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GAO-19-435R 1 (2019-05-16)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadzgj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 May 16, 2019 The Honorable Tom Udall Ranking Member Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations United States Senate Hardrock Mining: Availability of Selected Data Related to Mining on Federal Lands Dear Senator Udall: The federal government manages about 650 million acres, or 29 percent, of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Five land management agencies-the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), and Bureau of Reclamation in the Department of the Interior, and the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture-manage about 96 percent of this federal land. These agencies manage the lands under their jurisdictions for a variety of uses. For example, BLM and the Forest Service manage their lands for multiple uses, such as mining, timber, wildlife conservation, grazing, and recreation. In addition to the land management agencies, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), within Interior, provides science about mineral resources, natural hazards, and the effects of climate and land-use change, among other things In April 2011, we found that the five land management agencies varied in the extent to which they collected over 100 different types of data-referred to as data elements.' Of these, 16 were related to hardrock mining.2 These data elements included acres of federal land available for hardrock mining, the extent to which minerals have been extracted from federal lands, and the value of bonds held by agencies to ensure reclamation of hardrock mining operations.3 You asked us to update the information in the April 2011 report, focusing on data elements related to hardrock mining collected by the five federal land management agencies and USGS. This report examines the extent to which the six agencies reported collecting selected hardrock mining data and the agencies' reasons for not collecting or maintaining certain data, where applicable. 'GAO, Federal Land Management Availability and Potential Reliability of Selected Data Elements at Five Agencies, GAO-1 1-377 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 20, 2011). The five agencies reviewed in this report were BLM, FWS, NPS, Reclamation, and Forest Service. We identified the list of data elements by reviewing past GAO and Congressional Research Service reports and interviewing agency officials, among other things. 2Federal minerals are commonly classified as locatable, leasable, or saleable. Locatable minerals include those minerals that are not leasable or saleable, for example, copper, lead, zinc, magnesium, gold, silver, and uranium. For the purposes of this report, we use the term hardrock minerals to refer to locatable minerals. Leasable minerals include oil, gas, and coal, and saleable minerals include common sand, stone, and gravel. 3BLM and Forest Service have issued regulations requiring all mining operators to provide financial assurances for the estimated cost of mine reclamation. 43 C.F.R. § 3809.552; 36 C.F.R. § 228.13. In the past, some operators did not reclaim federal land disturbed for exploration, mining, and mineral processing when their operations ceased. Some of these disturbed lands pose environmental and health and safety risks. GAO-19-435R Hardrock Mining Page 1

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