I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3602 

To provide compensation to injured persons relating to the Gold King Mine 

spill, to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to address mining-related issues, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 

Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico (for himself, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN

GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. POLIS, Mr. PERLMUTTER, and Ms. 

DEGETTE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide compensation to injured persons relating to the 

Gold King Mine spill, to amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 

of 1980 to address mining-related issues, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gold King Mine Spill 

3 Recovery Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) on August 5, 2015, approximately 

7 3,000,000 gallons of contaminated water was dis8 charged from the Gold King Mine north of Silverton, 

9 Colorado, into Cement Creek, a tributary of the 

10 Animas River, while contractors of the Environ11 mental Protection Agency were conducting an inves12 tigation of the mine— 

13 (A) to assess the ongoing water releases 

14 from the mine; 

15 (B) to treat mine water; and 

16 (C) to assess the feasibility of further mine 

17 remediation; 

18 (2) the plume of contaminated water resulting 

19 from the discharge described in paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) was found to contain high levels of 

21 heavy metals, including aluminum, arsenic, cad22 mium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, 

23 mercury, molybdenum, nickel, and zinc; and 

24 (B) flowed through the Animas River, the 

25 San Juan River, and Lake Powell; 


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1 (3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, with 

2 respect to the discharge described in paragraph 

3 (1)— 

4 (A) state of emergency declarations have 

5 been made by— 

6 (i) the States of Colorado, New Mex7 ico, and Utah; and 

8 (ii) the Navajo Nation; and 

9 (B) a declaration of disaster has been 

10 issued by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe; and 

11 (4) on August 11, 2015, Administrator of the 

12 Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy 

13 stated that the Environmental Protection Agency 

14 will take full responsibility for the discharge de15 scribed in paragraph (1). 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis19 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ20 mental Protection Agency. 

21 (2) GOLD KING MINE SPILL.—The term ‘‘Gold 

22 King Mine spill’’ means the discharge on August 5, 

23 2015, of approximately 3,000,000 gallons of con24 taminated water from the Gold King Mine north of 

25 Silverton, Colorado, into Cement Creek that ocVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:56 Sep 28, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3602.IH H3602

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1 curred while contractors of the Environmental Pro2 tection Agency were conducting an investigation of 

3 the Gold King Mine. 

4 (3) INJURED PERSON.—The term ‘‘injured per5 son’’ means a person that— 

6 (A) suffered injury resulting from the Gold 

7 King Mine spill; and 

8 (B) is— 

9 (i) an individual, regardless of the 

10 citizenship or alien status of the individual; 

11 (ii) an Indian tribe, tribal corporation, 

12 or other tribal organization; 

13 (iii) a corporation, business, partner14 ship, company, association, insurer, county, 

15 township, city, State or political subdivi16 sion of a State, school district, ditch com17 pany, special district, water district, water 

18 company, the Animas-La Plata Operation, 

19 Maintenance and Replacement Association, 

20 or other non-Federal entity; or 

21 (iv) a legal representative of an indi22 vidual or entity described in any of clauses 

23 (i) through (iii). 

24 (4) INJURY.—The term ‘‘injury’’ means any 

25 damage to, or loss of, property, or a personal injury 


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1 or death, caused by a negligent or wrongful act or 

2 omission of a Federal officer, employee, contractor, 

3 or subcontractor while acting within the scope of of4 fice, employment, or contract, under circumstances 

5 in which the Federal officer, employee, contractor, or 

6 subcontractor, if a private person, would be liable to 

7 the claimant in accordance with the law of the juris8 diction in which the act or omission occurred. 

9 (5) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of10 fice of Gold King Mine Spill Claims established by 

11 section 4(b)(1). 

12 SEC. 4. COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF GOLD KING MINE 

13 SPILL. 

14 (a) FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (4), 

16 each injured person shall be entitled to receive from 

17 the United States compensation for a claim filed, or 

18 civil action brought, under chapter 171 of title 28, 

19 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Fed20 eral Tort Claims Act’’), arising out of or relating to 

21 an injury resulting from the Gold King Mine spill. 

22 (2) EFFECT OF ACCEPTANCE.—The acceptance 

23 by an injured person of compensation under para24 graph (1) shall have the same effect as acceptance 

25 of compensation under chapter 171 of title 28, 


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1 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Fed2 eral Tort Claims Act’’), or any other Federal or 

3 State law, arising out of or relating to the Gold 

4 King Mine spill. 

5 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator and 

6 the Attorney General shall process a claim filed, or 

7 civil action brought, pursuant to paragraph (1) as 

8 expeditiously as practicable. 

9 (4) NONAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION.—With 

10 respect to any claim under this Act arising out of, 

11 or relating to, an injury resulting from the Gold 

12 King Mine spill— 

13 (A) the maximum amount limitation on 

14 claims described in the proviso of the first sen15 tence of section 2672 of title 28, United States 

16 Code, shall be waived; and 

17 (B) the Administrator may provide com18 pensation for the claim in an amount greater 

19 than $25,000 without prior written approval of 

20 the Attorney General (or a designee), as the 

21 Administrator determines to be appropriate. 

22 (b) OFFICE OF GOLD KING MINE SPILL CLAIMS.— 

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

24 within the Environmental Protection Agency an Of25 fice of Gold King Mine Spill Claims. 


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1 (2) PURPOSE.—The Office shall receive, proc2 ess, and pay claims in accordance with this section. 

3 (3) TREATMENT.—The establishment of the Of4 fice by this subsection shall not diminish the ability 

5 of the Administrator to carry out the responsibilities 

6 of the Environmental Protection Agency under any 

7 other provision of law. 

