There's no point in starting this blog with bouquets rather than brickbats.  What we do often draws a response from viewers unhappy with the results and full of suspicion that we don't know (or care) what the hell we're doing. Last Friday's assignment was a mining law reform bill coming up for a vote in a House committee. It drew the following e-mail from Gary.....

Ed Pearce's broadcast tonight (6:30 pm Friday) about possible adjustments to the Mining Law. Once again Mr. Pearce has allowed anti-mining activist to "educate" your viewers about the industry. This women said 3 things, all incorrect, and all courtesy of Mr. Pearce who is a) is too lazy to find a knowledgeable spokesman for the industry or b) is sympathetic to the anti-mining crowd. This women said the following:

1) (Implication) Foreign companies are not paying their fair share to the American people for the proceeds of mining in Nevada. Fact: All companies who mine in Nevada are American corporations, no matter where their headquarters are. They pay the same taxes as any other American corporation.

2) Nevadan's have to pay for reclamation of mining properties. Fact: Complete crap, all mining operations are covered by multi-million dollar reclamation bonds, and Nevadan's have not had to pay for any recent mining activity.

3) Mining is full of hazardous jobs. Fact: Mining in Nevada is one of the safest heavy industry activities in the country.

For the sake of accuracy, if not more an effort to be a good journalist, do not have anti-industry activists be the spokesmen for a particular industry! Futhermore, why not challenge the statements when they are made---a little research will provide you with the facts that will dispute the misrepresentations. Doesn't your listeners deserve the courtesy of the truth??

This was the gist of my response

Gary....

First, let me say I'm sure I've been called many things in the course of my career. I don't recall ever being called lazy. Let me address that point first. In the course of chasing this story I made contact with and sought input from the following sources: the offices of: Congressman Heller, Senator Reid and Congressman Rahall, Barrick Mining, the Nevada Mining Association, a Washington lobbyist working on the bill and Great Basin Mine Watch. Additionally calls were made, burt not completed, to Ron Hess at the Bureau of Mines, Dr. Glenn Miller at UNR and Russ Fields with the Mining Association's cell phone. Those last calls were finally returned with apologies on Monday.

The story was this and only this: Congressman Rahall is pushing a bill that would impose a gross royalty fee on mining. Our Congressional delegation and the mining industry say it would be a disaster. Critics of the mining industry are lining up behind it and towns  

It wasn't an easy search for interviews as just about everyone I could contact was out of town or in Washington, but the final result was a story that (a) saiId the bill was expected to pass out of committee this week (I'm waiting for word that it has as I write this),.  (b) Heller says he can't stop it in the House, but Reid expects to do so in the Senate, (c) the mining industry is ready to accept some reform including royalties, but only on new mines and only on net, not gross, (d) there is considerable and understandable concern about the effect on the mining industry in northern Nevada and the communities that depend to a degree on it and (e) nevertheless, there are those in Washington and Nevada who apparently reject those concerns. The story included on camera comments from Congressman Heller saying the impact would be terrible, the Nevada Mining Association saying the industry could accept a fair royalty (no gross, only new mines and Great Basin Mine Watch making the case for the change. Maybe you didn't like what that last source had to say, but that's called balance and I went to considerable lengths to provide it.

As for the implication that many of the major mining companies are foreign...well, many are foreign owned. They may be American corporations. They may pay taxes here. They are foreign owned or at least multi-national in the same way Toyota is. I don't attach any particular importance to that fact, but it's true.

I think the comment wasn't that Nevadans pay for clean up of old mines, it was that all taxpayers could. (Though I just did a story about the state making abandoned mines safe and you and I, through the state and the federal government are paying for that.) And yes, I'm well aware of the tact that mines post bonds for reclamation. Over the years I've done a number of stories on this process. It's also true, however, that under this bill (and one would assume any other) funds raised by the royalty would go to reclamation of old mines.

No one said the mining industry was full of hazardous jobs. I think you misheard the comment from Great Basin Mine Watch. It was about the environmental hazards left by old mines. An example:  the old Anaconda works at Weed Heights.

Finally, I never represented anyone from Great Basin Mine Watch as a spokesman for the industry, nor would I. They are critics of the mining industry and were clearly represented as such.

My story concerned a bill about a proposal to charge the mining industry a new tax. One that the industry and our congressional delegation say would be harmful and others say is overdue. That is the outline of the story. It wasn't meant to be an attack or a defense of the mining industry or a full-on discussion of its perceived benefits and sins. Of course, our viewers always deserve the truth. That's always my aim. Last Friday I worked hard on it and the result was balance.

I have no axe to grind here. My family came to Nevada in the 1870's to work in the mines and some have remained involved in it into recent times.

Thanks for listening,

Ed Pearce

Final note: Inspite of Congressman Heller's attempt to amend it, the bill was passed out of the Natural Resources Committee Tuesday and is now headed for the House floor. In a press release that followed the passage, Heller repeated his charges that the bill as presently worded would shut down mining in northern Nevada and cause serious economic hardship. Mining industry critics continue to dismiss those concerns as exaggerated. We'll continue to keep an eye on this story.