By Jim Starr
The toxic drainage that threatens Leadville is a story that could easily be repeated in other towns across the West. While Leadville's toxic threat comes from a facility built 60 years ago, the law that governs mining in the West today is more than twice as old.
Failure by Congress to change this historic law could lead to environmental problems of historic proportions.
The law signed by President Ulysses S. Grant encouraged prospectors to develop the West, offering them the chance to take gold and other precious metals from public lands in unlimited amounts. Mining was done with picks and pans, and towns were few and far between, so mining was given priority on most public lands over almost everything else.
But today, a law that gives global companies basically free reign to mine on millions of acres of Western public lands with few restrictions no longer makes sense. Places like Gunnison County, which is more than 80 percent federal land, are particularly vulnerable to the law's effects. Our main source of income, recreational tourism, is dependent upon clean water, clean air and pristine landscapes.
Yet we still live with a law that allows hardrock (metal) mining, one of the nation's most toxic industries, to proceed without effective water quality or other conservation safeguards. What's more, local governments and civic-minded groups have little say about the location of mines that could impact their environmental and economic future.
When mines are poorly designed, a chemical chain reaction can occur that creates water pollution that will never end. But under the 1872 law, there is little to stop the mine operators from creating and then abandoning such problems. In Crested Butte's backyard, a water treatment plant with an annual operation cost of $1 million treats mine-polluted waters. Ongoing treatment is essential, but we have no clear assurance of the plant's continued operation.
When it comes to protecting our residents from the impacts of mining, the county and town's hands are tied. U.S. Energy and Kobex Resources Ltd., a Canadian company, are now moving forward with a mine less than 3 miles outside of Crested Butte.
Unfortunately, a federal court has ruled that under the 1872 law that local communities like ours have no voice in critical decisions about deeding public land over to private mining interests.
But help could be on the way. Last fall, the U.S. House passed bipartisan legislation that would allow communities to petition for special lands to be withdrawn from mining and to ensure that mines are well bonded and meet water quality standards.
The issue is now under consideration by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where Colorado's Sen. Ken Salazar is expected to play a key role.
Time is short. According to a recent analysis of government data by the nonpartisan Environmental Working Group, claims on Colorado federal lands jumped 239 percent from their 2003 levels.
Let's learn from Leadville. It's a story we don't want to repeat.
Jim Starr has been a Gunnison County commissioner since 1999. He lives in Crested Butte.
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