Debra Struhsacker

This opinion column was submitted by Debra Struhsacker, a co-founder and director of the Women’s Mining Coalition.

Re: "BLM sacrificing public lands to robber barons," March 4:

Dan Patterson’s opinion is consistent with the whistleblower complaint he filed against the Bureau of Land Management, but it fails to explain that Congress has directed how BLM must manage our public lands. BLM employees cannot insert their personal preference for any particular industry or for conservation over natural resources development. This is true for top BLM officials and BLM staff like Patterson.

Patterson’s portrayal of a chummy relationship between BLM and the industries it regulates, including Nevada’s mining industry, overlooks BLM’s legal obligations to manage public lands for multiple uses as Congress mandated nearly 45 years ago when it enacted the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

FLPMA requires BLM to achieve a careful balancing act that authorizes mining, ranching, oil and gas, renewable energy, logging, recreation and other activities, while simultaneously ensuring the environment is protected. BLM’s regulation of mineral exploration and mining projects accomplishes this balance.

Opinion:Outlaw administration sacrificing public lands to modern-day robber barons | Patterson

Contrary to Patterson’s assertions, BLM’s mining regulations have not changed under the Trump administration. All mineral activities, ranging from small exploration projects to large mining operations, must minimize environmental impacts and provide federal and state regulators with reclamation bonds. BLM, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Forest Service currently hold over $3.15 billion in reclamation bond monies to ensure Nevada exploration and mining projects will be properly reclaimed.

It’s BLM’s job to issue permits for mineral exploration and mining projects that comply with the regulatory requirements to protect the environment. During the permitting process companies spend millions for environmental studies of their proposed mines and BLM and NDEP conduct detailed analyses of this environmental data. This is not the fast-track, preordained process described in Patterson’s opinion.

As the top metals mining state in the country, Nevada mines produce gold, silver, copper, lithium, barite and other minerals that are the building blocks of the nation’s economy, conventional and renewable energy infrastructure, manufacturing sector and national defense. Everyone who owns a smart phone, a computer, a car or a house; who lives and works in a building; who travels on a bus, train or airplane; or flips on a light switch, uses minerals.

Nevadans should be proud of the substantial contributions that Nevada’s mining industry makes in providing these essential minerals from highly regulated and environmentally responsible mining operations. Because many Nevada mines are located on public lands, BLM plays an important role in ensuring these mines are built and operated in compliance with numerous federal and state environmental protection laws and regulations.

Nevadans should appreciate the difficult job that Congress has given BLM and recognize the agency’s efforts to reach the balance Congress requires. We should understand that working under a system of stringent laws and regulations, Nevada companies build and operate mines that safeguard the environment. We should remember that these mines provide thousands of high-paying jobs, generate tax revenues, benefit nearby communities, place the utmost importance on worker health and safety, and produce the minerals we use and need in our daily lives.

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