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MiningWeek Online
February 18, 2005 Volume 11, Issue 7
This Week's Issue:
NMA encouraged by EPW continuing to work on Clear Skies measure
NMA President and CEO Jack N. Gerard this week said he was “encouraged” by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s decision to reschedule a vote on a Clear Skies multi-emissions proposal while continuing to work toward a compromise on the measure.
“We’re very encouraged by the committee’s decision to come together to achieve a workable, bi-partisan, multi-emissions reduction bill,” Gerard said. “ We share the committee’s commitment to provide Americans with cleaner air faster while ensuring affordable electricity and jobs growth. NMA pledges its continued full cooperation with all members of the committee, and we are heartened that our efforts thus far have been successful in communicating the importance of Clear Skies for meeting our nation’s energy and environmental needs.”
The move to a March 2 vote was generally viewed as a positive development that keeps the legislative process moving forward. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the panel, said postponing the mark-up would allow bipartisan discussions to continue with an eye toward reaching a compromise that would permit a majority of the committee to favorably report a version of the legislation. Prior to the postponement, it had been expected that a vote on the bill would have ended in a deadlock. NMA has been in the forefront of Clear Skies activities, effectively conveying a sense of urgency to Congress on this important issue.
James Connaughton, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), told the Dow Jones news service that while there’s plenty of room for compromise on the bill, “What will never fly is a mandated cap on carbon. There’s a clear division over carbon, so we need to set that aside.”
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Hart discusses mining topics during visit to GAC
Rep. Melissa Hart (R-PA), a member of the key House Ways and Means Committee, visited NMA’s Government Affairs Committee this week to discuss a range of issues before the tax panel, as well as mining issues facing Congress.
She noted that Social Security reform is among the top priorities for the committee, as well as taking a close look at tax reform. Regarding Social Security, she noted, “Every year we wait (to address the problems), it’s going to cost $600 million more to fix it. The question is, what is the solution going to be?”
Hart also noted many employers have under-funded pension plans and that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) deficit is currently $24 billion. “We have to do something about it,” she emphasized.
Regarding the energy bill, Hart said the House is expected to pass a measure in March. “We’ll be dealing with different types of tax credits,” she noted, “encouraging new technologies such as clean coal.” She also noted her previous support for legislation that would provide capital gains treatment for precious metals products.
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Congressional leaders unite on ESA reform
Principal members of Congress with jurisdiction over the Endangered Species Act (ESA) from both the House and Senate this week held a press conference pledging to work together to modernize the law.
Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) joined Reps. Richard Pombo (R-CA) and Greg Walden (R-OR) in pledging to consider a number of new ideas in an attempt to craft a bipartisan bill that actually recovers endangered species.
Rep. Pombo is the Chairman of the House Resources Committee; Sen. Crapo is past Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water (FW&W); Sen. Chafee is the current Chairman of the FW&W; and Rep. Walden is Chairman of the House Resources Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee.
“The Endangered Species Act is one of our most important laws and Congress will soon begin seeing proposals concerning it,” Crapo said. “We have agreed to work together with bill sponsors and I am determined to achieve this ESA improvement with bipartisan support for a consistent approach in both chambers. Our goal is to strengthen the ESA by improving habitat conservation and recovery, providing more and better incentives, and enhancing the role of states where appropriate. Overall, we believe the ESA can be less contentious and more effective.”
The new ideas would represent a wide range of alternatives from consideration of a Senate reform bill introduced in 1997, setting priorities for species recovery, providing incentives to private property owners to create critical habitat, and identification of priority species through peer reviewed science.
The announcement represents an opportunity for House and Senate cooperation on ESA at the outset of a session of Congress, in turn raising the possibility of bipartisan legislation that might receive floor time in both chambers and to reform the Act in a manner that puts species first and litigation somewhere else.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the announcement was “noteworthy and encouraging,” and said her department is “prepared to work with Congress and stakeholders to identify ways to improve the recovery of endangered species.”
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Bush stresses the importance of clean coal during Q&A
President Bush this week once again commented on the importance of clean coal technologies leading to a zero emissions coal plant.
