This week was the 5th anniversary of the Gold King mine spill, in which contractors working for the Environmental Protection … More
Tag: mining
How federal environmental rules discourage cleanup of abandoned mines
Throughout the West, abandoned mines release toxic pollutants, harming water quality, fish, and recreation opportunities. The private sector has long … More
Why do we take some environmental impacts for granted?
As California tries to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, the state has run into an unexpected obstacle: air pollution … More
Prospecting for conservation: federal mining law encourages environmental conflict rather than free-market negotiation
After President Trump reduced the size of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, environmentalists feared the lands would be opened up … More
Supreme Court should preempt state laws to save environmental federalism
If Congress can only protect its choices by broadly preempting states laws, it will. And, in the long run, states will have less room to protect the environment than they would if courts continued to enforce the balance. That would be a significant blow to both federalism and the environment.
Limits on states’ influence over federal lands cut both ways
If red states must accept Congress’ decisions about federal lands, blue states do too.
States cannot veto Congress’ decisions to put federal lands to productive uses
If Republican states have to accept Congress’ decisions to restrict the use of federal lands, Democratic states have to accept decisions to encourage productive use of these lands.