A coalition of environmental groups, academics and politicians gathered in Denver on Wednesday to support federal legislation that would make it easier to clean up abandoned mines.
The call for federal “good Samaritan” legislation coincided with the release of a report on cleaning up abandoned mines by the Center on the American West.
The report – “Cleaning Up Abandoned Hardrock Mines in the West: Prospecting for a Better Future” – cites a U.S. Bureau of Mines estimate that 12,000 miles, or about 40 percent, of Western waterways are contaminated by acid mine drainage.
“Abandoned mines and their acidic discharge have left a legacy of toxic contamination in our Western waterways,” said Patricia Nelson Limerick, the report’s lead author and the center’s faculty director.
Federal laws discourage individuals and communities from cleaning up abandoned mines by making them liable for the pollution.
“Unless the site is an immediate threat to human health and the EPA steps in, very little cleanup is getting done,” said Joe Ryan, a University of Colorado environmental engineering professor. “We need legislation to let these community groups, these good Samaritans, tackle the problems locally.”
Five Colorado and Montana congressmen and senators have introduced federal legislation since 1999 that would give liability relief for those interested in cleaning up abandoned mine sites.
While those bills have stalled, aides to Colorado legislators said there may be some movement this year due to bipartisan support.