This week, we detailed what the mining industry left behind after it shut down in this area 60 years ago — abandoned mine waste, a trail of pollution and a system of mines still poisoning the headwaters of the West.

While environmental laws have strengthened since then, the industry itself has done little locally to prove it deserves an open door. With a push from mining lobbyists for the ability to use cyanide to mine gold locally, we question how concerned these operations really are about learning from the past.

The idea that mining could return is not as far-fetched as many may seem. A few Summit County residents still have mine holdings in the county, and with a volatile economy flipping on itself and a foreign war surging, conditions are improving for the demand for natural resources found within our borders.

Before another mine should open, many legislative reforms are needed. Good Samaritan bills must be passed to encourage local clean-ups of abandoned mines, without those same groups taking on the liability for the land. And, most importantly, we hope Congress pushes a current bill through — H.R. 2262, the Hardrock Mining and reclamation Act of 2007.

Why is this important? The law, co-sponsored by Rep. Mark Udall and introduced in May 2007, updates the current law that regulates gold and ore mining, which was crafted in 1872 — before women could vote, and long before the creation of national environmental laws.

Tourism is our main economic driver today. Mining has proven to be one of only a few other industry more prone to damaging our public lands, and an industry we are still cleaning up after decades later.