the amateur prospectors who mine as a hobby. So-called "hardrock" mining means mining for minerals, including gold, silver, copper and uranium.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
Nearly half of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency budget goes into grants to state environmental programs, nonprofits, educational institutions and others. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Florida environmental advocates are concerned about the future after President-elect Donald Trump named former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead…


play sound

As President-elect Donald Trump announces immigration hard-liners as his deputy chief of staff and border czar this week, groups supporting …

Health and Wellness

play sound

It is now up to Wisconsin Supreme Court justices to decide the fate of an abortion law from the mid-1800s. A circuit court determined last year an 18…


Someone becomes homeless in the United States every 40 minutes. (Pixel-Shot/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The faith-based nonprofit Our Calling is working with unsheltered clients in north Texas to create a long-term exit plan to help them rebuild their li…

Environment

play sound

The hills and hollers of Virginia are no strangers to hardship, but few were prepared for the devastation Hurricane Helene would bring. Six weeks …

Colorado has been working to remove cost as a barrier for students, and many certificate and degree programs are zero-tuition. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Gov. Jared Polis has designated seven Colorado colleges and universities as Career Connected Campuses for their work getting more students from all …

Social Issues

play sound

With Thanksgiving just over two weeks away, will Michiganders and shoppers across the country face sticker shock at the grocery store while planning …

Social Issues

play sound

As winter break approaches, Alabama's Summer Adventures in Learning program is encouraging parents to think ahead to summer, particularly as quality …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021