Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3844 (Rep. Jody Hice, R-GA), the “Bureau of Land Management Foundation Act,” by voice vote. H.R. 3844 is part of a three-bill package developed by the Committee on Natural Resources to comprehensively address the existing funding, technical and legal impediments to reclaim abandoned mine lands (AML).

H.R. 3844 establishes a new foundation that will assist federal land management agencies, state agencies and non-profit organizations with raising funds for AML cleanup on federal and non-federal lands.

“In the wake of the EPA’s disastrous Gold King Mine Spill, when three million gallons of toxic chemicals were released into the Animas River, we witnessed the gross ineptitude of the federal government to safely care for and reclaim abandoned mines. Rep. Hice’s bill, paired with reforms to address the growing shortage of mining engineers and Good Samaritan provisions, provides an opportunity to address the AML issue on a much broader scale and with greater protections for safety and the environment,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) said.

“By incorporating private sector policies and procedures, H.R. 3844, the Bureau of Land Management Foundation Act, revamps and improves the clean-up of contaminated water in abandoned mine sites. I applaud the bipartisan work of my Resources Committee colleagues, and I look forward to implementing comprehensive spill prevention methods with the passage of this legislation,” Rep. Hice said.

The three-bill package also includes H.R. 3734, the Mining Schools Enhancement Act (Rep. Cresent Hardy, R-NV), which addresses the nationwide deficiency in mining expertise, and H.R. 3843, the Locatable Minerals Claim Location and Maintenance Fees Act (Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-CO), which provides limited liability protections for industry and non-profit groups with the technical expertise to competently reclaim AML.

Learn here to learn more about H.R. 3844.