Updates to Idaho mining law heads to governor


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Legislation rewriting portions of Idaho's mining law is headed to Gov. Brad Little.

The Senate on Tuesday voted 29-3 to approve the legislation backed by the Idaho Mining Association that updates the state's nearly 50-year-old mining law.

Backers say the update is needed to protect the viability of Idaho mining from federal litigation, federal regulation and those opposed to mining.

Those opposed to the legislation say financial mechanisms intended to make sure companies pay for cleanup costs of abandoned mines could leave Idaho taxpayers with cleanup bills if a company declares bankruptcy.

On a related front, Idaho taxpayers are paying for ongoing cleanup at the Triumph Mine in central Idaho about 7 miles (11 kilometers) southeast and downstream of Sun Valley following the bankruptcy of a mining company there.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Idaho stories

Related topics

IdahoBusiness
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast