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MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002

The New York Times throws its support behind a bill to reform the 1872 Mining Law, saying Secretary of Interior Gale Norton gutted environmental protections the Clinton administration implemented.

"She offered useful ideas for permanently ending the patenting scam and for collecting royalties," the paper concedes. "But her environmental requirements were weaker and more industry-friendly, and she explicitly rejected the very heart of the Babbitt reforms — the federal veto power."

The paper instead says a bipartisan measure offered by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), the ranking member of the House Resources Committee, and Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.), is "superior."

"It would also require mining companies to observe strict and detailed environmental safeguards, clean up their messes and pay significant royalties," the paper writes of the bill.

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Editorial: A Bad Law's Birthday (The New York Times 5/13)