Our most important tools in the effort to defend Music Valley are the state and federal regulations that have protected our environment for generations.  Right now those regulations are under serious attack. 

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) is being presented as clean energy permitting reform, but, in reality, it would gut bedrock conservation laws and could hand public lands to mining companies unless major changes are made in the bill. 

BAAJA’s more than 75 provisions weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Clean Water Act.  Once enacted, many of these changes would be extraordinarily difficult to undo. 

A key concern for Wonder Valley residents is how this bill could hand public lands to mining companies.  Section 2215 gives mining operators, including foreign-owned companies such as Dateline Resources, a statutory right to use public land for waste dumps, roads, and pipelines.  That right holds even where the land supports wildlife habitat, recreation, cultural resources, or drinking water, such as with the Music Valley Mine.  

The bill would also silence the public and close the courthouse door.  BAAJA effectively eliminates the authority of courts to enforce compliance with NEPA and NHPA. It generally prevents courts from issuing injunctions to stop projects that were authorized in violation of these laws, or from vacating permits issued in violation of them.

An important case in point is the Colosseum Mine, also operated by Dateline Resources.  The mine is located within the Mojave National Preserve, and Dateline Resources began bulldozing and road-building in defiance of federal law until the National Parks Conservation Association and Earthjustice obtained a preliminary injunction preventing further damage while a lawsuit continues.  Under BAAJA, such an injunction might no longer be possible and damaging activity could simply continue as the case makes its way through the courts.  A bad actor such as Dateline Resources must be expected to take advantage of any new weakness in environmental protection in pursuing a project like Music Valley Mine, no matter how damaging to communities like Wonder Valley or national treasures such as Joshua Tree National Park.

The people are not separate from the environment.  Weakening of our environmental protections is an attack on us, the people of the United States.  Desert residents will not stand for this destruction of the protections that have been rightfully ours by law in this nation for generations. 

What can you do?  Right now BAAJA is being considered in the Senate.  Write Senators Padilla and Schiff and urge them to oppose BAAJA unless and until the threats to the people and environment are removed.  See our Take Action Now page for an easy way to reach them.