Democrats introduce mining reform bill to avert another EPA-caused disaster - Washington Examiner

A group of Senate Democrats introduced a mining reform bill on Tuesday with the goal of averting disasters such as the one caused by federal contractors that spilled 3 million gallons of toxic sludge into the Animas River in Colorado in August 2015.

Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2017, seeking to modernize the nation's antiquated hard rock mining laws by making sure companies pay for cleanup activities.

The bill is similar to one introduced in both the House and Senate two years ago after the spill but was never passed. The bill is being supported in the House by Democratic Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico.

The bill requires companies that mine gold, silver, copper, and other hard rock minerals to pay royalties "for the first time" for the right to dig up the resources on public lands.

The senators used the Gold King Mine disaster to make their case on why the bill is necessary. The disaster, which was caused by an Environmental Protection Agency contractor, sent toxic metals pouring into tributaries that caused the Animas River to turn bright orange and sullied the waterways of three states before it was finished.

The bill "helps ensure that taxpayers aren't on the hook for cleaning up abandoned mines, and seeks to prevent another toxic spill like the Gold King Mine disaster of 2015," the senators said. They noted that communities in New Mexico and Colorado are still awaiting compensation for damage to their businesses and farms.

"It's time to end the antiquated sweetheart deal that hard rock mining companies have enjoyed for nearly 150 years," Udall said. "Like oil, gas and coal producers, mining companies need to pay their fair share, but because our mining laws date back to the Gold Rush era, it's the taxpayers who are on the hook for cleaning up hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines that are poisoning our watersheds and threatening our communities."

Bennet emphasized that the Gold King spill is a continued "reminder of the threat that abandoned mines pose." He recognized that hard rock mining is a part of Colorado's heritage, "but it is long past time to reform our antiquated mining laws. This bill would provide the resources necessary to help clean up the thousands of abandoned mines in Colorado, improve water quality, and prevent a future disaster for downstream communities."