Gold King Mine Spill Recovery Act of 2015
Latest action · Oct 5, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 24, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Gold King Mine Spill Recovery Act of 2015
This bill entitles persons to compensation for allowable damages (i.e., property, business, or financial losses) under the Federal Tort Claims Act if they were injured by the spill into Cement Creek from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. The spill occurred on August 5, 2015.
The bill establishes an Office of Gold King Mine Spill Claims within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to process and pay compensation claims.
The EPA must work with affected states and Indian tribes to develop, fund, and implement a long-term monitoring program for water quality of the Animas and San Juan Rivers in response to the spill.
The bill amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 by requiring certain agencies to work with affected states as well as research universities to: (1) identify the most dangerous abandoned and inactive mines, (2) establish a priority plan for cleaning up those mines, (3) update the plan as new information becomes available, and (4) develop a long-term research initiative. That initiative must evaluate the physical, chemical, and geological attributes of closed, abandoned, and inactive mines and pursue technological developments to aid in the cleanup of those mines.
Prior to carrying out mine remediation activities, agencies must: (1) provide affected tribal, state, and local governments notice of such activities; and (2) develop a spill prevention, control, and countermeasures plan for avoiding and mitigating the impacts of a spill.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 24, 2015 to Oct 23, 2015, with 4 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Original | Sep 24, 2015 |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | Original | Sep 24, 2015 |
| D-CO | Jared Polis | Original | Sep 24, 2015 |
| D-NM | Michelle Lujan Grisham | Original | Sep 24, 2015 |
| D-AZ | Ann Kirkpatrick | Oct 23, 2015 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 5, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
- Sep 25, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.
- Sep 25, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Sep 24, 2015Introduced in House
- Sep 24, 2015Referred 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.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2063 | Gold King Mine Spill Recovery Act of 2015 | Identical bill | Sep 22, 2015 |
| S 2950 | Gold King ACT | Related bill | May 18, 2016 |
| HR 4483 | Gold King Mine Spill Accountability Act of 2016 | Related bill | Feb 5, 2016 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
- Colorado
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental Protection
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Federal-Indian relations
- Government liability
- Government studies and investigations
- Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
- Intergovernmental relations
- Lakes and rivers
- Metals
- Mining
- New Mexico
- Pollution liability
- Public contracts and procurement
- State and local government operations
- Utah
- Water quality
- Watersheds
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 24, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.