I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4961

To establish the Coeur d’Alene Basin Restoration Corporation and authorize

the Corporation to undertake all actions necessary for the cleanup of

mining wastes and the restoration of natural resources in the watershed

encompassing the Coeur d’Alene River, Coeur d’Alene Lake, and its

tributaries, and the Spokane River in northern Idaho and western Washington.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 12, 1994

Mr. LAROCCO introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce, and Public

Works and Transportation

A BILL

To establish the Coeur d’Alene Basin Restoration Corporation and authorize the Corporation to undertake all actions necessary for the cleanup of mining wastes and

the restoration of natural resources in the watershed

encompassing the Coeur d’Alene River, Coeur d’Alene

Lake, and its tributaries, and the Spokane River in

northern Idaho and western Washington.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coeur d’Alene Basin

3 and Spokane River Restoration Act of 1994’’.

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

5 It is the purpose of this Act—

6 (1) to provide for the conservation, remediation,

7 and restoration of the Coeur d’Alene Basin and Spo8 kane River watersheds to the extent necessary to re9 pair and mitigate damages caused by mining wastes

10 generated in the Coeur d’Alene Basin, and to en11 hance the resources of the Coeur d’Alene Basin and

12 Spokane River;

13 (2) to create the Coeur d’Alene Basin Restora14 tion Corporation and to authorize it to carry out the

15 purposes of the Act; and

16 (3) to authorize the funds necessary to imple17 ment the provisions of this Act.

18 SEC. 3. COEUR D’ALENE BASIN RESTORATION CORPORA19 TION.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORATION.—There is

21 authorized to be established a nonprofit corporation, to be

22 known as the ‘‘Coeur d’Alene Basin Restoration Corpora23 tion’’, which (1) shall have its offices in the Coeur d’Alene

24 Basin, (2) shall carry out its functions and responsibilities

25 in accordance with the provisions of this Act, (3) shall con26 tinue in force and effect in accordance with the provisions
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1 of this Act, and (4) will not be considered an agency or

2 establishment of the United States Government for the

3 purpose of any Federal law.

4 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—(1) The Corporation

5 shall have a Board of Directors (hereinafter in this Act

6 referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) consisting of 5 members: one

7 to be appointed by the State of Idaho; one to be appointed

8 by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe; one to be appointed by the

9 trustees established pursuant to the settlement agreement

10 of May 31, 1986, entered in State of Idaho v. Bunker Hill

11 Co. et al., Case No. 83–3161 (D. Idaho); one to be ap12 pointed jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and the

13 Secretary of the Interior, as trustees of Federal natural

14 resources within the Coeur D’Alene Basin; and one to be

15 appointed by the Administrator of the United States Envi16 ronmental Protection Agency. The appointments shall be

17 made in accordance with the particular laws governing the

18 actions of the State, the Tribe, and the United States.

19 (2) Each member of the Board shall serve for a term

20 of 3 years. The members of the Board shall elect from

21 among themselves a chairman. The appointment as chair22 man shall be for the term of one year, and shall be rotated

23 equally among the members of the Board. The compensa24 tion of the members shall be fixed by the Board. The

25 members of the Board shall not be deemed to be officers
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1 or employees of the United States for any purpose: Pro2 vided, That Board members appointed by the Adminis3 trator, the Secretary of Agriculture, or the Secretary of

4 the Interior may be officers or employees of the United

5 States. The Board may indemnify its officers, attorneys,

6 agents, and employees for liabilities and expenses incurred

7 in connection with the individuals’ corporate activities.

8 (3) All actions and decisions of the Board shall be

9 made by consensus of the 5 members of the Board. The

10 Board shall meet at the call of the Chairman or upon re11 quest of any 3 members of the Board.

12 (4) The Board shall adopt and, as appropriate,

13 amend or repeal, appropriate procedures governing the

14 manner in which its corporate business may be conducted,

15 including but not limited to the appointment of corporate

16 officers, fixing compensation, assigning and delegating du17 ties to corporate personnel. The Board shall make avail18 able to the public a statement of its organization, prac19 tices, and procedures.

