Legacy Mine Cleanup Act of 2025 in plain language
1: Short title
This section would let the Act be referred to as the Legacy Mine Cleanup Act of 2025.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Legacy Mine Cleanup Act of 2025 .
2: Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains
This section would create an Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains inside the part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that runs solid waste programs.
Before describing what the Office does, the section defines several terms used throughout it. 'Administrator' means the Administrator of the EPA. 'Appropriate committees of Congress' means 10 specific committees: the Senate Committees on Appropriations, on Energy and Natural Resources, on Environment and Public Works, on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and on Indian Affairs, and the House Committees on Appropriations, on Energy and Commerce, on Transportation and Infrastructure, on Natural Resources, and on Oversight and Accountability. 'Cleanup action' means one or more actions taken to address contaminated media at a covered mine site under one or more of the Administrator's existing legal authorities, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the Clean Water Act), and any other existing authority the Administrator already has. 'Covered mine site' means Federal, State, Tribal, local, and private land that has been affected by past hardrock mining activities, plus water resources that cross or are next to that land. 'Indian country' has the meaning already given to that term in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code. A 'Navajo Nation abandoned uranium mine site' is an abandoned uranium covered mine site on land of the Navajo Nation. 'Office' means the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains created by this section, and 'Regional Office' means a Regional Office of the EPA.
The Office would be headed by a Director, chosen by the Administrator or by someone the Administrator designates.
The section lists six purposes for the Office. It would coordinate between EPA headquarters, EPA Regional Offices, and stakeholders on cleanup actions at covered mine sites, including sites in Indian country, consistent with Federal law. It would establish and share best practices for cleanup actions at covered mine sites, including identifying innovative technologies and reuse approaches that support those cleanup actions, and identifying waste storage and disposal solutions. It would coordinate among EPA headquarters, Regional Offices, Federal land management agencies, States, Indian Tribes, voluntary nongovernmental organizations, watershed groups, nonliable entities and mining companies, and other entities on voluntary cleanup actions at covered mine sites where applicable, including issuing administrative guidance to nonliable parties in a timely way. It would coordinate within the EPA and with other Federal agencies to encourage contracting opportunities for small businesses to take part in cleanup actions at covered mine sites, consistent with applicable Federal procurement authorities. It would coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other Federal agencies the Administrator decides are appropriate, to make sure Federal agencies coordinate cleanup actions at covered mine sites, with priority given to sites that have no potentially responsible party. And it would coordinate other actions the Administrator decides are appropriate, under the Administrator's existing authorities, either to support efforts to investigate, characterize, or clean up a discharge, release, or threatened 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 carry out appropriate reuse options, including using innovative technologies to recover valuable resources from covered mine site features or areas, as applicable.
The section would also require the Administrator to carry out, through the Office, at least four specific duties.
First, a priority mine list. Each year the Administrator would have to identify covered mine sites that are prioritized for cleanup actions, whether or not those sites are on the National Priorities List developed under section 105(a)(8)(B) of CERCLA. Each year the Administrator would also have to create that list of prioritized sites and submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress describing the methodology used to identify the sites and the status of cleanup actions at the sites on the list. The Administrator would have to regularly coordinate with Regional Offices, Federal agencies, States, Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, and stakeholders to update the list, and regularly coordinate with Regional Offices on cleanup actions and share best practices for each site on the list.
Second, process improvement. Under the Administrator's existing authorities, the Administrator would have to identify best practices for developing, reviewing, and approving site assessments, remedial investigations, and feasibility studies for covered mine sites; coordinate research on technologies and cleanup approaches that are most successful at limiting acute and chronic risks that covered mine sites pose to human health and the environment; and support government-to-government consultations with Indian Tribes that the Administrator or another Federal agency starts for a covered mine site located in Indian country, as well as support efforts to give regular updates to Tribal governments involved in cleanup actions for a covered mine site on Tribal land under that Tribe's jurisdiction. In supporting those government-to-government consultations with Indian Tribes, the Administrator, on top of existing applicable law, would also have to, as appropriate: invite potentially responsible parties, including Federal agencies, to take part in the consultations; consult with Alaska Native Corporations under section 161 of division H of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004; and make sure consultations with Tribal allottees happen under section 2 of the Act of February 5, 1948.
