Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on 19 bills including a trio of bills to comprehensively address the existing funding, technical and legal impediments to abandoned mine cleanup. These mining reclamation bills passed in a larger unanimous consent package.

Click here to view a summary of the package which includes: H.R. 3734, the Mining Schools Enhancement Act (MSEA), introduced by Rep. Cresent Hardy (R-NV), H.R. 3844, the Bureau of Land Management Foundation Act, introduced by Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA), and H.R. 3843, the Locatable Minerals Claim Location and Maintenance Fees Act, introduced Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO).

“If we’ve learned anything from the EPA’s Gold King Mine disaster, it’s that the federal government lacks the expertise, resources and capacity to reclaim abandoned mines. On top of that, environmentalists have made it impossible for charitable groups and volunteers to clean up abandoned mine lands without the threat of frivolous litigation. This package provides much-needed liability protections and creative solutions to develop the technical talent and funding resources to ensure cleanup is done safely and without further delay. I applaud the work of members on and off the Committee in developing a comprehensive framework to address this challenge on a bipartisan basis. I look forward to advancing these bills through the House,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) stated.

“Whether it’s minerals to power our industrial companies, metals that allow our consumer electronics and military’s advanced weaponry to function, or the materials I relied on as a contractor to build roads, bridges, and dams; there isn’t a single sector of our economy that isn’t touched by mining. My bill is a common sense approach to boost STEM education so that we can fill the skills gap in the mining workforce by increasing the number of engineers and scientists in the field of mining,” Rep. Hardy said.

“The Environmental Protection Agency has been plagued by lackluster response rates for years. The negligent actions that led to the Animas River spill in Colorado last August are just the latest example of its poor efforts,” Rep. Hice said. “To that end, I’ve introduced H.R. 3844, the ‘Bureau of Land Management Foundation Act.’ This legislation addresses the need to implement private sector procedures to prevent future mine spills. With consultation from both sides of the aisle, I am proud to see spill prevention methods move forward through the passage of my bill in the Natural Resources Committee.”

"As Coloradans know all too well with last year’s disastrous spills at the Gold King and Standard Mines, the abandoned mine land issue is a ticking time bomb—especially when a federal agency lacks the necessary expertise. There are as many as 400,000 abandoned mines across the West, some of which pose serious safety hazards and environmental risks. This legislation will eliminate the financial hardship of mine cleanup, incentivize the private sector to do their part for the environment, remove crushing overregulation and invest in the education of engineers,” Rep. Lamborn stated.

“I appreciate Chairman Bishop and Rep. Lamborn’s willingness to work with me to get this important language inserted to ensure that we do not have another disaster like that caused by the EPA’s reckless actions at the Gold King Mine,” Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) stated.  “Good Samaritan legislation is the most promising approach to expediting the cleanup of contaminated water in abandoned mine sites throughout Colorado and the West, and I applaud Chairman Bishop’s focus and commitment to moving the ball forward on this critical issue.”

Click here to view the full list of bills considered at today’s Full Committee markup.