20 (5) As necessary to effectuate the purposes of this

21 Act, the Board, without regard to Federal laws governing

22 reduction of paperwork, acquisition of property and ad23 ministrative services, gifts, or public buildings, may (A)

24 acquire real property, including but not limited to patents

25 and proprietary data, as necessary in the transaction of
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1 its business; (B) sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of real

2 and personal property; (C) enter into contracts, agree3 ments, and other arrangements, including financial assist4 ance for professional services, supplies, construction,

5 maintenance, management, and operation of equipment;

6 (D) accept gifts and donations of services and property

7 including, but not limited to, the use, possession, and con8 trol of real or personal property of the United States that

9 the President considers necessary for achieving the pur10 poses of this Act and transfers to the Board; and (E) con11 duct surveys, collect information, and otherwise monitor

12 activities.

13 (6) The Board may sue, and may be sued as expressly

14 provided in this Act, and shall be represented by its own

15 attorneys in all judicial and administrative proceedings

16 and, in any such proceedings, the Board shall have exclu17 sive authority to direct its corporate attorneys in the dis18 charge of their duties. In any court suit or action to which

19 the Corporation is a party, monetary damages shall be the

20 sole and exclusive remedy available against the Corpora21 tion and, in the event of any judgment against or settle22 ment involving the Corporation, such judgment may only

23 be paid from the Corporation’s appropriated funds. The

24 Board may use binding arbitration or other dispute resolu25 tion processes and may settle or adjust any corporate
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1 claims or contractual obligations without review or ap2 proval of the Attorney General of the United States. Not3 withstanding any other law, the courts of the United

4 States shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over

5 all civil actions by or against the Corporation, provided

6 the Corporation may intervene in any court in any suit,

7 action, or proceeding in which it has an interest. The

8 Board may exempt information from mandatory release

9 under the Federal law if it determines that the informa10 tion if publicly released would harm the Corporation’s in11 terests.

12 (c) FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.—The Corporation shall

13 prepare annual financial statements in accordance with

14 generally accepted accounting principles and shall be au15 dited annually by an independent certified public account16 ant chosen by the Board. The Comptroller General, audi17 tor for the State of Idaho, and/or auditor for the Coeur

18 d’Alene Tribe may review any audit and may report to

19 the Board, as well as the Congress, on the results of such

20 reviews, including appropriate recommendations, if any, if

21 a report, provided that neither the Comptroller General,

22 the auditor for the State of Idaho and auditor for the

23 Coeur d’Alene Tribe shall not have authority to withhold

24 from the Corporation or impound any funds provided

25 under this Act.
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1 (d) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—(1) The Board shall

2 have no power to issue any shares of stock, or to declare

3 or pay any dividends.

4 (2) No part of the income of assets of the Corporation

5 shall inure to the benefit of the members of the Board,

6 any employee of the Corporation, or any other individual

7 except as salary or reasonable compensation for services.

8 (3) The Corporation may not contribute to or other9 wise support any political party or candidate for elective

10 public office.

11 (4) The Board shall make annual reports to Congress

12 on the status of the Restoration Plan and its implementa13 tion.

14 SEC. 4. COEUR D’ALENE BASIN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In conjunction with the

16 Board, there shall be established an advisory group known

17 as the ‘‘Coeur d’Alene Basin Advisory Committee’’, which

18 shall have the function and responsibility of advising the

19 Board in its actions. The Advisory Committee shall not

20 be considered an agency or instrumentality of the United

21 States for the purpose of any Federal law. The member22 ship of the Advisory Committee, as determined appro23 priate by the Board, may consist of the following mem24 bers: (1) a representative of the Washington Department

25 of Ecology; (2) a representative of each interested Federal
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1 agency; (3) a representative of each interested State agen2 cy; (4) a representative of each interested tribal agency;

3 (5) a representative of each affected local government; (6)

4 representatives of affected industries within the Coeur

5 d’Alene Basin or Spokane River drainage; and (7) rep6 resentatives of the general public.

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Advisory

8 Committee shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure

9 of, the Board. The members of the Advisory Committee

10 shall appoint a chairman from among their members. The

11 appointment as chairman shall be for the term of one year,

12 and shall be rotated equally among the members of the

13 Committee. The members of the Advisory Committee shall

14 serve without compensation. The members of the Advisory

15 Committee shall not be deemed to be officers or employees

16 of the United States for any purpose: Provided, That

17 members appointed by any Federal agency may be officers

18 or employees of the United States.

