[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]




          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''.
                                 ______
                                 
      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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