An overview of reclamation law dealing with mineral resource development in the USA

摘要

There is ongoing tension in the USA between people wanting federal legislation and national standards versus state rights and local control of mining and reclamation. The laws and legal policies made by this society result from public concern, industry, and environmental lobby groups. The dominance given to private ownership of surface rights and industrial use of public land has lessened over time with environmental considerations. The US Congress has passed significant regulations that impact the landscape. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1963 set the tone, followed by the Clean Water, Clean Air, Endangered Species, and National Historic Preservation Acts. The only nationwide programme to protect society and the environment from the adverse effects of surface mining operations is the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, but this pertains to coal operations only. Permitting and regulation of non-coal mining is frequently under the jurisdiction of state and local governments with thousands of zoning and land use regulations varying greatly from city to county. With so many local laws, this report focuses its examination of reclamation law to the broad federal statute standpoint and looks at regional differences by selecting states from different physiographic regions. Governmental reclamation efforts are criticized for interfering with free enterprise, or for not being well coordinated in resolving legal and environmental problems associated with mining. Some state mining laws have put teeth into reclamation with legislation for restoration, performance bonds, and penalties. The boundary between responsible government regulation and interference is not static and will continue to be argued, but there is little disagreement that the regulations governing mining and reclamation are no longer just economic; they include environmental and social values.