S-3234.1                   _______________________________________________

                                      SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8409

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senators Owen, Erwin, Franklin and Pelz

Read first time 04/13/93.

Concerning open pit metallic ore mining.

          WHEREAS, The Natural Resources Committee of the Senate and the Natural Resources and Parks Committee of the House of Representatives have conducted hearings on legislation pertaining to open pit metallic ore mining during the 1993 session; and

          WHEREAS, Testimony received at the hearings suggests that a comprehensive evaluation of existing and potential metallic ore mining operations within the state should be undertaken; and

          WHEREAS, Recent experiences in several other western states have shown that underregulated chemical leach mining operations can result in large-scale environmental and financial problems, including the permanent contamination of ground water and surface water and toxic waste cleanup liability; and

          WHEREAS, The two committees, having a strong interest in the subject matter, are appropriate entities for obtaining pertinent information from the public at large and from technical experts;

          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the state of Washington, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Natural Resources Committee of the Senate and the Natural Resources and Parks Committee of the House of Representatives are asked to:  (1) Conduct hearings on (a) the open pit metallic ore mining process, (b) the chemical leach ore extraction process, (c) the open pit metallic ore mining now under way or proposed within the state, (d) the federal and state statutes and regulations and local government authority presently applicable to such open pit mining and chemical leach process, and (e) other types of metals mining and (2) prepare proposed legislation, if deemed appropriate, to be submitted to the 1994 legislature; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the chairs of the two committees may appoint an advisory group to assist in gathering information and providing data for the committees.  The advisory group should include representation from the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Commissioner of Public Lands, the state geologist from the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Ecology, local governments, the environmental community, the mining industry, and members of the public; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate committee shall be staffed by Senate Committee Services and the House committee shall be staffed by the Office of Program Research.

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