Speaking about the environment in response to a general question on U.S.-European relations during the announcement of the new national director of intelligence, Bush said: “I spoke to my friend Tony Blair the other day, and I reminded him that here at home, we’re spending billions on clean coal technology where we could have – it’s conceivable and hopefully we’ll have a zero emissions coal plant, which will not only be good for the United States, but good for the world.”
Bush said U.S. and Europe had the “opportunity now to work together to talk about new technologies that will help us both achieve a common objective, which is a better environment for generations to come.”
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NMA: Energy bill urgently needed now
The nation’s growing energy needs and its increasing dependence on energy imports argue strongly for prompt passage of a comprehensive energy bill that will stimulate utilization of clean coal, our most abundant fuel, NMA’s John Shelk said in testimony this week before a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Shelk, the association’s senior vice president for government affairs, told the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality that a comprehensive energy bill is needed now to forestall further damage from rising natural gas prices that have already cost the U.S. more than 1 million manufacturing jobs since 1999.
“Additional jobs will be lost without a comprehensive policy that addresses the serious need to increase domestic energy supplies and lower the real cost of energy to our consumers and manufacturers,” he said.
Shelk explained that coal, which generates more than half of U.S. electricity, is central to that energy policy because of the approximately 275 billion tons of economically recoverable reserves safely within U.S. borders and the continuing reduction in emissions from coal-based electric power plants using clean coal technologies.
“Although coal use for electricity is up by 75 percent since 1980,” said Shelk, “emissions from coal-fired power plants are down by 40 percent.”
Advanced coal technologies targeted for support in the energy bill will accelerate this trend of emissions reduction even as the nation relies heavily on its most abundant energy source, he added.
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Government MOU addresses regulatory burdens
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) issued by four federal agencies last week addresses a longstanding NMA concern regarding the review and processing of surface coal mining applications requiring Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permits.
The MOU, issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), encourages the Corps to conduct Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permit reviews in cooperation with state or OSM offices conducting similar reviews for permits under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).
“We intend to make the permit process more transparent and more understandable,” said John Paul Woodley, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army (Civil Works). “We will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the permitting process.”
The MOU addresses part of a problem NMA has raised with the agencies for many years – a longstanding recognition that SMCRA and the CWA permit processes are duplicative and in need of better coordination to avoid excessive delays.
The MOU strongly encourages, but does not require, development of joint permitting procedures with a goal of including as many regulatory programs as possible into a single, coordinated process to avoid duplication of information and to integrate permitting timelines. The following are some of the main points included in the document:
• Recommends a joint application or a SMCRA application and supplements be compiled for simultaneous review by all the relevant state and federal agencies;
• Recommends joint completeness determination;
• Recommends a single, coordinated public notice and review and comment period;
• Moves interagency comment opportunities early in the process and avoids delays in permit issuance due to reconciling agency comments coming late in the process;
In addition, development of joint procedures is encouraged to include state authorities implementing both CWA Section 402 and 401 programs along with the state or federal surface mining authorities and the District Corps offices.
The joint procedures recommended in the MOU would assist the Corps, other agencies and the industry in responding to the increased regulatory burdens associated with individual permits. The success of this joint process will likely depend on the level of cooperation between local Corps District Offices, state SMCRA regulatory authorities, and, perhaps, the state water quality agency as well.
Last year, a federal district court in West Virginia enjoined the use of NWP 21 in Southern West Virginia. NMA and several state associations who had intervened in that litigation have appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. On Jan. 27, 2005, environmental groups filed a similar challenge to NWP 21 in the Eastern District of Kentucky. NMA and several state associations have appealed the district court decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. NMA plans to intervene with Coal Operators and Associates and Kentucky Coal Association in the Kentucky litigation.
NMA members seeking additional information on this subject should contact Karen Bennett at (202) 463-3240 or kbennett@nma.org.
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House Resources Committee report puts mercury in perspective
The House Resources Committee has published a new report on mercury emissions, including a wealth of factual information that puts the issue in perspective.
