Washington – A Lakewood-based gold-mining executive and his lobbyist are scrambling to salvage an embattled plan in Congress to reopen public lands to new mining, fearing that “it’s now or never.”
Steve Alfers, head of NewWest Gold Corp., and lobbyist Duane Gibson are working to get Western Republican senators to support the mining provision, according to e-mails between them obtained by The Denver Post.
The mining provision was inserted into a federal budget bill that the House passed Nov. 18. The Senate version of the bill does not contain the provision.
Alfers and Gibson are promoting changes in the provision to address the outrage of hunting and fishing groups that fear the legislation could lead to widespread privatization of federal land used for recreation.
“We could (and have in hand) three pages of well-crafted substitute language,” Alfers wrote.
But opponents, such as Montana’s Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, say the mining provision needs to be eliminated, not changed.
“If a skunk comes into your house, you can throw him into the shower with some soap, but he’s still going to smell,” Schweit zer said Thursday.
The mining provision would end an 11-year moratorium on the sale, or “patenting,” of mining sites on public land to private companies. It has been blasted by conservation groups, several Western governors and county commissioners.
A key fear is that public land could be sold for nonmining purposes, such as condo development. Alfers and Gibson hoped to allay those concerns with a plan to strengthen rules against using the patent process for development, but their efforts so far have failed.
They lobbied the staff of Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., on Monday to support making the mining provision more palatable, according to e-mails, but Allard announced Tuesday that he is opposed to it.
Allard’s position worried Alfers and Gibson because they believe the current bill may be their last chance to pass the mining plan, the e-mails said.
“There will not be another mining law vehicle,” Gibson added in an e-mail. “It took 10 years to get here. Effectively, this means no reform if his position” carries.
Alfers added: “Duane is right, of course. It’s now or never.”
Alfers, a mining lawyer, was consulted by House Resources Committee staffers on the mining-law changes. Alfers, who said Thursday he was “embarrassed” that his e-mails were made public, said he was not involved in the drafting of the current mining proposal.
“I’m not a driving player in this whole effort,” Alfers said.
Lobbyist Gibson is a former House Resources Committee staffer. He did not return a phone call Thursday.
Staff writer Mike Soraghan can be reached at 202-662-8730 or msoraghan@denverpost.com.
