The Planning Commission members made it clear that they didn't understand much of the extensive and technical testimony, but they concurred with their staff. In recognition of the Antolinis' manful attempts, however, they didn't declare them in violation of the law. Instead, they demanded that Hank come back in three months with yet another reclamation plan. But even if the Antolinis eventually get a reclamation plan approved, more regulatory hurdles await them. The next step would be an environmental assessment, which can either give the site a clean bill of environmental health or lead to a full-fledged environmental impact report.
Mining is a threatened occupation.
Fred Smith of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has been watching mining come under regulatory attack for years. By being so efficient, extraction industries have made themselves politically irrelevant. Americans think metal comes in nails and sheets, and oil from pumps. We want the beautiful penthouse apartment without having the foundation for the building. And if the mining industry as a whole has become small and efficient enough to lack significant political clout, a seven-man family operation like the Antolinis' is particularly vulnerable.