(Supporting H.R. 2262: Hardrock Mining and Reclamation act of 2007)
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article IV, section 1(a) of the Constitution of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, inter alia, the Tribal Council has the authority to represent the Tribe and act in all matters that concern the welfare of the Tribe; and
WHEREAS, the health, safety, welfare, education, economic, and employment opportunity, and preservation of cultural and natural resources are primary goals and objectives of the White Mountain Apache Tribe; and
WHEREAS, the federal Mining Law of 1872 prioritizes mining as the highest and best use of federal public lands resulting in federal land managers giving preference to mining over all other important land values including the protection of water, wildlife, forestry, fisheries, and recreational activities; and
WHEREAS, the federal Mining Law of 1872 makes no consideration for the recognition and protection for the cultural, historical, treaty and spiritual relationship American Indians have with federal lands managed by the United States; and
WHEREAS, hardrock mining has resulted in significant impacts to tribal, cultural and natural resources throughout Western Regions—polluting 40% of surface waterways and an undetermined amount of groundwater, depleting, aquifers, springs and other water sources, as well as contaminating the land and the air, disrupting safe grazing areas, harming fisheries, displacing wildlife, and destroying important sacred sites; and
WHEREAS, the 1872 Mining Law contains no federal or tribal environmental standards or reclamation criteria, compounded by other federal laws not addressing specific impacts from mining; and
WHEREAS, there are over 50,000 abandoned mines in the U.S., including a few on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, many of which represent a threat to public safety and an on-going source of pollution to the environment, resulting with many states and some Tribes having to identify financial and technical resources to seek mine closure, reclamation and clean-up, and water treatment; and
WHEREAS, there is no federal funding dedicated nor mandated for reclamation of abandoned hardrock mines; and
WHEREAS, the House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Subcommittee of Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Costa (D-CA) have introduced H.R. 2262 to reform the 1872 Mining law so it meets the needs of Tribes and others in the 21st Century; and
WHEREAS, the Tribal Council finds that H.R. 2262 should be supported as in the best interests of the Tribe and its mineral resources.
BE IT RESOLVED by the Tribal Council of the White Mountain Apache Tribe that the White Mountain Apache Tribe hereby supports H.R. 2262—“The Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007.”
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Tribal Council of the White Mountain Apache Tribe that the Chairman, or in his absence the Vice-Chairwoman, is hereby authorized to execute any and all documents necessary to effectuate the intent of this Resolution, and make known the Tribe’s position on this issue with the U.S. Congress accordingly.
The foregoing resolution was on October 16, 2007, duly adopted by a vote of EIGHT for and ZERO against by the Tribal Council of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, pursuant to authority vested in it by Article IV, Section 1 (a ), (b ), (f ), (h ), (i), (s ), (t ), and (u ) of the Constitution of the Tribe, ratified by the Tribe September 30, 1993, and approved by the Secretary of the Interior on November 12, 1993, pursuant to Section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984).
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Chairman of the Tribal Council
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Secretary of the Tribal Council