8 (4) DETAILEES.—On request of the Adminis9 trator, the head of any Federal department or agen10 cy may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any per11 sonnel of that department or agency to the Office to 

12 assist in carrying out the duties under this Act. 

13 (c) ALLOWABLE DAMAGES.— 

14 (1) PROPERTY LOSS.—A claim that is paid for 

15 loss of property under this section may include oth16 erwise-uncompensated damages resulting from the 

17 Gold King Mine spill for— 

18 (A) a cost resulting from lost tribal sub19 sistence from hunting, fishing, firewood gath20 ering, timbering, grazing, or agricultural activi21 ties, or from lost use for traditional or ceremo22 nial uses, conducted on land or water damaged 

23 by the Gold King Mine spill; 

24 (B) a cost of reforestation or revegetation 

25 on tribal or non-Federal land, to the extent that 


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1 the cost of reforestation or revegetation is not 

2 covered by any other Federal program; 

3 (C) any costs borne by any injured person 

4 to determine the extent of— 

5 (i) the damages to agricultural land; 

6 or 

7 (ii) any other damages covered by this 

8 Act; 

9 (D) any costs borne by an injured person 

10 who had to pay for water supplies or equipment 

11 to treat water during the period for which a 

12 water supply of the injured person was com13 promised by the Gold King Mine spill; and 

14 (E) any other loss that the Administrator 

15 determines to be appropriate for inclusion as 

16 loss of property. 

17 (2) BUSINESS LOSS.—A claim that is paid for 

18 an injury under this section may include damages 

19 resulting from the Gold King Mine spill for the fol20 lowing types of otherwise uncompensated business 

21 loss: 

22 (A) Damage to tangible assets or inven23 tory. 

24 (B) Business interruption losses. 

25 (C) Overhead costs. 


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1 (D) Employee wages for work not per2 formed. 

3 (E) Any other loss that the Administrator 

4 determines to be appropriate for inclusion as a 

5 business loss. 

6 (3) FINANCIAL LOSS.—A claim that is paid for 

7 an injury under this section may include damages 

8 resulting from the Gold King Mine spill for the fol9 lowing types of otherwise uncompensated financial 

10 loss: 

11 (A) An insurance deductible. 

12 (B) Lost wages or personal income. 

13 (C) Emergency staffing expenses. 

14 (D) Debris removal and other cleanup 

15 costs. 

16 (E) Any other loss that the Administrator 

17 determines to be appropriate for inclusion as a 

18 financial loss. 

19 SEC. 5. LONG-TERM WATER QUALITY MONITORING PRO20 GRAM; DESIGNATION AS SUPERFUND SITE. 

21 (a) GOLD KING MINE SPILL RESPONSE PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

23 work with affected States and Indian tribes to de24 velop, fund, and implement a long-term monitoring 


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1 program for water quality of the Animas and San 

2 Juan Rivers in response to the Gold King Mine spill. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The program under para4 graph (1) shall provide— 

5 (A) full disclosure to the public of applica6 ble water quality and sediment data; and 

7 (B) a clear and meaningful comparison be8 tween those data and all relevant water quality 

9 standards. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that the Administrator should— 

12 (1) consult with all local communities along the 

13 Animas and San Juan Rivers affected by the Gold 

14 King Mine spill, the Navajo Nation, the Southern 

15 Ute Indian Tribe, and the States of Colorado and 

16 New Mexico to determine whether it is appropriate 

17 to seek a designation for the Upper Animas River 

18 watershed on the National Priorities List under the 

19 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa20 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et 

21 seq.); and 

22 (2) prioritize the construction of a water treat23 ment plant in the Upper Animas River basin to sig24 nificantly reduce the ongoing heavy metal discharge 

25 into the Animas River from Cement Creek. 


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1 SEC. 6. AMENDMENT TO CERCLA. 

2 Title I of the Comprehensive Environmental Re3 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

4 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 129. MINING-RELATED PROVISIONS. 

7 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENTS.—The Administrator, the Sec8 retary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Interior, 

9 in coordination with the Governors of affected States, the 

10 heads of appropriate research universities, and the heads 

11 of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

14 enactment of this section, review known, existing 

15 abandoned and inactive mines— 

16 ‘‘(A) to identify the most dangerous aban17 doned and inactive mines on public land and 

18 private land with respect to the existence of pol19 lution and the potential to release any haz20 ardous substance or other pollutant, particu21 larly with respect to contamination of water; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) to establish a priority plan for activi24 ties for removal and remediation of the haz25 ardous substances and other pollutants; 


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1 ‘‘(2) periodically thereafter, as appropriate, up2 date the priority plan established under paragraph 

3 (1)(B) as new information becomes available; and 

4 ‘‘(3) develop a long-term research initiative to 

5 evaluate the physical, chemical, and geological at6 tributes of closed, abandoned, and inactive mines 

7 and pursue technological developments to aid in the 

8 cleanup of such mines. 

9 ‘‘(b) ACTIONS PRIOR TO CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.—Be10 fore conducting any activity at a mine that presents the 

11 significant potential for accidental discharge of a haz12 ardous substance or other pollutant, the Administrator or 

13 the head of any other Federal department or agency car14 rying out an activity for mine remediation shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) provide to each tribal, State, and local unit 

16 of government the resources or residents of which 

17 may be affected by such a discharge notice regard18 ing the activity; and 

19 ‘‘(2) develop a spill prevention, control, and 

20 countermeasures plan to avoid and mitigate the im21 pacts of such a discharge.’’. 

22 SEC. 7. EFFECT OF ACT. 

23 Nothing in this Act (or an amendment made by this 

24 Act) provides for compensation of any injured person pur25 suant to this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) 


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1 from the Hazardous Substances Superfund established by 

2 section 9507(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

Æ 


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