Burden of Gilt.

The Mineral Policy Center was established in 1988 as a service bureau to educate and assist citizens' groups concerned with mineral threats to the environment and to lobby for reform amendments to federal mining law.

Burden of Gilt is a thorough report on hardrock mining and the environmental damage and physical danger that result when such mines are abandoned and left "as is." Hardrock mining is the extraction of metals and nonfuel minerals by surface or underground methods. The legacy of hardrock mines that are not reclaimed and restored to a condition similar to their natural state includes surface and groundwater contamination, landslides and subsidence, not to mention injury and even death to incautious explorers and hikers. Although current mining operations are required to take steps to prevent physical and environmental damage, the authors estimate there are half a million abandoned mines in 32 states that have left a "legacy of damage." To clean them up and make them safe could cost between $32.7 billion and $71.5 billion.

The authors urge Congress to pass legislation requiting restoration of abandoned sites. Such a program could be administered by the Environmental Protection Agency in conjunction with the Department of Interior and financed by a fee on hardrock ores being mined. The federal government would conduct a nationwide inventory of sites, establish national standards, and authorize states and tribes to supervise the restoration. This would be similar to the program established by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 for abandoned coal mine lands.

The authors don't provide much information on state laws and regulations other than to say that environmental standards and reclamation activities are weak and inconsistent. The report, however, does give several case studies of state actions to assist in remediation.

The authors also recommend creating a regulatory program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to ensure that all mine sites are restored upon closure, and reform of the 1872 mining law to provide requirements for land use planning and post-mining cleanup.