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Environment
Ernest Scheyder
(Reuters) – The administration of incumbent US President Donald Trump is set to ease mining regulations and give the green light to new mining projects before stepping down this month as successor Joe Biden is unable to undo some of the changes.
Administration officials told Reuters they plan to release a series of decisions on Jan.15 that will expand miners’ access to federal lands, give final approval to Lithium Americas Corp’s Nevada lithium mine and will approve a land swap for a Rio Tinto Ltd copper mining project in Arizona, among other steps.
Biden will be able to reverse some of Trump’s changes, particularly the proposed rules under regulatory review. But some of Trump’s steps will either be irreversible or force Biden to restart the rule-making process, a multi-year effort, which is worrying environmentalists.
“The Trump administration’s midnight dance to aggressively push these proposed rules follows a four-year evacuation of already weak community and environmental oversight from the hard rock mining industry,” said Lauren Pagel of Earthworks, an environmental advocacy group.
Trump administration officials are finalizing a rule change that would add mining to a list of industries eligible for fast-track permits, part of a law signed by former President Barack Obama in 2015 , according to government records here.
The law, known as FAST-41, was intended to streamline the licensing of utility projects, such as power lines.
“Congress never intended for FAST-41 to cover the mining sector,” wrote U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva of Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, late last month, attempting to stop change.
Officials can also authorize the storage of mine waste, called tailings, on federal lands. The proposed change would essentially codify an existing practice in an area of law that environmentalists consider vague.
The Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency responsible for reviewing the new rule, did not respond to a request for comment.
Several US lawmakers have called for Trump’s immediate impeachment after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. It is not clear whether Vice President Mike Pence would continue with Trump’s regulatory steps.
Trump could exercise his power under the Administrative Procedure Act, which stipulates how regulations are drafted and applied, to finalize the two proposals before he leaves office, a step that would require him to find a “good cause” for faster than normal approval.
The National Mining Association, an industry trade group, says it supports streamlining of regulations, particularly the FAST-41 changes.
“US mining is critical to successfully repairing our country’s infrastructure,” said Rich Nolan, NMA President.
Biden’s transition team said his incoming administration “will begin to take swift and bold action across the federal government to roll back the harmful policies of the Trump administration, including those impacting climate policies and environmental issues on January 20 to stop or delay Trump’s damaging regulations to midnight.
Trump officials are also set to approve several mining projects or significantly advance their regulatory review process.
One of those, Nevada’s Lithium Americas Thacker Pass project, is expected to be approved on Jan.15, according to an official from the Bureau of Land Management.
“It has been a good process of working with state and federal authorities. We look forward to the decision, ”said Jon Evans, Managing Director of Lithium Americas, which has been developing the project for more than a decade. Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries.
At least 10 other projects were deemed important enough for the U.S. economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic that they should receive an expedited permit, according to an executive order signed by the president last June.
Several gold and phosphate fertilizer projects in Nevada and Idaho, respectively, were also recently approved by Trump or have seen major progress in the permitting process.
In Utah, developers of the Twin Bridges Bowknot Helium project have been given permission to drill seven wells, build roads and install pipelines to produce helium in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness, a project that the Environmentalists say they were rushed ahead of Biden’s inauguration.
A judge issued a temporary injunction for the project in late December, pending a full review.
In South Dakota, the Dewey-Burdock uranium mine obtained several major permits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in November, though it will need more permits before it can open. The mine, like the Rio project in Arizona, is strongly opposed by Native American tribes who say it will pollute their water reservoirs.
In Arizona, Trump’s plan to approve the land swap needed by Rio to build a copper mine has met with stiff opposition from Native Americans who consider the land sacred. Rio sacked its chief executive last year after overseeing the destruction of indigenous sites in Australia.
Its new CEO has vowed to “restore trust” with indigenous groups, although Native Americans say the company is about to make the same mistake in Arizona as in Australia.
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