Existing
State Law
Montana
Initiative 137, now §
82-4-390 of the Montana Code Annotated - On November
6, 1998, the citizens of Montana voted 53% to 47% to support
a citizen’s initiative, proposed by Montana Environmental
Information Center (MEIC), to phase out open pit, cyanide-leach
mining in Montana. The citizen’s initiative has withstood
numerous legal challenges and has been unsuccessfully appealed
by mining companies several times.
Nevada
These Nevada statutes, 502.390
and 501.181,
require a mining operation which uses cyanide to track wildlife
mortality rates in order to get a permit. The program has
been in place for ten years and, during this period, wildlife
mortalities at mine sites have decreased dramatically. Down
from 2,000 total individual animal mortalities in 1986 to
just over 300 in 1997, the goal of the Division of Wildlife
is to attain zero mortality at mine sites. Twenty-nine active
mines accomplished this level of excellence in 1997 out
of a total of one hundred permit holders.
Proposed Legislation
Colorado
A Colorado legislative committee killed SB
03-026 in the 2003 session. The bill proposal was sponsored
by Senator Ken Gordon, and would have banned new open-pit
mines that use cyanide. Although 11 Colorado counties supported
the bill, Colorado legislators were under intense pressure
from mining industry interests (Colorado is the corporate
headquarters for the two largest international gold mining
companies). The bill has not been reintroduced since.
Wisconsin
AB
91, introduced by Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison), would
ban the use of cyanide in Wisconsin mines. Deferred to Committee
of Natural Resources as of February 2003
AB
420 and SB
157, introduced by Rep. Terry McCormick (R-Appleton)
and Judy Krawczyk (R-Green Bay), would mandate that mining
operations receive no special treatment when compared with
other Wisconsin industries. In other words, mines would
not be exempted from regulations which are imposed on other
activities in the state. AB 420 and S 157 have been in committee
since June and May, respectively. |
