[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3858 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3858
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish within the Office of Land and Emergency Management of the
Environmental Protection Agency the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and
Plains, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Legacy Mine Cleanup Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF MOUNTAINS, DESERTS, AND PLAINS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Environment and Public Works
of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives;
(G) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives;
(H) the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;
(I) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House
of Representatives; and
(J) the Committee on Oversight and Accountability
of the House of Representatives.
(3) Covered mine site.--The term ``covered mine site''
means the land, water, and surrounding watersheds where
extraction, beneficiation, or processing of hardrock ores or
minerals occurred, but has been discontinued, including
discontinued temporarily.
(4) Indian country.--The term ``Indian country'' has the
meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United
States Code.
(5) Navajo nation abandoned uranium mine site.--The term
``Navajo Nation abandoned uranium mine site'' means an
abandoned uranium covered mine site on land of the Navajo
Nation.
(6) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of
Mountains, Deserts, and Plains established by subsection
(b)(1).
(7) Regional office.--The term ``Regional Office'' means a
Regional Office of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--There is established within the Office of
Land and Emergency Management of the Environmental Protection
Agency the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains.
(2) Director.--The Office shall be headed by a Director, to
be appointed by the Administrator (or a designee).
(c) Purposes.--The purposes of the Office shall be--
(1) to coordinate with the headquarters of the
Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Offices, and
stakeholders response actions of the Environmental Protection
Agency at a covered mine site, including a covered mine site in
Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United
States Code), in accordance with Federal law;
(2) to establish and disseminate best practices for covered
mine site response actions, including identifying--
(A) innovative technologies and reuse approaches
that support and make progress toward those response
actions; and
(B) waste storage and disposal solutions;
(3) to coordinate with the headquarters of the
Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Offices, Federal land
management agencies, States, and voluntary nongovernmental
organizations, watershed groups, nonliable entities and mining
companies, and other entities voluntary response actions at
covered mine sites, where applicable, including timely issuance
of administrative guidance for nonliable parties;
(4) to coordinate with the headquarters of the
Environmental Protection Agency and other Federal Government
entities, pursuant to existing authorities under section 3303
of title 41, United States Code, hiring practices to support
small business concerns to carry out response actions at
covered mine sites;
(5) to coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior, the
Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other Federal
agencies, as the Administrator determines to be appropriate, to
ensure interagency coordination of covered mine site response
actions, with priority given to coordinating response actions
at covered mine sites for which there is no potentially
responsible party; and
(6) to coordinate other actions as the Administrator
determines to be appropriate, pursuant to existing authorities
of the Administrator--
(A) to support efforts to investigate,
characterize, or clean up a discharge, release, or
threat of release of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant into the environment at or from a
covered mine site; or
(B) to establish best practices to protect and
improve human health and the environment and implement
appropriate reuse options, including through the use of
innovative technologies to recover valuable resources
from covered mine site features or areas, as
applicable.
(d) Duties.--The Administrator shall carry out through the Office,
at a minimum, the following duties:
(1) Priority mine list.--
(A) In general.--Annually, the Administrator shall
identify covered mine sites that are prioritized for
response actions, which may include covered mine sites
that are or are not included on the National Priorities
List developed by the President in accordance with
section 105(a)(8)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)).
(B) Creation of list; reports.--The Administrator
shall annually--
(i) create a list of covered mine sites
identified under subparagraph (A); and
(ii) submit to the appropriate committees
of Congress a report describing--
(I) the methodology used to
identify those covered mine sites under
that subparagraph; and
(II) the status of response actions
carried out at covered mine sites on
the list.
(C) Coordination.--The Administrator shall--
(i) regularly coordinate with Regional
Offices, Federal agencies, States, Indian
Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, and
stakeholders to update the list of covered mine
sites identified under subparagraph (A); and
(ii) regularly coordinate with Regional
Offices on response actions and share best
practices with respect to each covered mine
site identified under subparagraph (A).
(2) Process improvement.--
(A) In general.--The Administrator shall, pursuant
to existing authorities of the Administrator--
(i) identify best practices for developing,
reviewing, and approving site assessments,
remedial investigations, and feasibility
studies for covered mine sites;
(ii) coordinate research relating to
technologies and remedial and removal
approaches that are the most successful in
limiting the acute and chronic risks posted to
human health and the environment by covered
mine sites; and
(iii) support--
(I) government-to-government
consultations with Indian Tribes with
respect to a covered mine site located
within Indian country; and
(II) efforts to provide regular
updates to the Tribal governments
involved in response actions for a
covered mine site located on Tribal
land under the jurisdiction of the
Indian Tribe.
(B) Tribal consultation.--In supporting
consultations with Indian Tribes under subparagraph
(A)(iii)(I), the Administrator, in addition to existing
applicable law and guidance, shall--
(i) as appropriate, invite potentially
responsible parties, including Federal
agencies, to participate in government-to-
government consultations with Indian Tribes;
(ii) as appropriate, consult with Alaska
Native Corporations in accordance with section
161 of division H of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2004 (25 U.S.C. 5301 note;
Public Law 108-199); and
(iii) as appropriate, ensure consultations
with Tribal allottees occur pursuant to section
2 of the Act of February 5, 1948 (62 Stat. 18,
chapter 45; 25 U.S.C. 324).
(3) Interagency plans for uranium contamination on the
navajo nation; reports.--
(A) In general.--Not later than September 30, 2027,
and not less frequently than once every 10 years
thereafter, the Administrator, in cooperation with
other relevant Federal agencies, including, at a
minimum, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Energy
Regulatory Commission, the Department of the Interior,
the Indian Health Service, and the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, and in consultation
with affected Tribal governments, shall develop a 10-
year interagency plan for the coordination of the
Federal Government with States and Tribal governments
to carry out response actions at Navajo Nation
abandoned uranium mine sites, including--
(i) goals for the assessment of, and
response actions at, Navajo Nation abandoned
uranium mine sites;
(ii) target dates by which goals described
in clause (i) are anticipated to be achieved,
subject to appropriations;
(iii) the projected appropriations
necessary to achieve goals described in clause
(i) by the target dates described in clause
(ii); and
(iv) the activities to be carried out by
each Federal agency under the plan.
(B) Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the date
on which a plan is developed under subparagraph (A),
the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report describing the
applicable plan.
(4) Administrative and technical assistance.--The
Administrator shall, pursuant to existing authorities of the
Administrator, provide to States, units of local government,
Indian Tribes, and other entities technical assistance with
respect to response actions on covered mine sites.
(e) No New Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this section provides
the Administrator with new regulatory authority not already established
in law.
Passed the Senate April 15, 2024.
Attest:
Secretary.
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3858
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish within the Office of Land and Emergency Management of the
Environmental Protection Agency the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and
Plains, and for other purposes.