Mining reform bill advances public lands protections, increased accountability

WASHINGTON D.C. (March 5, 2025) — Sen. Ben Ray Luján and Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva introduced Senate and House versions of the Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act of 2025, a common-sense proposal to modernize badly outdated federal hardrock mining laws, limit damage to fragile landscapes and ensure companies pay a fair share for their use of our natural resources. 

The core of the bill is amendments to the General Mining Act of 1872. That 152-year-old law gives prospectors a nearly unfettered right to choose where they search for and extract minerals on public lands; lets them lock up the area around a claim for only a few dollars an acre; and sticks taxpayers with the clean-up costs after old mining operations go bust. It has left numerous landscapes scarred by development and forced concerns like clean drinking water, wildlife habitat and Indigenous cultural sites to take a back seat to mining interests. Hardrock mining is the most toxic industry in the country, contaminating stream reaches in the headwaters of more than 40% of Western watersheds, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Isabella Jaramillo, government relations representative for The Wilderness Society, made the following statement about the legislation:

“Public lands belong to all of us, and it’s our responsibility to make sure they are responsibly managed--not depleted or damaged without accountability or community input. One of the most important steps in ensuring that is reforming the General Mining Act of 1872, which comes from a time when natural resources seemed inexhaustible and the environmental consequences of mining were not considered. We are encouraged by the reintroduction of the Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act, and hope to see lawmakers pass it and finally usher us out of the age of 19th century energy policy.”