HR 1265 & 1266 - Good 'Good Sam'

U.S. Mining: Abandoned Mines: AML Bills: Good "Good Sam"

HR 1265 and HR 1266, the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Reclamation Funding and Facilitation Acts

Authored by Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO), HR 1265 (the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Reclamation Funding Act) and HR 1266 (the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Reclamation Facilitation Act) -- when taken together -- address many of the shortcomings of other Good Samaritan proposals.

Most important, they would provide funding for mine clean-up -- the greatest obstacle to restoring abandoned mines. Specifically, the bill would:

• Establish a variable reclamation fee on hardrock mineral operations, based on their profits from mining (a similar approach is used in the state of Nevada);
   
  
• With the reclamation fees create a trust fund dedicated to cleanup of abandoned hardrock mines;
   
  
• Encourage states to inventory and prioritize their abandoned hardrock mines by making reclamation fee disbursement contingent upon doing so;
   
  
• Establish an abandoned mine 'remediation' permit program, which would give states, tribes and municipalities the ability clean up chronic water quality problems associated with hardrock mines;
   
  
• Waive potential Clean Water Act liability for those states, tribes or municipalities working to reclaim abandoned hardrock mines under certain conditions.

For More Information

• HR 1265 -- The Abandoned Hardrock Mines Reclamation Funding Act
• HR 1266 -- The Abandoned Hardrock Mines Reclamation Facilitation Act
• An EARTHWORKS analysis of the Udall reclamation fee.