The Strength of CMA’s Committees
We hope you had a restful 4th of July holiday, perhaps some time off to relax and recharge.
As we begin a new fiscal year, I want to make sure CMA members are aware of upcoming events and committee meetings which provide members the opportunity to come together and work collectively for the benefit of Colorado’s mining industry.
First, CMA’s Golf Tournament will be held Friday, August 4 at Legacy Ridge Golf Course. Always a wonderful day, we particularly enjoy seeing members we haven’t seen recently as well as watching teams show off their true golfing talents. We’ve had an increase in the last several years of mining operator teams and as always, a wide variety of our vendors and suppliers. Please make sure you sign up today to join us, we look forward to seeing you on August 4.
Secondly, we want to make sure all CMA members are aware of the opportunities to participate in our Coal, Hardrock and Uranium Committee, as well as the Water Quality Committee that meet monthly. We are joined monthly by the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety for the Coal, Hardrock and Uranium Committee, and the Water Quality Committee has frequent presentations made as well.
Our Government Affairs committee serves as coordinator of all the policy activity when CMA expresses its collective view on various policy topics whether it’s the Colorado General Assembly or state regulatory agencies. The Committee meets weekly during the months of January through May when Colorado’s legislature is in session, and generally bi-weekly in the summer and fall months.
These policy committees are extremely important as they frame and prioritize the policy work CMA does on a daily basis. This summer already, we’ve responded to draft guidance issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division issued literally prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sacket decision rejecting the federal definition of navigable waters.
Colorado’s reaction to this decision will also lead to both policy and budget issues associated with the potential development of a permitting program to cover waters the State of Colorado determines need protections beyond those apparently the federal regulations will cover. This budgetary issue, which CMA urged the Colorado Joint Budget Committee to take special attention to, comes at a time the water quality fees will be raised in the next several years by the Water Quality Control Commission will decide.
CMA’s Water Quality Committee will meet on Tuesday, July 18 at 9:00 a.m. to develop policy principles which will guide our work on these two important issues. If you’re not a member of any of our committees, and want to be, please contact the CMA office.
We’ll have several other policy issues to tackle this summer and fall and look here for important updates.
Stan Dempsey Jr
President
Colorado Mining Association
