By Suzanne Adams-Ockrassa | Kingman Daily Miner
A federal judge recently upheld the U.S. Interior Department’s authority to ban mining on a million acres surrounding the Grand Canyon, but that will not have an effect on Mohave County’s argument in the case, according to Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson.
“The ruling doesn’t change where the county is going on the lawsuit,” Johnson said.
The county joined a lawsuit against the federal government filed by several mining companies in April 2012. The county claims that the federal government did not seek information on the potential economic impact the mining ban would have on local governments.
The mining companies claim that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar based his decision to ban mining on a flawed environmental impact statement and that the Bureau of Land Management did not follow federal law when creating the statement.
The companies also claim that the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which grants Secretary of the Interior the authority to remove public land from use, is unconstitutional.
