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“INTRODUCTION OF ABANDONED HARDROCK MINES RECLAMATION ACT” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E154-E155 on Feb. 6, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF ABANDONED HARDROCK MINES RECLAMATION ACT
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HON. MARK UDALL
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, February 5, 2003
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Abandoned Hardrock Mines Reclamation Act. This bill is designed to help promote the cleanup of abandoned and inactive hardrock mines that are a menace to the environment and public health throughout the country, but especially in the West. I introduced a similar bill in the 107th Congress. This bill contains a number of changes that were developed in consultation with interested parties, including representatives of the Western Governors' Association, the hardrock mining industry, and environmental groups. More detail regarding these changes is included at the end of this statement.
The Background
For over one hundred years, miners and prospectors have searched for and developed valuable ``hardrock'' minerals--gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, and others. Hardrock mining has played a key role in the history of Colorado and other States, and the resulting mineral wealth has been an important aspect of our economy and the development of essential products. However, as all westerners know, this history has too often been marked by a series of ``boom'' times followed by a
``bust'' when mines were no longer profitable. When these busts came, too often the miners would abandon their workings and move on, seeking riches over the next mountain. The resulting legacy of unsafe open mine shafts and acid mine drainages can be seen throughout the country and especially on the western public lands where mineral development was encouraged to help settle our region.
The Problems
The problems caused by abandoned and inactive mines are very real and very large--including acidic water draining from old tunnels, heavy metals leaching into streams, killing fish and tainting water supplies, open vertical mine shafts, dangerous highwalls, large open pits, waste rock piles that are unsightly and dangerous, and hazardous, dilapidated structures.
And, unfortunately, many of our current environmental laws, designed to mitigate the impact from operating hardrock mines, are of limited effectiveness when applied to abandoned and inactive mines. As a result, many of these old mines go on polluting streams and rivers and potentially risking the health of people who live nearby or downstream.
Obstacles to Cleanup
Right now there are two serious obstacles to progress. One is a serious lack of funds for cleaning up sites for which no private person or entity can be held liable. The other obstacle is legal. While the Clean Water Act is one of the most effective and important of our environmental laws, as applied it can mean that someone undertaking to clean up an abandoned or inactive mine will be exposed to the same liability that would apply to a party responsible for creating the site's problems in the first place. As a result, would-be ``good Samaritans'' understandably have been unwilling to volunteer their services to clean up abandoned and inactive mines.
Unless these fiscal and legal obstacles are overcome, often the only route to clean up abandoned mines will be to place them on the Nation's Superfund list. Colorado has experience with that approach, so Coloradans know that while it can be effective it also has shortcomings. For one thing, just being placed on the Superfund list does not guarantee prompt cleanup. The site will have to get in line behind other listed sites and await the availability of financial resources. In addition, as many communities within or near Superfund sites know, listing an area on the Superfund list can create concerns about stigmatizing an area and potentially harming nearby property values.
We need to develop an alternative approach that will mean we are not left only with the options of doing nothing or creating additional Superfund sites--because while in some cases the Superfund approach may make the most sense, in many others there could be a more direct and effective way to remedy the problem.
Western Governors Want Action
For years, the Governors of our western States have recognized the need for action to address this serious problem. The Western Governors' Association has several times adopted resolutions on the subject. The most recent, adopted in August of 2001, was entitled ``Cleaning Up Abandoned Mines'' and was proposed by Governor Bill Owens of Colorado along with Governors Guinn of Nevada, Janklow of South Dakota, and Johnson of New Mexico. The bill I am introducing today is based directly on those recommendations by the Western Governors. It addresses both the lack of resources and the liability risks to those doing cleanups.
Outline of the Bill
title i. funds for cleanups
Title I addresses the lack of resources. It would create a reclamation fund paid for by a modest fee applied to existing hardrock mining operations. The fund would be used by the Secretary of the Interior to assist projects to reclaim and restore lands and waters adversely affected by abandoned or inactive hardrock mines.
A similar method already exists to fund clean up of abandoned coal mines. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) provides for fees on coal production.
Similarly, my bill provides for fees on mineral production from producing hardrock mines on Federal lands or lands that were Federal before issuance of a mining-law patent. Fees would be paid to the Secretary of the Interior and would be deposited in a new Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund in the U.S. Treasury. Money in that fund would earn interest and would be available for reclamation of abandoned hardrock mines. The method of calculating fees is similar to that used by the State of Nevada, which collects production-based fees from mines in that State. Because over the years there have been proposals to establish royalties for hardrock production, in order to provide a greater return to the American people, they would require the Secretary of the Interior to reduce payments under this title so as to offset any royalties hardrock producers may pay in the future. This is intended to avoid possible inequitable treatment of a producer covered by both the royalty and Title I of this bill.