The paper is a comprehensive synopsis of the federal agency, private and recently peer-reviewed research used in the debate over regulating mercury. “The cumulative body of science supports the Bush administration’s proposed cap and trade program, the first federal program to ever regulate mercury from power plants. Cap and trade programs have already proven effective with other priority pollutants,” said House Resource Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) and Energy and Minerals Resources Subcommittee Chairman Jim Gibbons (R-NV) in releasing the report.
The Executive Summary touches on a number of key topics, including “Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is ubiquitous in the environment”; “U.S. power plants account for less than 1 percent of global mercury emissions”; and “There has been no credible evidence of harm to pregnant women or their unborn children from regular consumption of fish.”
The study’s recommendations include:
• Support for a phased, national cap and trade program for regulating mercury emissions
• Continued research and studies of mercury and fish consumption, which should include a reassessment of EPA’s RfD
• The use of science that is based upon transparent and open processes as a tool to develop public policy and continued research and monitoring of mercury as it relates to power plants and fish
The report can be accessed at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov.
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MSHA, in cooperation with NMA adds more ‘Sentinels’ categories
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), in cooperation with NMA, this week said it is revising the rules and procedures for the Sentinels of Safety program, including expanding the categories in which mining operations compete from eight to 10.
The rule changes for Sentinels, which recognizes outstanding safety records of mining operations throughout the nation, will apply to the next set of awards to be presented in Fall 2005, for safety achievements in 2004.
The expanded categories now include: underground coal mines; surface coal mines; underground metal mines; underground nonmetal mines; open pit mines (metal and nonmetal, except stone); open pit stone quarries; sand and gravel bank or pit operations; sand and gravel dredge operations; and two added categories of coal processing facilities and metal and nonmetal mills. Each of these categories has been divided into small and large mine divisions, for a total of 20 categories of awards.
NMA President and CEO Jack N. Gerard said, “We are pleased about our continuing partnership with MSHA in the Sentinels program and the positive effect it has had in helping to achieve the significant improvement in U.S. mine safety that has occurred over a sustained period of time. Expanding this program to smaller mines that have traditionally not been included will be a further incentive for improvement and achievement in the years ahead, as we continue to strive for our industry-wide goal of zero injuries and fatalities.”
To be in the running for a Sentinels of Safety award, an eligible mining operation must:
· have reported employment data to MSHA for each calendar quarter in which it was active during the calendar year;
· have not experienced a work injury that resulted in a fatality, permanent disability, days away from work, or days of restricted work activity;
· have a “No Days Lost” injury accident rate no greater than the national average; and,
· have accumulated at least 4,000 injury-free employee-hours during the calendar year.
The Sentinels of Safety awards are the oldest established awards for occupational safety, having been initiated 80 years ago by Herbert Hoover. Since 1925, the program has promoted an increased commitment to mine safety and to the continuing development of effective accident prevention programs.
NMA members seeking additional information on the expanded programs can contact Bruce Watzman at bwatzman@nma.org, or visit www.msha.gov.
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NMA supports intent of Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act
NMA supported the intent of the Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act of 2004 in comments filed last week on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Notice of Availability of its Draft List of Bird Species to Which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) Does Not Apply.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act of 2004 lists non-native, human-introduced bird species to which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) does not apply. NMA said it “finds it very useful that U.S. Fish and Wildlife has listed specific, nonnative, human-introduced bird species to which the MBTA does not apply. The list will assist NMA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, other federal agencies, environmental groups and courts in interpreting the scope and intent of the MBTA and the MBTRA,” the association said.
NMA also generally supported the criteria established by the FWS to determine which additional bird species should not be subjected to the MBTA. NMA said the criteria is “very useful and more critical than the list itself.” From the mining industry’s perspective, NMA said, “the four criteria are an invaluable set of guidelines that will provide additional regulatory clarity and will help (NMA) members comply with the MBTA.”
Finally, NMA provided specific comments aimed at ensuring that non-native birds that are introduced, supported, or sustained by landscape changes at mining operations are not covered by the MBTA.
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Newmont accuser in Indonesia admits accusations were ‘premature’ and unsupported
The lead accuser who alleged environmental misconduct against Newmont Mining Corp. in Indonesia this week retracted previous accusations, admitting they were “premature” and not backed by scientific proof.
