It's Time to Reform the 1872 Mining Act!

America's mining laws haven't been updated since Ulysses S. Grant was President in 1872. As a result, our public lands and rivers are struggling with the impacts of over a century of mining. EPA estimates that mining has already polluted 40% of the headwater streams of our Western rivers, affecting drinking water and our natural resources.

Nearly 500,000 abandoned mines exist in the West (in Arizona estimates are as high as 100,000 abandoned mines) polluting our waters and threatening public saftey with little funding available for cleanup, closure or marking these mines as hazards.


It's time to bring mining for uranium, gold, silver, and other minerals up to today's standards. The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act, H.R. 699, will protect special places from irresponsible mining, establish environmental standards to protect water, fish and wildlife, and create a fund to clean up pollution from abandoned mines. It will also require multinational mining companies to pay royalties to the US Treasury for the millions of dollars of minerals they take from our public lands.

H.R. 699 was passed by the U.S. House late in 2007 and is pending action by the Senate. Despite the support of Native Americans, hunters and anglers, local officials and citizens across CD 1, Congressman Renzi voted against this legislation.