Environmental and Natural Resources

Mining Industry on the Losing End of Two Clean Water Act Cases

by Michael C. Ford The mining industry was on the losing end of two recent Clean Water Act cases.  Stone v. High Mountain Mining Company, LLC,[1] was decided September 12, 2022, and involved a citizen suit challenge to a placer mine operating without a Clean Water Act (“CWA”) discharge (“NPDES”) permit.  High Mountain’s operations include […]

| 6 min read | Tagged: , , , , ,
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From Worse to Bad: New draft of “Build Back Better” Legislation Reduces But Doesn’t Eliminate New Financial Burdens on Hardrock Miners Operating on Federal Land

by John W. Andrews Everyone has heard a bad joke where the setup for the punchline is “well, it coulda been worse”.  Hardrock mining companies operating on federal public lands presumably didn’t feel like laughing when the House Natural Resources Committee released its committee print for President Biden’s proposed “Build Back Better” (BBB) legislation in […]

| 3 min read | Tagged: ,
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Rosemont Project FEIS, ROD and Unpatented Mining Claims Dealt Blow by Arizona District Court

by James P. Allen and Michael C. Ford The Rosemont Copper Project suffered a shocking setback with a July 31, 2019 order issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, et al. (4:17-cv-00475-JAS).  In a nutshell, the Court ruled […]

| 4 min read | Tagged: , ,
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The Trump Administration Delivers Much Needed Relief to the Coal Industry

By Denise Dragoo, Natural Resources Partner, Snell & Wilmer, LLP During the first six months of the new Administration, President Trump has delivered much needed relief to the coal industry. The President and Congress have been particularly effective at rolling back policies proposed at the end of the previous Administration. Half-way through this first year, a […]

| 8 min read | Tagged: , , ,
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