The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Senate section on pages S1386-S1387 on Feb. 28, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. ALLARD:
S. 2673. A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10799 West Alameda Avenue in Lakewood, Colorado, as the ``Felix Sparks Post Office Building''; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, today I introduced legislation to designate the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 10799 West Alameda Avenue in Lakewood, CO, as the ``Felix Sparks Post Office Building.'' This facility will bear the name of a great American, Brigadier General Felix Sparks. Sadly, Brigadier General Sparks passed away in September of last year, but this honor will serve as a lasting tribute to his life and service to his country, State, and community.
Brigadier General Felix Sparks led an exemplary life. His long and distinguished military and civilian career took him from the European theater of World War II to the chambers of the Colorado Supreme Court. General Sparks' enduring leadership, honesty and integrity serve as an inspiration to us all. I am honored to take this time to speak about General Sparks and to introduce this necessary piece of legislation.
Growing up in Arizona, the son of a rail worker, BG Sparks joined the U.S. Army during the Great Depression. After serving in Northern Africa, he went on to lead the Colorado-based 157th regiment in Italy, liberating the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau. During his military service, BG Sparks was awarded two Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, the Combat Infantry Badge, a Commendation Medal, eight battle stars on his European/African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the Croix de Guerre with the Silver Gilt Star.
Although Brigadier General Sparks' passion was practicing law, it paled in comparison when he was called to serve. As a liberator, decorated military officer, District Attorney for Delta, Colorado Supreme Court Justice, Commanding General of the Colorado Army National Guard, State Water Board member and University of Colorado graduate, BG Sparks' sense of duty prevailed.
As a lasting tribute to this incredible man, I cannot think of a more appropriate honor than to have this Lakewood Post Office bear the name of Felix Sparks. A post office is the point in every community that brings all people together, and there is no better way to symbolize the virtues BG Sparks demonstrated through his public and private life. I encourage the Senate to pass this legislation in recognition of BG Felix Sparks.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2673
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FELIX SPARKS POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10799 West Alameda Avenue in Lakewood, Colorado, shall be known and designated as the ``Felix Sparks Post Office Building''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Felix Sparks Post Office Building''.
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By Mr. SALAZAR:
S. 2680. A bill to amend the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to require the Secretary of the Interior to take certain actions to address environmental problems associated with the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel Environmental Improvement Act of 2008. This legislation will direct the Bureau of Reclamation to take action to eliminate the grave environmental threat posed by a collapse of part of the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, or LMDT. Leadville sits at the headwaters of the Arkansas River, and thus the effluent into the river there is of paramount importance to millions of people.
The LMDT is just over 2 miles long, and was constructed during the 1940s and 1950s by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines to drain flooded mines in the Leadville mining district of Lake County in central Colorado. In 1959, the Bureau of Reclamation took
``full custody, accountability, and future responsibility'' of the LMDT to obtain water rights and under the condition that the Bureau would not spend its own funds to maintain or repair the Tunnel. In the early 1990s, however, litigation compelled the Bureau to take responsibility for the quality of the water discharged by the Tunnel. The Bureau constructed a water treatment plant, and Congress authorized the Bureau under P.L. 102-575 to treat the water discharged from the LMDT.
In 1995, however, a major collapse of a segment of the tunnel was detected. Since that time, mine water has pooled behind the blockage. Today the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that close to 1 billion gallons of water contaminated with toxic levels of cadmium, zinc, and manganese, has collected. The citizens of Leadville, Lake County, and the area downstream of the LMDT are deeply worried that the building pressure from this voluminous quantity of water will cause the blockage to burst and flood the town, resulting in a public health and environmental disaster. This winter's heavy snowfall has some concerned that spring snowmelt will further balloon the quantity of toxic water and exacerbate the risk. Under intense scrutiny, this week the EPA and the Bureau have partnered to begin pumping some of the water to the treatment plant and I appreciate their response. But these actions are only a small piece of the puzzle in making sure the LMDT never becomes a disaster.
In recent years the Federal Government's implementation of a long-
term fix for the mine has been jammed up as badly as the mine tunnel itself. My bill focuses on making sure the long term solution for the LMDT moves forward as expeditiously as possible. My bill gives the Secretary of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation clear authority and responsibility to maintain the LMDT in a manner that protects human health and the environment. For many years the Bureau has maintained that it is not responsible for changed conditions within the LMDT. My bill eliminates any ambiguity on this point, and compels the Bureau to act.
Specifically, the legislation directs the Bureau to participate in the long-term remedy for the LMDT that has already been approved by the EPA, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and has been vetted through public meetings. The bill also authorizes the necessary funds for implementation of the long-term remedy. The long-
term solution for the LMDT, specified under the fully approved and vetted EPA superfund Record of Decision, is much more extensive than the pumping and water treatment activity now underway. It will involve construction of a bulkhead in the tunnel to isolate the contaminated pool, backfilling the tunnel, as well as several other actions.
My bill also directs the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the State and the EPA, to conduct a study to determine whether any blockages in the LMDT have affected, or are affecting, water quality and aquatic life in the Arkansas River in the vicinity downstream of the LMDT. We must ensure that the problems with the LMDT blockage do not impact the water quality of the Arkansas River, which is the lifeblood of so many communities. This study will help improve our understanding of the conditions of the headwaters near the LMDT.
For too long the inaction on fixing the LMDT has been a case study in Federal paralysis, with the citizens of Leadville and Lake County caught in the middle. This legislation will establish the conditions and authority necessary to make the long-term fix at the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel a reality as soon as possible.
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