Posted by
Gray Ghost on Friday, December 05, 2008 7:43:06 AM
The Associated Press reported today that the Bush administration is trying to make it tougher for Congress to block mining and oil and gas drilling on public lands. The Bureau of Land Management, which manages 258 million acres of federal property, stripped from its regulations Thursday a provision that gives two Congressional committees the power to compel the Interior Secretary to temporarily place public land off limits to mining and oil and gas development.
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), top candidate for interior secretary under President-elect Barack Obama, attempted to employ the little-used provision for the first time in more than 20 years earlier this year in an effort to halt uranium mining near the Grand Canyon. The House Natural Resources Committee passed a measure to block the mining 20-2, but the Interior Department has yet to issue an emergency withdrawal, saying there were not enough Republicans present for a quorum. According to Grijalva, "the last-minute change was part of a strategy by the Bush administration to avoid complying with the resolution."