The state of Oregon has adopted stringent standards on emissions into air and water and permissible noise levels within areas established under the 1964 Wilderness Act, 16 U.S.C. §§1131 et seq., ELR 41412. The standards will be found at ELR 49001. The establishment of the standards itself raises interesting questions of exclusive federal jurisdiction and federal preemption. See the Opinion of the Oregon Attorney General, ELR Dig. [250]. It is the effect of the standards, however, that this Comment discusses.

Mining claimants, who are specifically exempted until 1984 from restrictions on activity in wilderness areas by 16 U.S.C. §1133(d)(3), ELR 41414, are the class of persons most strongly affected by the new standards. The effect of the Oregon regulations is to make mining activities virtually impossible in Oregon's wilderness areas. The standard for noise without a permit obtained 90 days in advance is a maximum intensity of 50 decibels at a distance of 50 feet from the source: roughly the noise produced by an average vacuum cleaner at that distance, or the sound of wind in the treetops.With a permit, some activities would be allowed to generate sound levels of 75 decibels, still well below the levels of most mining operations. Cutting of timber on mining claims, permitted under the mining laws and §1133(d)(3), would be unfeasible within this noise standard. The air emission standard, prohibiting any visible particulates, prohibits mining activities that raise dust, as well as the use of most gasoline or diesel motors for mineral extraction. Tailings from mining operations would have to be carefully handled to avoid water runoff after a rainstorm entering streams and creating measurable water pollution.