Topic: The Environmental Impact of Mining
Country: United States
Delegate Name: Rachel Thomas
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All United States position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Mining is a fundamental part of the world’s economy. Globally, the formal mining sector employs more than 3.7 million workers, and more than 20 million workers are employed in small scale mining. Although mining is beneficial for the economy, the environmental effects are not as laudable. The most common problems with mining include the exceeding amount of waste products such as overburden, waste rock, tailings, slags, and mine water. These byproducts of mining are deteriorating the environment, leading to toxic chemical exposure, increased air pollution, altered drainage patterns, and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide (from underground coal mining fires).
The United States is home to an abundance of resources, with reserves of more metals and minerals than any other country. Our country acknowledges the need for the resources that mining provides; therefore, we have measures in place to regulate the environmental impact on air, land, and water. The Clean Air Act has propagated many of these ideas. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and sets the national level for certain air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particle pollution, and sulfur dioxide. Each area is responsible for upholding the NAAQS through any approach that works best for them. The Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology Rule (UMACT) was established in February 2012, and imposes numerical limits on mercury emissions from electrical generating units that burn coal or oil. The Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates the policy for pollutants in the water and regulating standards for surface waters. Coal mining often requires permits from the CWA because the CWA prohibits the discharge of pollutants to United States’s waters without a permit. This results in mining operations conducted in a safe manner towards human and aquatic health. There are two typical CWA permits: Section 404 and 402. Section 404 requires that mining programs coordinate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ensure that disposal of fill material proceeds in an environmentally conscious manner that does not disrupt navigation of waters in the U.S. Section 402 permits, also known as National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, are issued by the EPA. These permits authorize the discharge from point sources into federal waters and ensure that they do not disrupt the required water quality standard or exceed the liquid discharge guidelines established by the NPDES. . Federal lands, comprised of nearly 700 million acres, supply a significant amount of mineral necessities. Detailed plans for how land will be restored are made before mining commences. Reclamation bonds, a promise that ensures that the company responsible for mining is also responsible for the cleanup, are posted by companies to ensure completion of the entire process. Reclamation includes contouring of land, placement of topsoil, reseeding with native vegetation, and years of monitoring to assure success. Earlier in 2017, Donald Trump signed an executive order that repealed former President Obama’s coal mining rule. The bill eliminated the Office of Surface Mining’s Stream Protection Rule, which was a regulation protecting waterways from coal mining waste. Additionally, in March of 2017, Trump signed an order to dismantle Obama’s Clean Power Plan, a plan that sought to limit carbon emissions and enforced tight regulations on coal-powered plants. This past June, we left the Paris Climate Agreement, where we had originally agreed to reduce greenhouse gases by 28% by 2025. The United States acknowledges the need for environmental regulation, but stresses the importance of maintaining the economy, especially the coal mining sector.
The United States recognizes the essential nature of mining in a prosperous economy, as the mining industry amounted to 109.6 billion dollars in 2016. The U.S. recommends that other nations follow our lead by creating environmental policies that limit air and water pollutants from mining, enforcing reclamation bonds with all companies to ensure the restoration of federal lands, and requiring permits for mining excavations from point sources. However, we should impose lenient regulations, as our economy should take precedence over the environment. Through these measures, the people, communities, and habitats surrounding mining sites will be financially happier, and healthier.
