Cyanide-in-mining bill endorsed

BOISE – New legislation to regulate the use of cyanide in mining by requiring additional bonding and giving more of an oversight role to the Idaho Department of Lands easily cleared a Senate committee Wednesday.

SB 1169 transfers responsibility for overseeing the bonding from the Department of Environmental Quality to the IDL. Facilities would have to submit a closure plan for approval within 10 days of deciding to close and bond to cover 110 percent of the estimated shutdown cost.

The DEQ, however, still has the power to regulate all cyanide operations. The bill would set a 180-day deadline for the director of the department to approve such operations, or they would automatically be approved. There is no deadline currently in place for small mining operations.

The Senate Resources and Environment Committee voted unanimously to send the measure to the full Senate, despite concerns from IDL officials who said the agency didn’t have the resources or expertise to take on the added responsibility.

“We’re not currently staffed to handle this,” said Denise Mills, assistant director of lands, minerals and range at the IDL, who added, however, that the agency didn’t have a stance on the bill.

Jack Lyman, who represents the Idaho Mining Association, the sponsor of the bill, said he’s working on another measure to tax a portion of the miners’ profits, which would go to the IDL to handle its expanded duties.

Bonds currently can’t exceed $100,000 for cyanide facilities. But there would be no limit to the bonding with this legislation, Lyman told the committee.

Lyman reworked his original bill with officials from the Idaho Conservation League, the DEQ, the IDL and three senators on the committee after objections were raised to the first version, which critics said called for too little state oversight in the mine closure process.