I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4323 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate regulations for the 

safe and environmentally responsible reopening of abandoned mines, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2016 

Mr. GRIJALVA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate regulations for the safe and environmentally responsible reopening of abandoned mines, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Abandoned Mine Rec5 lamation Safety Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REOPENING OF ABANDONED MINES. 

7 (a) REGULATIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte9 rior, in consultation with other relevant agencies, 


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1 shall promulgate regulations for the safe and envi2 ronmentally responsible reopening of abandoned 

3 mines for the sole purpose of facilitating cleanup or 

4 remediation of conditions at such mines. 

5 (2) CONTENTS.—Such regulations shall— 

6 (A) be applicable to both coal mines and 

7 noncoal mines; 

8 (B) ensure that an abandoned mine is re9 opened in a manner that— 

10 (i) protects the safety of workers in11 volved in the reopening of the abandoned 

12 mine; and 

13 (ii) minimizes the risk of a blowout or 

14 other uncontrolled release of water into the 

15 environment; 

16 (C) require emergency response and notifi17 cation plans to be developed before reopening 

18 any abandoned mine that poses a risk of an un19 controlled release of water into the environ20 ment; 

21 (D) provide for the long-term care and 

22 maintenance of hardrock mine bulkheads; 

23 (E) require approval by a professional en24 gineer of plans to reopen abandoned mine sites; 

25 and 


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1 (F) incorporate recommendations from the 

2 Bureau of Reclamation report entitled ‘‘Tech3 nical Evaluation of the Gold King Mine Inci4 dent San Juan County, Colorado’’ and dated 

5 October 2015. 

6 (3) TIMING.—The Secretary shall publish pro7 posed regulations under this subsection by no later 

8 than 6 months after the completion of the study 

9 under subsection (b), or if no such study is con10 ducted, by no later than 18 months after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act. 

12 (b) STUDY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte14 rior may seek to enter into an arrangement with the 

15 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

16 Medicine to conduct a study to identify best prac17 tices for reopening abandoned mines for the purpose 

18 of facilitating cleanup or remediation of conditions 

19 at such mines, and to make recommendations for 

20 regulatory and legislative action with respect to such 

21 reopenings. 

22 (2) TIMING.—Any study under this subsection 

23 shall be completed by no later than 2 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH-RISK SITES.—The 

2 Secretary of the Interior shall initiate a program to iden3 tify and regularly monitor known surface and under4 ground abandoned mine sites and features that pose the 

5 highest risk of an inadvertent release of water into the 

6 environment. 

7 (d) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE REQUIREMENTS NOT

8 AFFECTED.—Nothing in this section affects the authority 

9 of the Secretary or any Federal agency from imposing any 

10 requirement to provide a bond, surety, or other financial 

11 assurance for abandoned mine cleanup. 

Æ 


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