HECHO Supports the Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act

Hispanics Enjoying Camping Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO) applauds Senator Heinrich (D-N.M) and House Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) for introducing the Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act, which would provide long overdue updates to the antiquated 1872 General Mining Law.

“Hispanics Enjoying Camping Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO) wholeheartedly supports this legislation. One hundred and fifty years ago, it may have made sense to open up virtually all public lands to mining, but today it doesn’t. Siting mining projects on pristine watersheds and sacred lands without compensation to taxpayers and without prioritizing public health or environmental safeguards flies in the face of our responsibility to steward public lands for future generations,” says Camilla Simon, HECHO’s executive director. “Abandoned hardrock mines across the West have left a legacy of toxic contamination of our land and water. Individuals and corporations, many of them foreign, must be held accountable and responsible for operations that impact the people of this country and the sovereign nations within our borders. This legislation will do that and establish a fund for the cleanup of abandoned mines that threaten public health and the environment."