0001|                       HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 55
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0002|     43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003|                            INTRODUCED BY
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0004|                            G. X. McSHERRY
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0005|     
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0006|                                   
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0007|     
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0008|     
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0009|     
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0010|                           A JOINT MEMORIAL
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0011|     REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATE AND CONGRESS TO
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0012|     MAKE THE MORE THAN ONE BILLION DOLLARS ($1,000,000,000) OF
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0013|     FEDERAL MONEY IN THE ABANDONED MINE LAND TRUST FUND ALREADY
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0014|     EARMARKED FOR ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION AVAILABLE TO STATES.
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0015|     
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0016|          WHEREAS, New Mexico has an estimated thirteen thousand
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0017|     hazardous mine openings, sixty-nine miles of degraded streams
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0018|     and more than thirty thousand acres of land that have been
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0019|     adversely affected by previous mining activities; and
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0020|          WHEREAS, numerous personal injuries, deaths, property
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0021|     damages and environmental concerns have resulted from early
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0022|     mining activities; and
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0023|          WHEREAS, the mining and minerals division of the energy,
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0024|     minerals and natural resources department estimates it will
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0025|     cost more than three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) to
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0001|     reclaim and restore these abandoned mine lands; and
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0002|          WHEREAS, New Mexico now receives only about one million
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0003|     five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) a year from the
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0004|     federal government for abandoned mine land reclamation
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0005|     projects; and
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0006|          WHEREAS, there is now a balance of more than one billion
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0007|     dollars ($1,000,000,000) in the federal abandoned mine
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0008|     reclamation trust fund that is set aside by law to take care
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0009|     of lands adversely affected by early coal mining activities;
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0010|     and
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0011|          WHEREAS, New Mexico is the thirteenth largest coal
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0012|     producing state in the nation, and coal operators contribute
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0013|     significantly to the fund by paying a special fee for each ton
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0014|     of coal they mine; and
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0015|          WHEREAS, New Mexico coal mine operators paid more than
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0016|     five million four hundred thousand dollars ($5,400,000) in
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0017|     special coal mining fees in 1997; and
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0018|          WHEREAS, the unappropriated federal abandoned mine
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0019|     reclamation trust fund balance is increasing at the rate of
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0020|     more than one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) per year;
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0021|     and
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0022|          WHEREAS, New Mexico has a seventeen-year record of
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0023|     reclamation success in administering the abandoned mine land
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0024|     program; and
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0025|          WHEREAS, New Mexico's current undistributed state share
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0001|     of the federal abandoned mine reclamation trust fund is more
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0002|     than twelve million dollars ($12,000,000); and
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0003|          WHEREAS, New Mexico has been working with the western
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0004|     governors' association, the western interstate energy board,
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0005|     the national association of abandoned mine land programs,
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0006|     Indian tribes and other states to free more of these funds to
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0007|     safeguard and reclaim abandoned mine lands; and
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0008|          WHEREAS, making more funds available to states for
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0009|     abandoned mine reclamation should preserve the interest
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0010|     revenues now being made available for the united mine workers
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0011|     combined benefit fund; and
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0012|          WHEREAS, the federal office of surface mining, the United
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0013|     States environmental protection agency and congress have not
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0014|     agreed to make more funds available to states for abandoned
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0015|     mine reclamation;
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0016|          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
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0017|     STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the president of United States and
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0018|     congress be urged to make the more than one billion dollars
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0019|     ($1,000,000,000) of federal money already earmarked for
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0020|     abandoned mine land reclamation available to states to reclaim
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0021|     and make safe our abandoned mine lands; and
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0022|          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
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0023|     transmitted to the president of the United States, the
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0024|     presiding officers of each house of congress and all other
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0025|     members of congress.
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