19 (c) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—The Advisory Commit20 tee shall meet at the call of the chairman of the Advisory

21 Committee, the call of the Board, or at the request of a

22 majority of the members of the Advisory Committee. The

23 Advisory Committee shall determine its organization and

24 prescribe its practices and procedures for carrying out its

25 functions and responsibilities under this Act. The Advisory
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1 Committee shall make available to the public a statement

2 of its organization, practices, and procedures.

3 SEC. 5. ADVISORY GROUPS.

4 In addition to the Advisory Committee, the Board

5 may create such technical advisory groups as it deems nec6 essary or prudent to assist the Board in the fulfillment

7 of its duties under this Act. Members of technical advisory

8 groups shall serve without compensation, and shall not be

9 deemed to be officers or employees of the United States

10 for any purpose: Provided, That members appointed by

11 any Federal agency may be officers or employees of the

12 United States.

13 SEC. 6. BASIN RESTORATION PLAN.

14 (a) PREPARATION.—Within 5 years after the Cor15 poration is established, the Board shall prepare and adopt

16 a Basin Restoration Plan. The plan shall set forth a com17 prehensive strategic plan of action for the protection of

18 human health and welfare and the restoration and en19 hancement of land, fish, wildlife, biota, air, water, ground

20 water, drinking water supplies, and other such resources

21 within the Coeur d’Alene Basin and the Spokane River.

22 The plan shall (1) identify all existing point and nonpoint

23 sources of mining waste discharges and other pollution

24 discharges into the waters of the Coeur d’Alene Basin and

25 the Spokane River; (2) inventory existing projects and ac-
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1 tivities intended to restore, remediate, or prevent damages

2 from mining waste pollution and other pollution; and (3)

3 identify additional projects needed to restore, remediate,

4 or prevent damages from mining waste pollution and other

5 pollution within the Coeur d’Alene Basin and the Spokane

6 River.

7 (b) EXISTING STUDIES AND PLANS.—The Board

8 shall use and incorporate existing studies and plans pre9 pared by State, tribal and Federal agencies for the res10 toration of the Coeur d’Alene Basin and the Spokane

11 River to the extent that it is practicable to do so.

12 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF BASIN RESTORATION

13 PLAN.—

14 (1) The Board shall arrange for the coordinated

15 implementation of the plan by the State, tribal, Fed16 eral, and private parties participating in the Advi17 sory Committee.

18 (2) The Board may make grants to State, trib19 al, Federal, and private parties for the purposes of

20 implementing the plan.

21 (3) The Board may directly implement the plan

22 using Corporation employees or independent contrac23 tors.

24 (4) Nothing in this section is intended to pre25 vent the implementation of ongoing projects by other
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1 agencies or parties to restore, remediate, or prevent

2 damages from mining wastes and other pollutants in

3 the Coeur d’Alene Basin and the Spokane River.

4 Nor is this section intended to prevent the Board

5 from implementing restoration projects on an in6 terim basis prior to completion of the plan.

7 (5) The Board shall monitor the effectiveness of

8 actions taken pursuant to the plan, and modify the

9 plan where necessary or appropriate.

10 (6) The Board shall have authority to enter

11 into such joint power agreements with State, tribal,

12 and Federal governments as are necessary to imple13 ment the Basin Restoration Plan.

14 (d) APPLICATION OF LIABILITY AND PERMITTING

15 REQUIREMENTS.—

16 (1) This Act expressly preempts any conflicting

17 Federal, State, or local laws, and in preparing and

18 implementing the plan, the Corporation shall be ex19 empt from any liability for the costs of removing or

20 remediating releases of hazardous materials, or for

21 damages to natural resources caused by the release

22 of hazardous materials, including but not limited to

23 the liability provisions of section 9607 of title 42 of

24 the United States Code, and any amending or suc25 cessor legislation.
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1 (2) No Federal, State, tribal, or local permit

2 shall be required for any project conducted under

3 the authorities of this Act for the purpose of imple4 menting the restoration plan prepared by the Board.

