One would think that in Arizona, which has the worst mining
laws and regulations of any state in the union, the mining industry would
realize how good they’ve got it. However,
in their quest to mine fettered only by the limits of their own greed, min
ing
companies carp as loudly as ever about being over-burdened and over-regulated
to death.
Mining companies trot out a list as long as your arm about
how many reports and permits they are required to obtain. However, given the track record of the mining
industry in Arizona, there is a good reason for regulation – for nearly 150
years, mining in Arizona has proven to be a social and environmental nightmare.
The truth however, is far different.
Arizona requires mines that effect groundwater to receive
Aquifer Protection Permits (APP).
According to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ),
without an APP, the department cannot regulate the mines. Common sense would dictate that it would be
difficult to grant a permit without first knowing what exactly the mining
company wants to do, what the background conditions are before mining begins, the
extent of the impending pollution, or what the company plans to do (if
anything) to clean up after themselves. However,
the permits themselves are granted before many of the required reports are
written, monitoring is complete, and mitigation measures put in place. To make matters worse, while ADEQ requires
that mines put a bond in place to guarantee that they will clean up, the state
allows mines to use corporate guarantees (essentially a company IOU to the
state of Arizona) instead of cash.
To top it off, ADEQ allows mining companies to operate on
the honor system. They are allowed to conduct
their own environmental monitoring, self report any violations, and are rarely
visited by regulators.
How has this worked?
A good recent example comes involves the Arizona 1 uranium
mine being operated by Denison Mines since December of 2009 on the north rim of
the Grand Canyon.
It took more than 9 mines after the mine opened for ADEQ to
inspect the mine for the first time.
When they conducted the inspection, ADEQ inspectors only visited the surface of the
mine and did not venture into the 1,250 foot deep mine. Still, they found at least 4 major violations.
Mining companies trot out a list as long as your arm about
how many reports and permits they are required to obtain. However, given the track record of the mining
industry in Arizona, there is a good reason for regulation – for nearly 150
years, mining in Arizona has proven to be a social and environmental nightmare.
The truth however, is far different.
Arizona requires mines that effect groundwater to receive
Aquifer Protection Permits (APP).
According to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ),
without an APP, the department cannot regulate the mines. Common sense would dictate that it would be
difficult to grant a permit without first knowing what exactly the mining
company wants to do, what the background conditions are before mining begins, the
extent of the impending pollution, or what the company plans to do (if
anything) to clean up after themselves. However,
the permits themselves are granted before many of the required reports are
written, monitoring is complete, and mitigation measures put in place. To make matters worse, while ADEQ requires
that mines put a bond in place to guarantee that they will clean up, the state
allows mines to use corporate guarantees (essentially a company IOU to the
state of Arizona) instead of cash.
To top it off, ADEQ allows mining companies to operate on
the honor system. They are allowed to conduct
their own environmental monitoring, self report any violations, and are rarely
visited by regulators.
How has this worked?
A good recent example comes involves the Arizona 1 uranium
mine being operated by Denison Mines since December of 2009 on the north rim of
the Grand Canyon.
It took more than 9 mines after the mine opened for ADEQ to
inspect the mine for the first time.
When they conducted the inspection, ADEQ inspectors only visited the surface of the
mine and did not venture into the 1,250 foot deep mine. Still, they found at least 4 major violations.
- Plans for the mine did not match what was actually built.
- Pumps were not installed to de-water the mine.
- A pipe was sticking out of a lined pond that was supposed to prevent groundwater contamination.
- Permeability tests of rocks in the mine walls had not been performed.
- Pond liners were heavily patched (sometimes with patches over patches) and frequently the patches were weighted down with rocks.