Funds in the new reclamation fund would be available for appropriation for grants to eligible States to complete inventories of abandoned hardrock mine sites, as mentioned above. A State with sites covered by the bill could receive a grant of up to $2 million annually for this purpose. In addition, money from the fund would be available for cleanup work at eligible sites. To be eligible, a site would have to be within a State subject to operation of the general mining laws that has completed its Statewide inventory. Within those States, eligible sites would be those--(1) where former hardrock-mining activities had permanently ceased as of the date of the bill's enactment; (2) that are not on the National Priorities List under the Superfund law; (3) for which there are no identifiable owners or operators; and (4) that lack sufficient minerals to make further mining, remining, or reprocessing of minerals economically feasible. Sites designated for remedial action under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 or subject to planned or ongoing response or natural resource damage action under the Superfund law would not be eligible for cleanup funding from the new reclamation fund. The Interior Department could use money from the fund to do cleanup work itself or could authorize use of the money for cleanup work by a holder of one of the new ``good Samaritan'' permits provided for in Title II of the bill.
Title II. Protection for ``Good Samaritans''
Title II addresses the threat of long-term liability. To help encourage the efforts of ``good Samaritans,'' the bill would create a new program under the Clean Water Act under which qualifying individuals and entities could obtain permits to conduct cleanups of abandoned or inactive hardrock mines. These permits would give some liability protection to those volunteering to clean up these sites, while also requiring the permit holders to meet certain requirements. The bill specifies who can secure these permits, what would be required by way of a cleanup plan, and the extent of liability exposure. Notably, unlike regular Clean Water Act point-source (``NPDES'') permits, these new permits would not require meeting specific standards for specific pollutants and would not impose liabilities for monitoring or long-term maintenance and operations. These permits would terminate upon completion of cleanup, if a regular Clean Water Act permit is issued for the same site, or if a permit holder encounters unforeseen conditions beyond the holder's control.
Together, these two parts of the bill could help us begin to address a problem that has frustrated Federal and State agencies throughout the country and make progress in cleaning up from an unwelcome legacy of our mining history.
Differences Between This Bill and the Previous Version
Since the introduction of my original bill in the 107th Congress, I have been working with a variety of people interested in this subject. My staff joined discussions with a group that included representation of the western States through the auspices of the Western Governors' Association, the mining industry (including hardrock mining companies in Colorado and the Colorado and national mining associations), the environmental community, and relevant State and Federal agencies. The discussions were very productive, and led to much progress toward developing consensus solutions to a variety of concerns. This revised version of the bill reflects those discussions and I wish to express my personal thanks to those who participated. The significant changes in this version of the bill include the following:
Title I
Use of existing administrative system to disperse fees. At the request of the States, the bill requires the Secretary of the Interior to use the existing mine cleanup fund disbursement system under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). This will help facilitate the administration of the fund under the bill, reduced duplication and improve efficiency. For States that do not have a program under SMCRA, the Secretary is authorized to disperse funds in those eligible States as long as those States have a State-authorized abandoned mine cleanup program.''
Allocation of funds to the States. The bill specifies that 25 percent of the funds collected by the fee shall go back to the States where such fees originated; 50 percent of the funds collected annually will be expended in eligible States in relation to the extent of mining activity that occurred in those States during the years 1900 to 1980
(that is, from the turn of the last century until enactment of Superfund (more formally, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CRCLA)); and the balance of the fund will be used elsewhere at the discretion of the Secretary.
Fee Off-set in case a royalty is applied. During the discussions over the bill, the mining industry expressed concerns regarding the fee title provision. They indicated that, as a general matter, the industry is not opposed to helping fund the cleanup of abandoned mines, but they were concerned that in the context of any potential reform of the General Mining Law of 1872, miners may be required to pay a royalty for hardrock minerals extracted from public lands in addition to the fee imposed in this bill and thus subjecting them to paying twice. This bill addresses that concern by providing that a fee collected under this bill would be reduced by an amount equal to any royalty established in the future that is credited to the hardrock reclamation fund.
Title II
Delegation to the States. The bill expressly authorizes the EPA to delegate the authority to issue ``good Samaritan'' reclamation permits to eligible States. This was done at the request of the States.
Cooperating Parties. At the request of mining community representatives, the bill adds new provisions for ``cooperating parties'' that would be authorized to assist remediating parties with cleanup work under ``good Samaritan'' permits. These cooperating parties would also enjoy the liability protections afforded to full remediating parties. This will enable the mining industry to employ its expertise and capabilities to assist in the cleanups.
Long-term Protection. The bill requires that cleanup plans include an obligation that the cleanup efforts will be maintained and operated to ensure continued long-term benefits from work accomplished at each site.
Recoverable Value. At the request of many of the parties in the discussions, the bill allows remediating parties to beneficially use any materials found at the site during the cleanup. These materials could include any residual hardrock minerals that are present at the site. However, any value recouped from any sale of these materials would have to be used to defray the costs of the cleanup or to help cleanup of other abandoned hardrock mines.
I think these changes are improvements that will further facilitate the cleanup of thousands of abandoned hardrock mines in the West.
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