5 (3) No project shall proceed under the authori6 ties of this Act, until the Board determines that the

7 project meets all standards, requirements, criteria,

8 or limitations under all Federal environmental laws,

9 including, but not limited to, the Toxic Substances

10 Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean

11 Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Dis12 posal Act. In addition, the Board must determine

13 that the project meets or exceeds all standards, re14 quirements, criteria, or limitations under all applica15 ble State and tribal environmental or facility siting

16 laws if such laws are more stringent than the Fed17 eral standards, requirements, criteria, or limitations.

18 (e) PUBLIC INFORMATION AND CONSULTATION.—

19 The Board shall maintain comprehensive programs to in20 form the general public of its actions, and to solicit public

21 comment in the preparation, adoption, and implementa22 tion of the restoration plan.

23 (f) COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—The

24 Board shall coordinate its actions in the preparation and

25 implementation of the plan with other agencies empowered
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1 by State, tribal, or Federal governments to restore, reme2 diate, or prevent damages from mining wastes or other

3 pollutants within the Coeur d’Alene Basin and Spokane

4 River.

5 SEC. 7. FUNDING OF COEUR D’ALENE BASIN RESTORATION

6 CORPORATION AND AUTHORIZATION OF AP7 PROPRIATIONS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The activities of the Corporation

9 shall be jointly funded through a combination of congres10 sional appropriations and private contributions from com11 panies that have been involved with mining activities in

12 the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

13 (b) TRUST FUND.—There is created on the books of

14 the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be

15 known as the ‘‘Coeur d’Alene Basin Restoration Fund’’,

16 which shall be administered by the Board. The Fund shall

17 consist of (1) amounts appropriated by Congress pursuant

18 to this Act, (2) amounts contributed by the mining compa19 nies of the Coeur d’Alene Basin pursuant to this Act, and

20 (3) any interest accruing from monies deposited into the

21 Coeur d’Alene Basin Restoration Fund. Moneys in the

22 trust fund may be used to fulfill the purposes of this Act,

23 and shall be available only when appropriated therefor.

24 Funds authorized under this Act shall remain available

25 until expended.
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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Coeur d’Alene Basin

3 Restoration Fund such sums as may be necessary.

4 SEC. 8. SATISFACTION OR OFFSET AGAINST MINING COM5 PANIES LIABILITY.

6 (a) SATISFACTION OF LIABILITIES.—It is Congress’

7 intent that the mining companies of the Coeur d’Alene

8 Basin that contributed to the release of hazardous mate9 rials in the Coeur d’Alene Basin and Spokane River should

10 contribute a fair portion of the cost of restoring natural

11 resources in the Coeur d’Alene Basin and Spokane River.

12 It is also Congress’ intent that the mining companies of

13 the Coeur d’Alene Basin should, upon payment of a fair

14 contribution, be assured that no further liability for re15 sponse costs or natural resource damages may be imposed

16 upon them. Therefore, provided that the mining compa17 nies of the Coeur d’Alene Basin contribute an amount cal18 culated to be the equivalent of 25 percent of the total

19 amount authorized by Congress pursuant to section 7(c),

20 the companies shall be deemed to have satisfied all liabil21 ities for response costs or natural resource damages within

22 the Coeur d’Alene Basin and Spokane River that may oth23 erwise be imposed on them under the terms of the Com24 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

25 Liability Act of 1980, the Superfund Amendments and
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1 Reauthorization Act of 1986, and any amending or succes2 sor legislation.

3 (b) OFFSET.—If the mining companies of the Coeur

4 d’Alene Basin contribute an amount calculated to be less

5 than 25 percent of the total amount appropriated by Con6 gress pursuant to section 7(c), the companies shall be

7 granted an offset for such amount against liabilities for

8 response costs or natural resource damages within the

9 Coeur d’Alene Basin and Spokane River that may other10 wise be imposed on them under the terms of the Com11 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

12 Liability Act of 1980, the Superfund Amendments and

13 Reauthorization Act of 1986, and any amending or succes14 sor legislation.

15 (c) ACTIONS UNDER CERCLA.—Unless the compa16 nies satisfy their liabilities pursuant to subsection (a), the

