[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 125 (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H9294-H9295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         LEADVILLE MINE DRAINAGE TUNNEL REMEDIATION ACT OF 2009

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3123) to direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation, to remedy problems caused by a 
collapsed drainage tunnel in Leadville, Colorado, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3123

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. LEADVILLE MINE DRAINAGE TUNNEL REMEDIATION.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel Remediation Act of 2009''.
       (b) Tunnel Remediation.--The Reclamation Projects 
     Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-575) 
     is amended as follows:
       (1) By striking section 705.
       (2) In section 708(a)--
       (A) by striking ``(a)'' and inserting ``(a)(1)'';
       (B) by striking ``The Secretary shall have'' and inserting 
     ``Except as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 
     have''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) The Secretary shall participate in the implementation 
     of the operable unit 6 remedy for the California Gulch 
     Superfund Site, including, but not limited to, the following 
     actions:
       ``(A) Treating water behind any blockage or bulkhead in the 
     Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, including surface water 
     diverted into the  Tunnel workings as part of the remedy.
       ``(B) Managing and maintaining the mine pool behind such 
     blockage or bulkhead at a level that precludes surface runoff 
     and releases and minimizes the potential for tunnel failure 
     due to excessive water pressure in the tunnel.''.
       (3) In section 708(f), by striking ``and 708'' and 
     inserting ``, 708, and 709''.
       (4) By adding at the end of title VII the following:

     ``SEC. 709. TUNNEL MAINTENANCE.

       ``The Secretary shall take such steps to repair or maintain 
     the structural integrity of the Leadville Mine Drainage 
     Tunnel (LMDT) as may be necessary in order to prevent tunnel 
     failure and to preclude uncontrolled release of water from 
     any portion of the tunnel.''.
       (5) In the table of sections contained in section 2--
       (A) by striking the item relating to section 705; and
       (B) by inserting after the item relating to section 708 the 
     following new item:

``Sec. 709. Tunnel maintenance.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3123, introduced by our colleague 
Representative Lamborn, will direct the Bureau of Reclamation to remedy 
problems caused by collapses in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel. Due 
to structural deterioration, contaminated water has backed up in the 
tunnel, posing a public health and environmental threat.
  I ask my colleagues to support the bill's passage.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record the following 
exchange of letters between the Committee on Natural Resources and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure concerning H.R. 3123.

         House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and 
           Infrastructure,
                                Washington, DC, September 8, 2009.
     Hon. Nick Rahall,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Rahall: I write to you regarding H.R. 3123, a 
     bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to remedy 
     problems caused by a collapsed drainage tunnel in Leadville, 
     Colorado.
       H.R. 3123 contains provisions that fall within the 
     jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure. I recognize and appreciate your desire to 
     bring this legislation before the House in an expeditious 
     manner and, accordingly, I will not seek a sequential 
     referral of the bill. However, I agree to waive consideration 
     of this bill with the mutual understanding that my decision 
     to forego a sequential referral of the bill does not waive, 
     reduce, or otherwise affect the jurisdiction of the Committee 
     on Transportation and Infrastructure over H.R. 3123.
       Further, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
     reserves the right to seek the appointment of conferees 
     during any House-Senate conference convened on this 
     legislation on provisions of the bill that are within the 
     Committee's jurisdiction. I ask for your commitment to 
     support any request by the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure for the appointment of conferees on H.R. 3123 
     or similar legislation.
       Please place a copy of this letter and your response 
     acknowledging the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure's jurisdictional interest in the Congressional 
     Record during consideration of the measure on the House 
     Floor.
       I look forward to working with you as we prepare to pass 
     this important legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                           James L. Oberstar, M.C.
                                                         Chairman.
                                  ____
                                  
         House of Representatives, Committee on Natural Resources,
                                Washington, DC, September 8, 2009.
     Hon. James Oberstar,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your willingness to 
     expedite floor consideration of H.R. 3123, a bill to direct 
     the Secretary of the Interior to remedy problems caused by a 
     collapsed drainage tunnel in Leadville, Colorado.
       I appreciate your willingness to waive rights to further 
     consideration of H.R. 3123, notwithstanding the 
     jurisdictional interest of the Committee on Transportation 
     and Infrastructure. Of course, this waiver does not prejudice 
     any further jurisdictional claims by your Committee over this 
     legislation or similar language. Furthermore, I agree to 
     support your request for appointment of conferees from the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure if a 
     conference is held on this matter.
       This exchange of letters will be inserted in the 
     Congressional Record as part of the consideration of the bill 
     on the House floor. Thank you for the cooperative spirit in 
     which you have worked regarding this matter and others 
     between our respective committees.
       With warm regards, I am
           Sincerely,
                                               Nick J. Rahall, II,
                         Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel was

[[Page H9295]]

originally constructed by the Federal Bureau of Mines in the forties 
and fifties to facilitate the extraction of lead and zinc ore for the 
World War II and Korean War efforts. The Bureau of Reclamation acquired 
the tunnel in 1959, hoping to use it as a source of water for the 
Frying Pan, Arkansas, project. Although the tunnel was never used for 
that project, water that flows out of the tunnel is considered part of 
the natural flow of the Arkansas River.
  With the passage and subsequent signing into law of H.R. 429 during 
the 102nd Congress in 1992, the Bureau of Reclamation constructed and 
continues to operate a water treatment plant at the mouth of the 
tunnel. Groundwater levels at the tunnel have fluctuated in recent 
years. In addition, a collapse inside the tunnel has increased the 
tunnel's mine pool significantly, leading to new seeps and springs in 
the area. Estimates suggest that at one time, up to 1 billion gallons 
of water may have built up within the mine pool.
  In November 2007, the EPA sent a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation 
expressing concerns over a catastrophic blowout, and in February 2008 
the Lake County Commissioners declared a state of emergency.
  Emergency measures are currently being undertaken by the 
Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Reclamation to 
relieve water pressure in the vicinity. Their success has been notable 
to date. However, many of the problems reported at this site are not 
new. Legislation addressing this matter and authorizing the Secretary 
of the Interior to rehabilitate its tunnel dates back to at least 1976.
  In response to the request for action from the local community, I 
have again worked together in a bipartisan manner with Senator Mark 
Udall from Colorado and reintroduced H.R. 3123. This bill would direct 
the Bureau of Reclamation to relieve water pressure behind certain 
blockages in the tunnel, permanently manage the mine pool behind any 
blockage to prevent releases of contaminated water, and manage the 
tunnel in such a way to prevent failure of the structure.
  I look forward to seeing this situation remedied so that concerns 
about human safety and environmental integrity may be appropriately and 
responsibly addressed. I remind Members that only minor technical 
changes have been made since the bill was originally passed by the 
House of Representatives in the previous Congress.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3123, as amended
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________