39–010 

Calendar No. 353 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 113–147 

THREE KIDS MINE REMEDIATION 

AND RECLAMATION ACT 

APRIL 8, 2014.—Ordered to be printed 

Ms. LANDRIEU, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 697] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 697) to provide for the conveyance of certain 

Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine Project Site, 

and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act do 

pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 697 is to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for the environmental 

remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine Project Site. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Three Kids Mine site is a 1,262-acre abandoned manganese 

mine and mill site located in Henderson, Nevada. The mine operated from 1917 until 1961, and was originally developed during 

World War I for steel production for U.S. military use. At one time 

the Three Kids Mine was the largest manganese mine in Nevada. 

It was effectively abandoned in 1961, but did continue to serve as 

a storage site for U.S. manganese reserves until 2003. Approximately 314 acres of private land and 948 acres of land managed 

by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) comprise the site. The site is a public health and 

safety hazard, with three massive open mine pits, ruins from the 

milling facility, and toxic manganese tailings containing arsenic, 


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lead, and diesel fuel. Because of the complicated pattern of land 

ownership and the large cost of cleaning up the site, the Federal 

government has been unable to initiate remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine site. 

H.R. 697 would address this situation by requiring the Federal 

government to convey its portions of the site to the Henderson Redevelopment Agency for fair market value, after taking into consideration the costs of clean-up for the entire site. Upon conveyance, 

the United States would be released from liability for the contamination at the site. Conveyance of the land is contingent on the Secretary of the Interior receiving notification from the State of Nevada that a mine remediation and reclamation agreement has been 

executed by the State and the party to undertake the remediation 

and reclamation, including financial assurances to ensure completion of the remediation and reclamation. The legislation anticipates 

that a private developer will finance and complete the remediation 

of the site, subject to an agreement administered by the State of 

Nevada. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 697, sponsored by Representative Heck, passed the House 

of Representatives by voice vote on July 22, 2013. Senators Reid 

and Heller introduced similar legislation, S. 343, on February 14, 

2013. The Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining 

held a hearing on S. 343 on July 30, 2013 (S. Hrg. 113–85). The 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 697 favorably reported at its business meeting on November 21, 2013. 

In the 112th Congress, Senators Reid and Heller introduced similar legislation, S. 1492, on August 2, 2011. The Subcommittee on 

Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on S. 1492 on March 22, 

2012 (S. Hrg. 112–642). 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on November 21, 2013, by a voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommended that the Senate pass H.R. 697. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title, ‘‘Three Kids Mine Remediation 

and Reclamation Act.’’ 

Section 2 provides key terms used in the bill and provides the location and scope of the Three Kids Mine Project Site. 

Section 3 (a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to convey 

all right, title, and interest of the approximately 948 acres at the 

Three Kids Mine Project Site that are held by the United States 

government to the Henderson Redevelopment Agency. 

Subsection (b) sets the conditions of the conveyance between the 

U.S. government and the Henderson Redevelopment Agency. 

Paragraph (1) requires the Henderson Redevelopment Agency to 

pay fair market value for the Federal land and requires the BLM 

to determine this value by appraising the land and then reducing 

the appraised value by a reasonable estimate of remediation costs. 

Remediation costs are expected to exceed the appraised fair market 

value. 


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Paragraph (2) requires the Secretary to receive notification that 

the State of Nevada has entered into an agreement with a private 

entity, and that agreement obligates the entity to complete the remediation and reclamation work necessary at the Three Kids Mine 

Project Site. 

Paragraph (3) establishes a 90-day window, after the State of Nevada enters into its remediation agreement, for the Henderson Redevelopment Agency to notify the Secretary of the Interior that it 

is prepared to accept the conveyance of the Federal land. 

Section 4 withdraws the Federal land from mining, leasing, and 

disposal upon the date of enactment of the Act. 

Section 5 adjusts the boundary of the River Mountains Area of 

Critical Environmental Concern to exclude the Three Kids Mine 

Project Site. 

Section 6 preserves the responsibilities for the remediation of the 

Three Kids Mine Project Site with the Secretary of the Interior— 

upon conveyance, and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 

enforce the remediation agreement between the State of Nevada 

and its contractor. 

Section 7 excludes the conveyance of the Federal land at the 

Three Kids Mine Project Site from the revenue distribution and 

sale procedures required under the Southern Nevada Public Land 

Management Act. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 697—Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act 

H.R. 697 would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

to sell 950 acres of federal land, some of which are contaminated 

by hazardous waste, to the city of Henderson, Nevada. Under the 

act, the agency would determine the sale price by estimating the 

fair market value of the land and reducing that amount by the estimated cost of any necessary environmental remediation and mining 

reclamation activities at the site. The city of Henderson would be 

responsible for those costs following the sale. Based on information 

from BLM, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would 

have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 

697 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-asyou-go procedures do not apply. 

