FIELD Notes

STOP THE EXPANSION OF LIMITED MINING OPERATIONS TO NEW MINERAL TYPES!

Imagine this: Your new neighbor is a gaping 15-acre mine, bringing clouds of dust, unrelenting noise, and near-constant truck traffic to your area. Your peace and quiet are disrupted, your property values decrease, and, worst of all, there’s almost nothing you can do about it.

It may be hard to believe, but this nightmare scenario is entirely possible under the current process for Limited Mining Operations. LMOs are operations for mining inert materials like sand and gravel that are 15 acres or less, or approximately the size of 12 football fields.

LMOs are exempt from the mine permit process and do not require public comment, which means that a dusty, noisy mine could become your new neighbor without you having a chance to voice your concerns. While many LMOs help ranchers maintain roads on their own property, over the years we’ve seen more and more commercial operators using this permit exemption close to residential areas.

And here’s where it gets worse: Legislators are now proposing to expand these permit exemptions to include almost all mineral types. This increases the likelihood of a commercial LMO near you, and elevates the risk of water pollution and other hazards.

This proposed legislation takes an existing problem and makes it potentially far more damaging. But you can help today by asking the Joint Minerals Committee to oppose the expansion of LMOs to new mineral types.

Deadline: July 29, 2024

You may have heard about the proposed gravel pit in Casper, an example that demonstrates how even existing types of LMOs can significantly impact the quality of life in an area. The last thing we should be doing is expanding these exemptions. But if this bill moves forward, that’s exactly what would happen.

This bill would expand the LMO category from sand and gravel to include gold, lithium, rare earth metals, and others. If these operations are exempted from a full mine permit, there would be less oversight from the Department of Environmental Quality and no public comment requirements for minerals with known risks.

Some even see this expansion as a means to allow large mines to get started on a small scale before their full permitting process is complete.

On July 30 in Casper, the representatives and senators of the Joint Minerals Committee will vote on the expansion of LMOs. We need to send the message to the committee that Wyomingites like you and me value public participation in these processes, and that we should not exempt industry from important health, safety, and environmental protections for these new minerals.

How large is a 15-acre mine?

Looking for more information and points to include in your message to the committee? See our fact sheet for Limited Mining Operations.

Thank you for reaching out to your legislators. Together, we can keep this from getting worse!