[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO PAY?

  (Mr. SKAGGS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SKAGGS. Mr. Speaker, before we take up the takings bill, I ask 
everybody to look at the story of Colorado's Summitville Mine. This was 
an active gold mine, using a cyanide leaching technique to extract ore. 
But a couple of years ago the mine's poorly designed holding ponds 
broke, overflowed, and a very, very toxic flow went down Alamoosa Creek 
in southern Colorado.
  About a year and a half later, the foreign company which owned the 
mine declared bankruptcy and left. At the request of the State, EPA 
took over the cleanup.
  Here is the kicker. The companies that now own the site are claiming 
that EPA's effort to clean up is a taking of their property, for which 
they deserve compensation.
  Under the Constitution, this claim would be laughed out of court. But 
if we pass this takings legislation, it is exactly the kind of claim 
that American taxpayers would be forced to pay.
  The public has already paid twice for Summitville: First, the 
environmental disaster, and now the EPA cleanup. Let us not have to pay 
a third time. They have got to be kidding.
  More on the Summitville disaster on special orders tonight.

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