Today the House may be voting on a horrible mining bill that would allow the sale of 20 million acres of national forest , national park and BLM land to mining companies.
this is NOT a joke. This proposal came from Richard Pombo. Please contact your congressperson immediately and tell them to stop Pombo's insane mining proposal.
http://www.congress.org/...
more on this story here:
http://news.yahoo.com/...
WASHINGTON - As many as 20 million acres of public land could be sold under an obscure but sweeping change in mining law tucked into a budget bill up for a vote in the House.
A provision in the bill would overturn a congressional ban on letting mineral companies and individuals buy public lands, including some in national forests and parks, at cheap prices if they contain mineral deposits.
"If this provision became law, it could literally lead to the privatization of millions of acres of public land, including national park and national forest land," said Dave Alberswerth, public lands director for The Wilderness Society.
A vote on the overall bill could come as early as Thursday.
Congress has decided each year since 1994 to prohibit mining companies from exploiting an obscure part of the 1872 mining law that allows businesses and individuals to "patent," or buy, some of the nation's most scenic lands at 19th century prices -- just $2.50 to $5 per acre. It gives them absolute title, including mineral rights, to the properties.
The Interior Department over the past decade has approved slightly more than half of the 405 patent applications it received before 1994, and is still processing the final 50.
House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., and other committee members want to lift the ban preventing anyone from applying for a new patent application. They propose raising the price to $1,000 per acre or "fair market value," whichever is more. That doesn't take into account the value of the minerals the lands might contain.