II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2063 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 

Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. HEINRICH, and Mr. BENNET) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Recovery Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) on August 5, 2015, approximately 

2 3,000,000 gallons of contaminated water was dis3 charged from the Gold King Mine north of Silverton, 

4 Colorado, into Cement Creek, a tributary of the 

5 Animas River, while contractors of the Environ6 mental Protection Agency were conducting an inves7 tigation of the mine— 

8 (A) to assess the ongoing water releases 

9 from the mine; 

10 (B) to treat mine water; and 

11 (C) to assess the feasibility of further mine 

12 remediation; 

13 (2) the plume of contaminated water resulting 

14 from the discharge described in paragraph (1)— 

15 (A) was found to contain high levels of 

16 heavy metals, including aluminum, arsenic, cad17 mium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, 

18 mercury, molybdenum, nickel, and zinc; and 

19 (B) flowed through the Animas River, the 

20 San Juan River, and Lake Powell; 

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

22 respect to the discharge described in paragraph 

23 (1)— 

24 (A) state of emergency declarations have 

25 been made by— 


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1 (i) the States of Colorado, New Mex2 ico, and Utah; and 

3 (ii) the Navajo Nation; and 

4 (B) a declaration of disaster has been 

5 issued by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe; and 

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

7 Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy 

8 stated that the Environmental Protection Agency 

9 will take full responsibility for the discharge de10 scribed in paragraph (1). 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency. 

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

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

18 2015, of approximately 3,000,000 gallons of con19 taminated water from the Gold King Mine north of 

20 Silverton, Colorado, into Cement Creek that oc21 curred while contractors of the Environmental Pro22 tection Agency were conducting an investigation of 

23 the Gold King Mine. 

24 (3) INJURED PERSON.—The term ‘‘injured per25 son’’ means a person that— 


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1 (A) suffered injury resulting from the Gold 

2 King Mine spill; and 

3 (B) is— 

4 (i) an individual, regardless of the 

5 citizenship or alien status of the individual; 

6 (ii) an Indian tribe, tribal corporation, 

7 or other tribal organization; 

8 (iii) a corporation, business, partner9 ship, company, association, insurer, county, 

10 township, city, State or political subdivi11 sion of a State, school district, ditch com12 pany, special district, water district, water 

13 company, the Animas-La Plata Operation, 

14 Maintenance and Replacement Association, 

15 or other non-Federal entity; or 

16 (iv) a legal representative of an indi17 vidual or entity described in any of clauses 

18 (i) through (iii). 

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

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

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

22 omission of a Federal officer, employee, contractor, 

23 or subcontractor while acting within the scope of of24 fice, employment, or contract, under circumstances 

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


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

2 the claimant in accordance with the law of the juris3 diction in which the act or omission occurred. 

4 (5) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of5 fice of Gold King Mine Spill Claims established by 

6 section 4(b)(1). 

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

8 SPILL. 

9 (a) FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS.— 

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

11 each injured person shall be entitled to receive from 

12 the United States compensation for a claim filed, or 

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

14 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Fed15 eral Tort Claims Act’’), arising out of, or relating to, 

16 an injury resulting from the Gold King Mine spill. 

17 (2) EFFECT OF ACCEPTANCE.—The acceptance 

18 by an injured person of compensation under para19 graph (1) shall have the same effect as acceptance 

20 of compensation under chapter 171 of title 28, 

21 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Fed22 eral Tort Claims Act’’), or any other Federal or 

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

24 King Mine spill. 


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1 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator and 

2 the Attorney General shall process a claim filed, or 

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

4 expeditiously as practicable. 

5 (4) NONAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION.—With 

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

7 or relating to, an injury resulting from the Gold 

8 King Mine spill— 

9 (A) the maximum amount limitation on 

10 claims described in the proviso of the first sen11 tence of section 2672 of title 28, United States 

12 Code, shall be waived; and 

13 (B) the Administrator may provide com14 pensation for the claim in an amount greater 

15 than $25,000 without prior written approval of 

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

17 Administrator determines to be appropriate. 

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

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

20 within the Environmental Protection Agency an Of21 fice of Gold King Mine Spill Claims. 

