[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 33 (Thursday, February 28, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1386-S1387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      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

[[Page S1387]]

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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