The Forest Service for the first time in more than 50 years is proposing to update its mining regulations, and so far neither the mining sector nor conservation groups are happy.
The agency is proposing to revamp a 1974 rule to clarify which project developers would need to submit “plans of operations,” a package of documents and maps that outline the details of a project from exploration to reclamation and monitoring, lay out the environmental implications and are subject to public comment.
Currently, the Forest Service requires plans for projects that “cause significant disturbance.” Under the proposal, the agency is proposing to only require full operation plans from projects that impact more than 5 acres, involve more than just exploration, and would violate protections for things like sacred sites or endangered species.
The changes, which have been in the works since 2018, are necessary to rein in the hours federal staffers spend reviewing thousands of mining plans, some of which affect only a few acres, the Forest Service said in its proposal. The rule change is also meant to align agency regulations with Bureau of Land Management practices.
