So much for Homeland Security. In
November, voters in Washington state voted by a 2-to-1 margin to
prohibit the federal government from sending any more nuclear waste
to Hanford Nuclear Reservation (HCN, 11/22/04: Election Day
surprises in the schizophrenic West). On Dec. 2, in response to a
request from the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal district
judge put a stay on the initiative; in the meantime, the Justice
Department is preparing to challenge the constitutionality of the
measure.
The first major test of the
stricter mining trust fund standards established during
the Clinton administration has been a flop. Earlier this year,
environmental groups complained that the amount of money proposed
for a trust fund to treat groundwater contamination at the proposed
Phoenix Mine project near Battle Mountain was too small (HCN,
8/30/04: Will a mining-reform victory hold water in Nevada?). On
Nov. 3, Nevada BLM state Director Bob Abbey upheld his
agency’s approval of the mine expansion after Newmont Mining
Corporation doubled the amount of money in the trust fund to nearly
$1 million. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that
nearly 40 times that amount is needed to adequately cover long-term
groundwater treatment; the contamination could continue for up to
20,000 years after the mine is closed.
So much for the Endangered Species Act? In early
December, the Western Governors’ Association held an
executive summit to discuss reforming the Endangered Species Act
(HCN, 12/6/04: Where do we go from here?). Recommendations included
more clearly defining when a species is recovered and can be
removed from the endangered species list, reducing private
landowners’ liability for endangered species on their
property, and more peer-review of agency science. California Rep.
Richard Pombo, R, chairman of the House Resources Committee, has
vowed to introduce ESA reforms in Congress next year, and is
seeking the support of Western governors — most notably,
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R. In March, the
governors’ association will vote on formal recommendations to
Congress.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Follow-up.
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