• Clean Water Act
• Clean Air Act
• Endangered Species Act
• Federal Land Policy and Management Act
• National Environmental Policy Act
• National Forest Managment Act

Shortcomings
However none of the laws above can fully protect communities and water resources from the wide range of impacts of modern mining operations and abandoned mines.  Shortfalls include:

• NO LAW protects groundwater surrounding a mining operation.
• NO LAW ensures that a mine will not create acid runoff  that can poison water resources for thousands of years.
• NO LAW gives local communities or Native communities the certainty of knowing that land managers will deny mines where they are inappropriate.
• Hardrock mining companies are EXEMPT from some provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the law  governing the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste.

While some states do have laws governing hardrock mining, they do not fill the void left by the shortcomings of current federal laws. The fact that widespread mining pollution persists and mining companies can still avoid all or most of their cleanup and reclamation responsibilities, confirms the weakness, narrowness, and inadequate enforcement of these state laws.

Moving Forward
To close these gaps, passage and vigorous enforcement of strong, comprehensive state and federal laws is needed. Only then will a reasonable balance be achieved between the needs of taxpayers, westerners, and users of public lands on the one hand, and the interests of the hardrock mining industry on the other.