Stop toxic mining near parks

In the last five years, responding to an increase in the price of gold and the impending close of the Bush administration, mining companies have filed 800 claims within five miles of the Grand Canyon—close enough that the cyanide and other toxic wastes they use to separate ore from rock would find its way into the streams that feed the Colorado River and the trails and wild lands that surround it.

We worked to reform outdated mining laws to protect national parks from mining waste. In November, the House passed an Environment Rhode Island-backed bill that would, among other reforms, prevent mining anywhere it could damage a national park. The bill faces tough opposition from the mining industry in the 2008 Senate. Rhode Island’s Rep. Patrick Kennedy co-sponsored the legislation in the House and Rep. Jim Langevin joined in voting it through.

Hikers at Grand Canyon National Park.