22 (2) PURPOSE.—The Office shall receive, proc23 ess, and pay claims in accordance with this section. 

24 (3) TREATMENT.—The establishment of the Of25 fice by this subsection shall not diminish the ability 


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1 of the Administrator to carry out the responsibilities 

2 of the Environmental Protection Agency under any 

3 other provision of law. 

4 (4) DETAILEES.—On request of the Adminis5 trator, the head of any Federal department or agen6 cy may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any per7 sonnel of that department or agency to the Office to 

8 assist in carrying out the duties under this Act. 

9 (c) ALLOWABLE DAMAGES.— 

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

11 loss of property under this section may include oth12 erwise-uncompensated damages resulting from the 

13 Gold King Mine spill for— 

14 (A) a cost resulting from lost tribal sub15 sistence from hunting, fishing, firewood gath16 ering, timbering, grazing, or agricultural activi17 ties, or from lost use for traditional or ceremo18 nial uses, conducted on land or water damaged 

19 by the Gold King Mine spill; 

20 (B) a cost of reforestation or revegetation 

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

22 the cost of reforestation or revegetation is not 

23 covered by any other Federal program; 

24 (C) any costs borne by any injured person 

25 to determine the extent of— 


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1 (i) the damages to agricultural land; 

2 or 

3 (ii) any other damages covered by this 

4 Act; 

5 (D) any costs borne by an injured person 

6 to pay for water supplies or equipment to treat 

7 water during the period for which a water sup8 ply of the injured person was compromised by 

9 the Gold King Mine spill; and 

10 (E) any other loss that the Administrator 

11 determines to be appropriate for inclusion as 

12 loss of property. 

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

14 an injury under this section may include damages 

15 resulting from the Gold King Mine spill for the fol16 lowing types of otherwise-uncompensated business 

17 loss: 

18 (A) Damage to tangible assets or inven19 tory. 

20 (B) Business interruption losses. 

21 (C) Overhead costs. 

22 (D) Employee wages for work not per23 formed. 


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1 (E) Any other loss that the Administrator 

2 determines to be appropriate for inclusion as a 

3 business loss. 

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

5 an injury under this section may include damages 

6 resulting from the Gold King Mine spill for the fol7 lowing types of otherwise-uncompensated financial 

8 loss: 

9 (A) An insurance deductible. 

10 (B) Lost wages or personal income. 

11 (C) Emergency staffing expenses. 

12 (D) Debris removal and other cleanup 

13 costs. 

14 (E) Any other loss that the Administrator 

15 determines to be appropriate for inclusion as a 

16 financial loss. 

17 SEC. 5. LONG-TERM WATER QUALITY MONITORING PRO18 GRAM; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

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

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

21 work with affected States and Indian tribes to de22 velop, fund, and implement a long-term monitoring 

23 program for water quality of the Animas and San 

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


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1 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The program under para2 graph (1) shall provide— 

3 (A) full disclosure to the public of applica4 ble water quality and sediment data; and 

5 (B) a clear and meaningful comparison be6 tween those data and all relevant water quality 

7 standards. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that the Administrator should— 

10 (1) consult with all local communities along the 

11 Animas and San Juan Rivers affected by the Gold 

12 King Mine spill, the Navajo Nation, the Southern 

13 Ute Indian Tribe, and the States of Colorado and 

14 New Mexico to determine whether it is appropriate 

15 to seek a designation for the Upper Animas River 

16 watershed on the National Priorities List under the 

17 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa18 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et 

19 seq.); and 

20 (2) prioritize the construction of a water treat21 ment plant in the Upper Animas River basin to sig22 nificantly reduce the ongoing heavy metal discharge 

23 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 those 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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