Taxpayers for Common Sense submitted comments to the Interagency Working Group on Mining and the Department of the Interior, Request for Information to Inform Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Mining Regulations, Laws, and Permitting.

Public lands are taxpayer assets and should be managed in a way that preserves their value, ensures a fair return from private interests using them for profit, and avoids future liabilities. Current hardrock mining policies, including the General Mining Law of 1872, fail to uphold these standards by allowing large multinational corporations to mine precious hardrock minerals without adequately compensating the American public, often leaving toxic messes behind. TCS urges the IWG to recommend reforms to hardrock mining that address the problems with the claim-patent system, the lack of a fair royalty, and ensure policies do not continue to pass hardrock mine reclamation costs on to taxpayers.

Download or read our comments below.