The BLM issued a rule-change today in an attempt to sidestep a rarely used provision Raul Grijalva employed to prevent uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
Bush rule limits Congress on drilling, mining – AP :
“I will continue to fight this rule change and all midnight regulations to roll back protections for our environment which are coming down the pike before the new administration is sworn in,” [Grijalva] said.
Deadline to submit comments to BLM on the Final Rule can be submitted until February 2, 2009. In a bit of potential poetic justice, Grijalva’s the ” top candidate” for Interior – if he gets the nod, he’ll be reading your comments on the rule-change. And – even if the rule passed, Grijalva may have another chance to halt the mining – same article :
The rule still allows the Interior Secretary to issue emergency withdrawals when mining and other development poses a threat to natural resources.
One would hope that whomever the Secretary may be, these environmental rollbacks will be undone . One thing’s for sure, there’s one potential Interior Secretary that’s already hard at work.
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Brian Ertz
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