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Show Yic iaj. ' T TrK'j i; jf - . - ' j. V- ; H aVLfl lS t I fi r f. j. I VOLUME 2 NUMBER 18 25 Cents Per Copy JUNE 29, 1970 Public Land Review Commission reports following extensive study 5-ye- WASHINGTON The Public Land Review Commission sent to President Nixon last week a report containing 137 for major recommendations the order and to legal bringing administrative jungle involving the nations 755 million acres of public lands. The report urged that control all of be land public a concentrated in new Natural of Department Resources and in a single committee in each house of ar Rep. Laurence J. Burton represented Utah, Idaho was represented by Sen. Len B. Jordan and Nevada by Sen. Alan Bible and Rep. Walter S. Baring. The 1 commission was assisted in its monumental labaors by an advisory council of 25 appointed persons and the designated representatives of each of the 50 governors of the states. Among the recommendations were: principal of the report 1) Instead of the present fee Congress. The report, five in nearly years preparation, was 342 pages in length and cost the taxpayers about $7 million. One-thir- d of the nation is public land, most of it in the long-awaite- d West. The report is of great concern Area the Intermountain where public lands represent 86.4 of Nevadas total land area, 63.5 of Utah, 63.9 for Idaho and 48.2 for Wyoming. The commission was headed by Rep. Wayne N. Aspinall, who is the longtime chairman of the House Interior Committee. The vice chairman was H. Byron Mock, Salt Lake City attorney and former official Bureau of Land of the Management. to ., system in which the federal government gives the states a share of the revenues derived of from the exploitation resource on federal lands the federal government should make payments in lieu of taxes to the states. This includes revenues from timber, minerals and oil and gas leases. 2) The U.S. Forest Service, now under the Dept, of Agriculture, should be merged with the Dept, of Interior into a new Dept, of Natural Resources. The commissions recommendation the Service merger be matched with a jurisdictional consolidation in Congress into a single committee in each House one of the briefest that Interior-For- est included points in the report no suggestion as to the choice of those two committees. But it commented that fragmentation of committee jurisdiction in Congress has...been a major cause of coordination poor among public land laws. The commission charged that Congress has largely delegated the branch executive to over public lands its...authority and that executive agencies the (understandably...took action they deemed necessary to fill this vacuum. 3) A careful review should be made of the present practice under which the Resident can make executive withdrawal as in the case of national monuments and the report recommends that all withdrawal executive limitation without authority should be delegated to the Secretary of the Interior. 4) Regarding oil shale, the report says the public land laws should provide a climate for development of the vast deposits in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, and legislation should be enacted which would authorize legal actions by the government to acquire outstanding claims or interests in public land oil shale Continued on Page 2 Montana dredge mining law ruled unconstitutional by court Montanas controversial 1969 dredge mining law has been ruled unconstitutional in a Helena district court. State Sen. Joseph B. Reber, chief sponsor of the bill, said he will, if necessary, intorduce similar legislation in the next session of the legislature. The Montana dredge mining law was ruled unconstitutional by District Judge Victor of Helena. Fall ruled R Fall in favor of Leo R two Helena miners Eich J. on Sigety and Louis their petition for a declaratory judgment. In December, 1969, the two miners asked the court to rule that interference by the State Board of Health in their operations be declared unconstitutional. Constitution. Judge Fall agreed and said that the law was discriminatory because it did not cover mechanical operation primarily Continued on Page 7 Kennecott vows pollution assault Kennecott is resolved that pollutant emissions from its AERIAL VIEW OF DUVAL CORP. Sierrita and Experanza properties officially dedicated July 19 near Tucson, Ariz. ore from Sierrita pit (upper center) travels two and one-hal- f miles on conveyor belt to mill (lower center). Final ore grinding takes place in 14 cylindrical ball mills (left center in bottom photo) then goes to 602 flotation machines (foreground) where it is separated and concentrated. Copper-molybdenu- m copper smelter near Magna will be reduced to the lowest level attainable,' J. P. OKeefe, general manager, Utah Copper Kennecott Copper Division, told the Salt Lake Rotary Corp., Club. Mr. OKeefe pointed out a reduction of sulfur emissions by They contended the law was contrary the to equal protection the 14th of provisions U.S. the amendment to will ultimately reduce to emissions insignificance, will be no end 'there that or adding nearing operation which could to this work until the problem is improvement cut current solved. conceivably one-thir- d emmissions He reported sulfur emissions by October and in half by the end of 900 tons per operating day by of 1971. the smelter in 1942, reduced to He noted the company's the current 313 tons per day. search for and testing of (The 313 tons of sulfur is Continued on Page 3 technological innovations which two-thir- ds outlined 1942 and adopted processes since it is hoped |