Announcing the “SPEED Act” on January 24, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little missed a golden opportunity to quote Top Gun: Maverick: “I feel the need – the need for speed.” In the race for critical minerals, though, Gov. Little appears to feel the need for speed. He signed Executive Order 2025-02, the “Idaho Strategic Permitting, Efficiency and Economic Development (SPEED)…
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This month I’d like to tell you about a problem that really shouldn’t be a problem. I’m talking about the current tempest-in-a-teapot that is approval of settlement motions in Mine Act enforcement cases. I’ll bet you already know this, but the vast majority of penalty cases that are filed with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (which I’m…
Read MoreThe Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice announced a settlement agreement with Manitowoc Company Inc., and two of its subsidiaries, Grove U.S. L.L.C., and Manitowoc Crane Group Germany GmbH (collectively, Manitowoc) for violations of the Clean Air Act’s mobile source emission standards regulations. The settlement agreement requires Manitowoc to pay a civil penalty of $42.6 million and resolves allegations…
Read MoreSen. Martin Heinrich’s (D-N.M.) Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden in December. Co-led with Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), this legislation will make it easier for “Good Samaritans,” such as state agencies, nonprofits and other groups, to clean up and improve water quality in and around abandoned hardrock mines. Heinrich applauded…
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This month, I want to go back to basics and talk about the process and considerations that might drive a mine operator’s decision to challenge an MSHA citation or order. As you know, the Mine Act requires an inspector to issue a citation or order if he believes an operator “has violated this Act, or any mandatory health or safety…
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By Willa B. Perlmutter So, last week I had the pleasure of attending a seminar put on by the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. It was called a “safety seminar,” but that’s kind of a misnomer. With one interesting exception, a mine operator who talked about how they’d improved mobile equipment…
Read MoreBy Rachel S. Aramburu and Krista K. McIntyre In response to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Congress passed the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to combat securities fraud and increase market transparency. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the agency that delegated enforcement of these acts,…
Read MoreBy Heraclio Pimentel and Ramona Monroe There’s a lot of buzz these days about the Chevron doctrine. Indeed, it’s not uncommon to find headlines that read more like obituaries than your typical, dry legal analysis. These discussions permeate beyond legal and political circles, and it seems everyone has something to say about the “death” of the Chevron doctrine. That’s because…
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By Willa B. Perlmutter So, this column is going to be a little different from my usual observations about what MSHA is doing these days. Given the super-charged political climate and the fact that my Washington D.C. roots go very deep, I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s going to happen in November – and what it could mean for…
Read MoreBy Shannon Bleicher Mining service agreements are a necessary part of any mining project. No matter the stage of a project, service agreements are likely involved. Whether a project is in the early stages of exploration, involved in active development, or well into operations, essential goods and services to support the project are procured through service contracts. Relying on a…
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