Jane Pangemanan, an Indonesian doctor, said the accusations she made, claiming that tailings produced by Newmont’s Indonesian subsidiary caused the disease suffered by some residents of Buyat Pantai village, “were premature because there was never any scientific, comprehensive, detailed and integrated proof.” With the retraction of the police report she filed, Pangemanan said, “I hereby declare that all matters related to this issue are over.”
Newmont strenuously denied the accusations and maintained it met all government reporting and environmental requirements and independent experts, including the World Health Organization, said there was little evidence of pollution in Buyat Bay.
Commenting on the retraction, Newmont said: “Dr. Pangemanan’s statements in regard to disease and death at Buyat Bay were instrumental in initiating the entire campaign, including the police investigation, against PTNMR (Newmont’s subsidiary). Her retraction of those statements is a major development.”
The allegations created months of acrimony, allegations and investigations for the company in Indonesia and resulted in the jailing of five Newmont executives for 32 days. There is still the possibility the government could file suit against Newmont and the company’s six employees (the five jailed plus one other) are still not allowed to leave the country.
The case against Newmont has been spearheaded by a group of Indonesian NGOs, including two known by their Indonesian acronyms Walhi ( Friends of the Earth Indonesia) and Jatam (Mining Advocacy Network). The groups also worked with environmental organizations in the U.S. -- Earthworks has been among those aggressively pushing the case. Last October, Newmont called the situation a “tragedy for us and for the people of Buyat, who are used to further the agendas of some of these groups.” Earthworks told the Rocky Mountain News this week it doesn’t have the resources to take legal actions.
Cybercast News Service said the case focused “attention on the impact western-funded green activists are having on foreign investors. Some analysts have called on U.S. lawmakers to investigate foreign -- and American -- funding of non-governmental organizations promoting an allegedly anti-mining agenda in developing countries like Indonesia.”
Newmont spokesman Doug Hock told the Rocky Mountain News, “To date, there is no outstanding litigation against us.” He said Pangemanan’s retraction and the settlement with Buyat Bay villagers of a $543 million lawsuit have virtually collapsed the accusations against Newmont. In both cases, he noted, the company did not pay any money and only dropped the defamation cases against Pangemanan and the lawyer for the villagers.
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Newsbits
The University of Wyoming says it wants to increase its staff of researchers to include more scientists who can help Wyoming coal fill future world energy demands. The university is supporting the idea of large endowment funds to generate interest for energy-related research and seeking partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy and with companies already mining coal in the state . . . . CONSOL Energy Inc. said it temporarily will seal its Buchanan Mine near Keen Mountain, VA, in order to extinguish a localized fire that developed there this week. A larger-than-normal rock fall behind the longwall mining section caused a large air pressure wave that disrupted ventilation at the mine and caused an ignition of methane gas in the area – all employees working underground at the time were immediately evacuated without serious injury and normal operations were suspended . . . . Rising uranium prices are prompting two companies to team up to reopen a uranium mine in southern Fremont County, WY. U.S. Energy and Bell Coast Capital Corp. said they will hopefully begin production of uranium oxide by the middle of next year . . . . Massey Energy Co. has appointed James B. Crawford to its board of directors. Crawford served as chairman and CEO of James River Coal Co. from its founding in 1988 to 2003, and has served as a consultant for Evan Energy Investments LC since 2004. Massey also announced the resignation of James H. “Buck” Harless from its board – he had served since 2001 . . . . Stillwater Mining Co. has appointed David Ulrich as its controller. He is a certified public accountant and formerly worked with accounting company KPMG LLP in Billings, MT. Stillwater also announced that John Stark, vice president of human resources and corporate counsel and secretary, has been put in charge of metal marketing and commercial sales. Metal Accountant James Binando will become a commercial metal sales representative and report to Stark. Meanwhile, John Beaudry is rejoining the company as manager of public affairs, and Ralph Green, now land manager, will focus on exploration and business development. Safety Director Steve Wood will report to Chief Operating Officer Steve Lang . . . . Nevada Bureau of Land Management officials say reclamation activities have been completed at an abandoned Douglas County mine where cyanide contamination of soil and water was detected more than a decade ago. The $350,000 project involved dismantling five tailings dams and constructing drainage channels.
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