17 Corporation, the State, the tribe, and the United States

18 may pursue all actions otherwise available to these entities

19 under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com20 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and any amending

21 or successor legislation regardless of whether some or all

22 of the Basin Restoration Plan is implemented in whole or

23 part and such actions shall not constitute a double recov24 ery. The companies shall be entitled to an offset to the

25 extent provided by subsection (b).
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1 (d) STATUTES OF LIMITATION.—All applicable stat2 utes of limitation for cost recovery and natural resource

3 damage actions against the mining companies of the

4 Coeur d’Alene Basin are tolled until January 1, 2018.

5 SEC. 9. DISSOLUTION OF CORPORATION.

6 Upon completion of the implementation of the res7 toration plan, the Board shall prepare a report to Con8 gress describing the actions taken during its existence,

9 and recommending further actions that may be needed to

10 protect human health and welfare and water quality, natu11 ral resources, and fish and wildlife habitat within the

12 Coeur d’Alene Basin and the Spokane River. Upon sub13 mission of the report, the existence of the Corporation

14 shall terminate unless Congress takes further action to re15 authorize the Corporation. In no case shall the Corpora16 tion continue to exist more than 20 years after the enact17 ment of this Act into law.

18 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

19 For purposes of this Act:

20 (1) The term ‘‘mining companies of the Coeur

21 d’Alene Basin’’ means Gulf Resources and Chemical

22 Corporation; Bunker Limited Partnership; Minerals

23 Corporation Idaho; Bunker Hill Mining Company

24 (U.S.) Inc.; BH Properties, Inc.; Hecla Mining Com25 pany; Stauffer Chemical Company; Asarco, Inc.;
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1 Callahan Mining Corporation; Coeur d’Alene Mines

2 Corporation; Highland Surprise Consolidated-Mining

3 Company; Silver Bowl, Inc.; Sunshine Precious Met4 als, Inc.; Union Pacific Railroad; Abot Mining Com5 pany; American Silver Mining Company; Anaconda

6 Mining Company; Atlas Mining Company; Boulder

7 Creek Mining Company; Canyon Silver Mine, Inc.;

8 Consolidated Silver Corp.; Day Mines, Inc.; Dix

9 Steel Company; Douglas Mining Company; CDA

10 Crescent Mining Company; Lovon Fausett; Broyles

11 Bros. Drilling; Gold Leaf Mining Corp.; Helena Sil12 ver Mines; Highland Surprise; Hypothek Mining Co.;

13 Mascot Silver-Lead; Nabob Silver Lead Mines; Ne14 vada Stewart Mining Co.; New Hilarity Mining Co.;

15 Sidney Mining Co.; Sunshine Mining Co.; and their

16 successors and assigns.

17 (2) The term ‘‘Coeur d’Alene Basin’’ means the

18 watershed in northern Idaho containing the South

19 Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River, the mainstem of

20 the Coeur d’Alene River, and Lake Coeur d’Alene.

21 (3) The term ‘‘Spokane River’’ means the Spo22 kane River from its origin at Lake Coeur d’Alene in

23 northern Idaho to its confluence with the Columbia

24 River in eastern Washington.
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1 SEC. 11. STATUTORY INTERPRETATION.

2 Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to dimin3 ish or enlarge the jurisdiction or powers of any department

4 or agency of the United States, any State, or any Indian

5 Tribe. Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as authoriz6 ing the Corporation to assume authority over existing or

7 future remedial actions within the approximately 21-

8 square-mile facility known as the Bunker Hill National

9 Priority List Superfund Site, nor shall it be interpreted

10 as affecting any liability of the mining companies of the

11 Coeur d’Alene Basin for such remedial actions. Nothing

12 in this Act shall be interpreted as releasing the mining

13 companies of the Coeur d’Alene Basin from liability for

14 any releases of hazardous materials that may occur as the

15 result of future acts or events, nor shall any money appro16 priated under the authorities of this Act be used to clean

17 up, remove, or remediate such releases. The release of the

18 mining companies of the Coeur d’Alene Basin from liabil19 ity extends only to releases of hazardous materials prior

20 to the date of this Act or continuing and future releases

21 that may occur as the result of activities occurring prior

22 to the date of this Act.

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