During the Committee’s oversight hearing on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Role in the EPA’s Animas Spill, Committee members raised concerns about the DOI’s response to the spill, the lack of transparency and objectivity and the narrow scope of the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) report.  Secretary Sally Jewell’s testimony four months after the spill raised several concerns,… Read more »

Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources discussed mining legislation to address the failed response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Animas spill three months ago and reform policies that currently impede abandoned mine cleanup nationally.   H.R. 3843 introduced by Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (CO-5), the “Locatable Minerals Claim Location and… Read more »

TO: The Honorable Gina McCarthy FROM: Jason Chaffetz, Chairman Rob Bishop, Chairman Cynthia M. Lummis, Chairman Dear Administrator McCarthy: On August 5, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency cause the spill of mine waste from a site in San Juan County, Colorado, into the regional river system. According to media reports, EPA's operation of heavy equipment on the site led to the… Read more »