Grijalva presses mining, oil companies for resource data

{mosads}“This information will help my Committee, and Congress as a whole, determine whether our federal lands are currently being put to the best use,” the letters state. “Taxpayers rightly demand the maximum financial benefit from publicly owned property and commodities, and in this tough economy we need accurate information to make the best financial decisions for our nation.”

Grijalva and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) also recently asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for a study of the value of resources extracted from federal lands and the revenues collected. GAO has agreed to do the study, according to Grijalva’s office.

In announcing the GAO request last month, Grijalva took aim in particular at “antiquated” mining laws that enable royalty-free hardrock mineral production on federal lands.

More broadly, he said last month that a closer look at energy and mining revenues is needed.

“When we are talking about radical cuts and reductions in Medicare, Social Security, domestic investments in education, because there is not enough revenue that is coming into the government, here we have public lands and the outer continental shelf owned by the American people in which significant economic activity is going on, we are asking a simple question: How much activity is going on, and what is the return on the dollar,” he said.

Many Democrats and the Obama administration have called for policy changes including imposition of hardrock mining royalties, scaling back royalty waivers allowed for some deepwater oil-and-gas production, and other measures aimed at increasing energy and mineral extraction revenues.

The U.S. collects about $10 billion annually in revenues from oil-and-gas and mining projects on public lands and in public waters offshore.