Roughly 15 percent of the lands that would be sold under the act 

are contaminated and will require mine reclamation and environmental remediation. Based on information provided by BLM and 

the city of Henderson, CBO estimates that the agency is unlikely 

to receive any financial compensation for any of the land because 

remediation and reclamation costs would exceed the land’s fair 

market value. Because CBO expects that the affected lands would 

not generate any receipts under current law over the next 10 years, 

we estimate that conveying the lands under the act would have no 

significant impact on the federal budget. 

H.R. 697 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 


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On June 20, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 697 

as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources 

on June 12, 2013. The two versions of the legislation are similar, 

and the CBO cost estimates are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 697. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 697, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 697, as reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior, on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management, on S. 343, the Senate 

companion measure to H.R. 697, at the July 30, 2013, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining hearing follows: 

STATEMENT OF NED FARQUHAR, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, LAND AND MINERALS MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 343, the 

Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act. Over 

the past several years, the Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) has worked with the City of Henderson, Nevada, 

and other Nevada governmental entities in search of administrative remedies to redevelopment challenges at the 

abandoned Three Kids Mine. The Department of the Interior (Department) supports the goals of S. 343, which aims 

to provide legislated solutions to the issues surrounding 

the Three Kids Mine area and clears the way for its eventual redevelopment. However, the BLM would prefer that 

the Committee consider H.R. 697 as introduced, which the 

Department supported in testimony on March 21, 2013. 

BACKGROUND

The Three Kids Mine is an abandoned manganese mine 

and mill site on 314 acres of private land located along the 

south side of Lake Mead Drive, across the highway from 

Lake Las Vegas, in Henderson, Nevada. The mine and mill 


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operated from 1917 through 1961, in part providing steelstrengthening manganese to the defense industry and contributing to the United States’ efforts in World War I and 

II. Federal manganese reserves were stored in the area 

from the late 1950s through 2003. Approximately five 

years ago, the City of Henderson and Lakemoor Canyon, 

LLC, approached the BLM with a plan for redevelopment 

of the area if the site could be remediated. 

S. 343 directs that 948 acres of public lands adjacent to 

the private site be conveyed to the Henderson Redevelopment Agency, bringing the total size of the redevelopment 

project area to 1,262 acres. Of the 948 acres of public 

lands, 146 acres are contaminated and will require mine 

reclamation and environmental remediation. The most severe contamination appears to be on the 314 private acres 

where the mine and mill were located. No viable former 

operator or responsible party has been identified to remediate and reclaim the abandoned mine and mill site. 

Today, the site’s deep open pits, large volumes of mine 

overburden and tailings, mill facility ruins, and solid waste 

disposal areas pose risks to public safety and to human 

health and the environment. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) identified the Three Kids 

Mine site as a high priority for the implementation of a 

comprehensive environmental investigation, remediation, 

and reclamation program. Representatives of the BLM, the 

Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of the Interior Solicitor’s Office have worked with the City of Henderson and representatives of developer Lakemoor Canyon to 

find solutions to the complex challenges of remediating 

this site. 

S. 343

S. 343 designates the combined 314 acres of private land 

and 948 acres of public land as the 1,262–acre ‘‘Three Kids 

Mine Project Site’’ and provides for the conveyance of the 

public lands to the Henderson Redevelopment Agency. The 

legislation provides that fair market value for the Federal 

lands to be conveyed should be determined through standard appraisal practices, and that, subsequent to the determination, the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) should 

determine the ‘‘reasonable approximate estimation of the 

costs to assess, remediate, and reclaim the Three Kids 

Mine Project Site.’’ The fair market value would be adjusted by deducting the cost estimate prepared by the Secretary. The Henderson Redevelopment Agency would pay 

the adjusted fair market value of the conveyed land to the 

United States, if any. 

The bill makes the conveyance of the land conditional 

upon the State of Nevada executing a mine remediation 

and reclamation agreement that obligates a party to perform the cleanup and which must be backed up by financial assurances. While the BLM has not established a 

range for the cost of cleanup, a proponent of the transaction estimated the cost of remediating the public and 


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private lands at between $300 million and $1.3 billion. 

While it is possible that the cost of remediating and reclaiming the entire project area might exceed the fair market value of the Federal land to be conveyed, the cost of 

the transaction will be known only after the Secretary 

completes the appraisal and remediation cost estimate 

process as outlined in the legislation. 

The Department supports innovative proposals to address the cleanup of the Three Kids Mine. We support the 

goals of S. 343, and prefer that the Committee consider 

H.R. 697 as introduced, which the Department supported 

in testimony on March 21, 2013. 

CONCLUSION

Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on 

S. 343. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by H.R. 697, as ordered reported. 

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