here's from an article -- sorry, about the format:
The Mountain Pass mine, located in the Mojave Desert north of Barstow, California, was one of the richest, if not the richest rare earth element (lanthanide) mine in the world. But on Oct.
31,
1994, with the passing of the California Desert Protection Act, the mine was effectively surrounded by park land, potentially locking up a large part of the ore body in the new Mojave preserve and adding tremendous constraints to the open pits operation. This act was pushed through by Sen. Diane Feinstein and Rep. George Miller. When water from a routine flushing of the tailing pipeline accidentally spilled into the Mojave preserve, the clean-=C2=AD=E2=80=90up effort by the owner, Molycorp Minerals LLC, was delayed for months by Federal agencies. Twenty-=C2=AD=E2=80=90nine government agencies got involved. U.S. Fish and Wildlife and California Department of Fish and Game SWAT teams seized the company computers and records at gunpoint. They held the employees incommunicado under armed guard, denying them access to the company attorneys, who were held outside at the main gate. These federal agencies levied more than $6 million in fines and penalties against the company. This includes $1 million for a dead desert tortoise that was found on the property. (!) An autopsy on the tortoise failed to show any wrongdoing on the part of the company. As it turns out, Diane Feinstein's husband, Richard