We have been asked frequently, what can residents of the Anthem, 7 Hills, Inspirada, Southern Hills, etc. really do to help our communities and ourselves to permanently prevent mining in the do-nut hole site?  So, here is another shot at trying to explain this complex situation.  This not a repeat of other posts.  We have added some more details and suggestions not previously posted.

Last year, I teamed with mining project team leaders George Meese and Martin Charney to help on the effort to kill the do-nut hole mining threat. Marcia Kosterka was not involved in this initiative as she did not have the career experience, personal contacts, or skills to be helpful on that initiative.  At this time, everyone needs to focus more on pulling together to achieving the objective, and much less on who gets what credit.

The desired result of that initiative was to have a member of Congress insert a relatively minor amendment to a law to reverse the exception that permitted mining in that 1-square mile/do-nut hole area.  Since I had been serving as a member of Senator Ensign’s Veterans Advisory Group for a number of years, I was asked to see if Ensign’s staff could agree to help solve the problem.  Unfortunately, it soon became clear the desired action through Ensign’s staff was not likely at that time, and I reported this back to the project team.  So, the team proceeded to investigate other channels.

Since that time, we have all learned much more about the complexity of this project.   Kay and I and others have become firmly convinced that only Senator Reid can lead the effort to make this do-nut hole go away.  This 640-acre exception to the Sloan Canyon preservation area only exists because of Reid’s actions of many years ago before Anthem and Inspirada master plans were finalized. And, as long as Senator Reid is serving as Senate Majority Leader in Congress, only he can initiate the required action.  So, what must be done to stimulate Senator Reid to act now?

An important factor learned early in the process was that this particular mining site would not be easy to eliminate because it contained unusually high quality raw materials considered important to the types of high-stressed concrete needed for future high-rise construction (such as casinos and condos) in the Las Vegas areas.  While the future needs for such high-rise buildings are uncertain, to avoid a protracted power struggle with the mining and developer communities, an influential member of Congress and BLM representatives would have to meet with the mining industry representatives to negotiate a trade-off for removing the do-nut hole mine. If such an important (highly profitable) site is to be lost forever to the involved industries, they have reasonable expectations of seeing one or more other important NV mining sites being released as compensation.

In short, it will take a coordinated, bipartisan effort by Reid, Ensign, Titus and Heller to make this finally happen. This winds up being a major business decision facing these members of Congress.  It is not a simple matter of granting mercy to our seniors and other residents, and we all need to appreciate the issues and high stakes involved. 

Meanwhile, Kay and I and others believe that Senator Reid can be convinced it is in his best interests to lead the effort to do as we all have been requesting for two years.  He has had plenty of time to act, and it is reasonable to insist that he get on with doing his job as the NV and Senate Leader in Congress.

Senator Reid should be motivated during this hot re-election time to actually do things to protect the air quality over Sloan Canyon and other Southern Nevada areas, and to deal with major health and water conservation matters.  So, the question is what will it take to convince him to move now, rather than make more promises and wait until after the election? And, what will it take to get Senator Ensign and other Congressional Delegation members Titus, Berkley and Heller to cooperate and provide full bipartisan support to Reid to make this mining lease option get terminated in 2010?  We do not want to have a partisan stalemate. So, it worries Kay and I to hear Senator Reid’s staff is thinking about a new bill rather than to amend the old one.  A new bill takes a lot more time and effort, and it would doom the completed action for at least a year or two.

In addition, we need to convince our current members of Congress to write to BLM and advise them to take this lease option off the table.  BLM needs to be told that it is the intent of all members of the NV Congressional Delegation to quickly amend the legislation and terminate the do-nut hole leasing option.  That correspondence should work to kill the current EIS work and other unnecessary BLM activities on this particular leasing option.

In the meantime, none of us should place blind trust in Senator Reid, or any other member of our Congressional Delegation. Our position should be that this mine option simply must be killed before the November election.  If Reid and others of our Congressional Delegation are not around next year, whoever replaces them may find it very difficult to move quickly enough to terminate BLM’s leasing authority. And, the current members of our Congressional Delegation are more highly motivated to act decisively during the next 6 months than they have ever been–or ever will be.

Based on our extensive government contracting experiences, Kay and I believe that if a lease is ever granted, it is unlikely to get revoked.  So, we feel justified to open up the dialog to better inform our members on more of the specific details (instead of relying on secret backroom deals) so we all can act in our own best interests.  We are confident this highly focused effort on the NV Congressional Delegation during the next few months will greatly help to achieve the desired results.  It cannot hurt the project group’s work for individual voters to act in their best interests.

This is a high-stakes political activity.  If you truly care about the outcome, you cannot rest easy until it is truly “fixed”.  Your vote in November will never be more important that it is right now!  Get involved now with all of our Congressional Delegation, and stay involved till the BLM leasing authority for the do-nut hole is terminated!

Bob & Kay Frank