92 



Lawrence County citizens are angry that Homestake is trying to transfer an in- 

 valid local permit to another foreign company (Minerva) who wants to mine at the 

 very rim of Spearfish Canyon. Homestake would get 13 percent net royalties. Citi- 

 zens also want Homestake to bring back Spearfish Falls in the Canyon which ran 

 until the 1920s. 



Although to date, no gold surface mining has taken place on public lands in South 

 Dakota, we are still very concerned about the lack of Federal laws to protect public 

 health. 



ACT believes S. 775, which passed the Senate unanimously, is sham reform. Sham 

 775 allows patenting to continue for the price of the "surface value" of the land. 

 Somewhat better than the current $5 an acre but far less than the billions worth of 

 gold that will be removed, mainly by foreign companies. What a public rip off! 



Sham 775 2 percent net profits royalty tax is a mockery to the 12.5 percent gross 

 tax charged for removing oil, coal and gas from Federal lands, and the royalties 

 charged by other countries and companies. 



Better mining law reform exists — H.R. 322 by Representative Nick Rahall 

 (D-WV). It would eliminate patenting and establish annual rental fees and royalties 

 (8 percent gross). It would establish and fund a program for abandoned mine clean- 

 up. Sham 775 mentions such a program but forgets to fund it. It will ultimately cost 

 an estimated $20 to $50 billion to clean up hardrock mining's poisoned past. 



Federal (and State) agencies need to be given the ability to deny risky niining 

 projects, say no to bad actors, levy adequate violation fines, and enforce minimum 

 environmental and reclamation standards. 



These companies are not small businesses; they operate on budgets of tens and 

 hundreds of millions of dollars. Multiple use does not exist wherever surface mining 

 takes place, and usually no use exists after mining. Many times communities are 

 left with toxic messes to clean up. It is time to end the corporate welfare. 



In the last 5 years, ACT has been instrumental in placing five citizens' initiatives 

 on local and State ballots. Support for stronger mining laws has moved from 22 per- 

 cent to 60 percent, increasing with each vote before the people. Forty-eight percent 

 of Lawrence County itself supported an individual mine size regulation last year. 

 Many State residents have been shocked to find out surface mining contributed only 

 two-tenths of one percent to the State's economy in 1989. 



Conservation of our resources (recycling), and how we extract those resources 

 from the ground, will continue to grow in importance on this finite planet. Today's 

 surface mining moves huge amounts of waste for tiny amounts of rnineral, while 

 leaving dangerous threats to our soil and water. As clean water supplies become an 

 even more precious resource, pollution from past and present mining will become 

 less and less acceptable. 



ACT asks you to support real hardrock mining reform such as H.R. 322 and end 

 the public handouts. Thank you. 



Senator Pressler. Thank you very much. 



Tom Troxel, executive secretary, Black Hills Regional Multiple 

 Use Coalition, Rapid City, SD. 



STATEMENT OF TOM TROXEL, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, BLACK 

 HILLS REGIONAL MULTIPLE USE COALITION 



Mr. Troxel. Thank you. Senator. 



Today we've heard many accounts of small businesses that 

 depend on the management of our public lands for their very sur- 

 vival. Clearl> the residents of the Black Hills have benefited enor- 

 mously from the economic diversity and stability resulting from 

 public land management. At the same time, we can all be reas- 

 sured by the fact that the public lands have been well-managed 

 and are in very good condition. 



I'd like to describe several aspects of the environmental health of 

 our public lands. To talk about the forest for a minute, our forests 

 are very different today than they were historically. Compared to 

 the forests of 1874, today's forests are much denser. They cover 

 many more acres. They're less fragmented. The average age of the 

 forest is older. Wildfires and mountain pine beetle epidemics occur 



