[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 113 (Thursday, August 1, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S6221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Mr. Bennet):
  S. 1443. A bill to facilitate the remediation of abandoned hardrock 
mines, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, today I am reintroducing 
legislation designed to help promote the cleanup of abandoned and 
inactive hard rock mines that are a great detriment to the environment 
and public health throughout the country, but especially to the West. I 
want to thank my colleague Senator Bennet for joining me in this 
effort.
  For over one hundred years, miners and prospectors have searched for 
and developed valuable ``hard rock'' minerals--gold, silver, copper, 
molybdenum, and others. Hard rock mining has played a key role in the 
history of Colorado and other states, and the resulting mineral wealth 
has been an important contributor to our economy and the development of 
essential products.
  Too often, however, the miners would abandon their work and move on, 
seeking riches over the next mountain. The resulting legacy of unsafe 
open mine shafts and acid mine drainages can be seen throughout the 
country and especially on public lands in the West where mineral 
development was encouraged to help settle our region.
  Unfortunately, many of our current environmental laws designed to 
mitigate the impact from operating hard rock mines are of limited 
effectiveness when applied to abandoned and inactive mines. As a 
result, many of these old mines continue to pollute streams and rivers 
and pose a risk to the health of people who live nearby or downstream.
  The bill I am reintroducing today will help address this impediment 
and make it easier for volunteers, who had no role in creating the 
problem, to help clean up these sites and improve the environment. It 
does so by providing a new permit program under the Clean Water Act 
whereby volunteers can, under an approved plan, reduce the water 
pollution flowing from an abandoned mine. At the same time, volunteers 
will not be exposed to the full liability and ongoing responsibility 
provisions of the Clean Water Act.
  I would be remiss not to thank the Environmental Protection Agency 
for its work in addressing this issue. Most recently, EPA issued a 
memorandum on December 12, 2012, to reduce the Clean Water Act legal 
vulnerability faced by ``Good Samaritans'' by clarifying that parties 
who volunteer to clean up these abandoned sites are generally not 
responsible for obtaining a permit under the Clean Water Act both 
during and following a successful cleanup. While this was an important 
step forward, my legislation will provide binding legal protections for 
Good Samaritans, allowing them to move forward--knowing the long-term 
certainty of their rights--with the imperative work of mine cleanup.
  The new permits proposed in this bill would help address problems 
that have frustrated federal and state agencies throughout the country. 
As population growth continues near these old mines, more and more 
risks to public health and safety are likely to occur. We simply must 
begin to address this issue--not only to improve the environment, but 
also to ensure that our water supplies are safe and usable. This bill 
does not address all the concerns some would-be Good Samaritans may 
have about initiating cleanup projects and I am committed to continue 
working to address those additional concerns, through additional 
legislation and in other ways. However, this bill can make a real 
difference, and I think it deserves approval without unnecessary delay.
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