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Show Garn urges explanation of mining regulations UJS. Senator Jake Garn (R-Ut) recently authored a letter, to be signed by other western Senators, in which he recommends to the Bureau Bu-reau of Land Management that it make new surface mining min-ing regulations better understood under-stood by miners. In the letter let-ter to BLM Director Curt Berklund, Garn and his colleagues col-leagues make two suggestions. sugges-tions. "First, we believe that the interest of the country would be served by a series of meetings in the field to discuss dis-cuss with concerned parties the current thinking of the Bureau as to the direction the regulations ought to take," the Garn letter states. "Following this series of meetings, we feel it would appropriate for the Bureau to issue the regulations once m ore as proposals, with the final regulations to follow 30 or 60 days later." "Secondly, whatever regulations reg-ulations are finally adopted should take effect only after the end of the current field season," the letter continues. con-tinues. Senator Garn noted that the rules are now set to go into effect February 5. "Since operators are right now contracting for men, drilling rigs and other equipment which will be needed this summer, any regulations changing the rules under which they operate op-erate would only cause in-I in-I credible confusion if they were to become effective for this season. The field season sea-son ends in September, and 1 we would therefore suggest that the regulations should ' be effective October 1. We be -i Hveve that such an effec-I effec-I tive date would provide ample lead time for familiar -1 lzation and adjustment." "In order to provide the t kind of certainty that is needed, need-ed, it is essential that there be a clear statement to this effect from your office and ! that this statement be made as soon as possible. Since there is no legislative dead- dline for these regulations, we feel that there are no barriers bar-riers to such a statement." Garn said he wrote the let-an let-an ter because, even though the regulations dealing with the reclamation of mined land were proposed December 6, 1976 many miners "are only now learning of the proposal and are unfamiliar with its 5liotSdetails. We can hardly ex-0gstpect ex-0gstpect them to comply with the regulations if a decent effort Is not made to familiarize Jtnem with their respon--sibilities." |