New Mexico Residents: Tell Reps to Vote "No" on HB 84

House Bill 84, sponsored by Patricia A. Lundstrom, creates a uranium legacy clean-up fund using revenues from the taxable value of new uranium extracted. While this bill sounds friendly, it is a pro-industry "greenwash" bill because:
1. It puts communities in the position of having to accept new uranium mining in order to get money to clean-up legacy waste;
2. It will not generate any revenue for clean-up for at least five years, the earliest that new mining could get permitted;
3. It will not generate nearly enough money to address the problem.
This bill not only affects communities in northwestern New Mexico but communities in Santa Fe County as well. The NM Bureau of Mines has identified Santa Fe County as one of the counties in New Mexico that could contain significant uranium deposits, and uranium mining has already occurred on La Bajada mesa.
WE URGE YOU TO ACT NOW!
Please call and e-mail the four key members of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who are leaning towards supporting the Uranium Legacy Cleanup Act.
James Roger Madalena, Jemez Pueblo; 505-986-4417

Brian Egolf, Santa Fe County; 505-986-4211;
[email protected]

Benjamin Rodefer, Corrales; 505-986-4211; [email protected]

Nick Salazar, Ohkay Owingeh, 505-986-4433
Tell them to oppose HB 84 for the reasons listed above and because there are
SEVERAL OTHER OPTIONS
for funding cleanup of abandoned uranium mines in New Mexico!
These Options Include:
• Economic Recovery Bills - U.S. Senate and House economic recovery bills contain nearly $1 billion in funds for BLM, Forest Service and National Park Service "construction projects" that must include "remediation of abandoned mine sites"
• OSM Abandoned Mine Lands Funds - The federal Office of Surface Mining should amend its rules to permit states like NM to use abandoned mine land funds to reclaim non-coal mines. This is a $3 million opportunity for NM now, with potentially another $20 million in the next 2 years.
• DOE Surplus Uranium Sales - SJM-15 urges Congress to (1) authorize DOE to use revenues from the sale of surplus government uranium for AUM reclamation, and (2) undo OSM's restrictions of the use of AML funds for uranium-mine cleanups.
• State Enforcement Authorities - The state could authorize enforcement actions against companies that abandoned mines before 1971. This would place clean-up requirements on the companies who created the wastes and abandoned them.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Thank you for your support,
Douglas Meiklejohn, Executive Director
New Mexico Environmental Law Center
[email protected]
http://www.nmelc.org