Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Legacy Mine Cleanup Act of 2024”.
Legacy Mine Cleanup Act of 2024
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.
Sec. 2 Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains
Definitions— In this section:
Administrator— The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Appropriate committees of Congress— The term appropriate committees of Congress means—
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate;
the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate;
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate;
the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate;
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;
the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and
the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives.
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.
Indian country— The term Indian country has the meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code.
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.
Office— The term Office means the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains established by subsection (b)(1).
Regional Office— The term Regional Office means a Regional Office of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Establishment—
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.
Director— The Office shall be headed by a Director, to be appointed by the Administrator (or a designee).
Purposes— The purposes of the Office shall be—
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;
to establish and disseminate best practices for covered mine site response actions, including identifying—
innovative technologies and reuse approaches that support and make progress toward those response actions; and
waste storage and disposal solutions;
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;
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;
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
to coordinate other actions as the Administrator determines to be appropriate, pursuant to existing authorities of the Administrator—
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
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.
Duties— The Administrator shall carry out through the Office, at a minimum, the following duties:
Priority mine list—
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)).
Creation of list; reports— The Administrator shall annually—
create a list of covered mine sites identified under subparagraph (A); and
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing—
the methodology used to identify those covered mine sites under that subparagraph; and
the status of response actions carried out at covered mine sites on the list.
Coordination— The Administrator shall—
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
regularly coordinate with Regional Offices on response actions and share best practices with respect to each covered mine site identified under subparagraph (A).
Process improvement—
In general— The Administrator shall, pursuant to existing authorities of the Administrator—
identify best practices for developing, reviewing, and approving site assessments, remedial investigations, and feasibility studies for covered mine sites;
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
support—
government-to-government consultations with Indian Tribes with respect to a covered mine site located within Indian country; and
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.
Tribal consultation— In supporting consultations with Indian Tribes under subparagraph (A)(iii)(I), the Administrator, in addition to existing applicable law and guidance, shall—
as appropriate, invite potentially responsible parties, including Federal agencies, to participate in government-to-government consultations with Indian Tribes;
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
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).
Interagency plans for uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation; reports—
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—
goals for the assessment of, and response actions at, Navajo Nation abandoned uranium mine sites;
target dates by which goals described in clause (i) are anticipated to be achieved, subject to appropriations;
the projected appropriations necessary to achieve goals described in clause (i) by the target dates described in clause (ii); and
the activities to be carried out by each Federal agency under the plan.
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.
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.
No new regulatory authority— Nothing in this section provides the Administrator with new regulatory authority not already established in law.