Bipartisan senators on Wednesday reintroduced legislation to permanently authorize an EPA office to coordinate the cleanup of thousands of abandoned hardrock mines across the nation.
Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) floated the “Legacy Mine Cleanup Act,” which would cement the existence of EPA’s Office of Mountains, Deserts and Plains, which President Donald Trump created during his first stint in office in 2020. Republican Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona has introduced a companion bill in the House.
The office was focused specifically on hardrock mine remediation west of the Mississippi River alongside state governments, tribal nations and local communities.
Federal watchdogs have found there are more than 22,000 known abandoned hardrock mine features like pits and tunnels on federal lands that pose risks to human health and the environment because they can leak toxic chemicals, such as arsenic, into nearby waterways.
