A spat between the Interior Department and the House Resources Committee deepened Wednesday after the department declined to say how it will respond to a subpoena served up by the panel the previous day.
Under the subpoena, the department has until Aug. 15 to turn over documents relating to new regulations on bonding for mine reclamation on public land.
The department has refused to turn over the documents unless the committee assures it the papers will not be placed in the public record.
House Resources Chairman Young and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., have refused to say what they intend to do with the documents, and a committee source said they are not required to do so.
However, Young and Cubin have said they will follow committee and House rules regarding putting the information in the record, which would require a committee vote.
An Interior Department spokeswoman said the department is standing by a statement it issued July 16 when the committee voted 20-19 to authorize the subpoenas.
The department called the subpoenas "unnecessary and inappropriate."
The statement said the department would release the documents as long as it has assurances they will not be turned over to the mining industry to help it in a lawsuit against the department on the new regulations.
If the department refuses to comply, the committee will have no way to enforce the subpoena other than to ask the full House to hold Interior Secretary Babbitt in contempt.
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