Third, interagency plans for uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. Not later than September 30, 2028, and at least once every 10 years after that, the Administrator, working with other relevant Federal agencies including at 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, would have to develop a 10-year interagency plan for coordinating the Federal Government with States and Tribal governments to carry out cleanup actions at Navajo Nation abandoned uranium mine sites. That plan would have to include goals for assessing and cleaning up those sites; target dates by which those goals are expected to be met, which depend on appropriations and on funding from potentially responsible parties being available; the appropriations projected as necessary to meet the goals by the target dates; and the activities each Federal agency would carry out under the plan. Not later than 90 days after a plan is developed, the Administrator would have to submit a report describing that plan to the appropriate committees of Congress.
Fourth, administrative and technical assistance. Under the Administrator's existing authorities, the Administrator would have to provide States, units of local government, Indian Tribes, and other entities technical assistance with cleanup actions at covered mine sites.
Finally, the section includes two savings provisions. Nothing in the section would give the Administrator any new regulatory authority beyond what is already established in law. And nothing in the section would count as setting a default standard or authority to be used for cleanup actions at covered mine sites, including the section's own definition of 'cleanup action.'
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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) Cleanup action The term cleanup action means 1 or more actions taken to address contaminated media at a covered mine site pursuant to 1 or more existing authorities of the Administrator, including— (A) the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq. ); (B) the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 ( 30 U.S.C. 1245 note; Public Law 118–155 ); (C) the Solid Waste Disposal Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq. ); (D) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. ); and (E) any other existing authority of the Administrator. (4) Covered mine site The term covered mine site means Federal, State, Tribal, local, and private land that has been affected by past hardrock mining activities and water resources that traverse or are contiguous to such land. (5) Indian country The term Indian country has the meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code. (6) 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. (7) Office The term Office means the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains established by subsection (b)(1). (8) 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 the Environmental Protection Agency that administers solid waste programs the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains. (2) Director The Office shall be headed by a Director, to be selected by the Administrator (or a designee). (c) Purposes The purposes of the Office shall be— (1) to coordinate between the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Offices, and stakeholders on cleanup actions of the Environmental Protection Agency at a covered mine site, including a covered mine site in Indian country, in accordance with Federal law; (2) to establish and disseminate best practices for covered mine site cleanup actions, including identifying— (A) innovative technologies and reuse approaches that support and make progress toward those cleanup actions; and (B) waste storage and disposal solutions; (3) to coordinate among the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Offices, Federal land management agencies, States, Indian Tribes, and voluntary nongovernmental organizations, watershed groups, nonliable entities and mining companies, and other entities on voluntary cleanup actions at covered mine sites, where applicable, including timely issuance of administrative guidance for nonliable parties; (4) to coordinate within the Environmental Protection Agency and with other Federal agencies to encourage contracting opportunities for small businesses to participate in cleanup actions at covered mine sites, consistent with applicable Federal procurement authorities; (5) to coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, 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 cleanup actions, with priority given to coordinating cleanup 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 cleanup 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 cleanup 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 cleanup 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 cleanup 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 initiated by the Administrator or another Federal agency with respect to a covered mine site located within Indian country; and (II) efforts to provide regular updates to the Tribal governments involved in cleanup 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, 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, 2028, 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 cleanup actions at Navajo Nation abandoned uranium mine sites, including— (i) goals for the assessment of, and cleanup 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 and funding from potentially responsible parties; (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 cleanup actions on covered mine sites. (e) Savings provisions Nothing in this section— (1) provides the Administrator with new regulatory authority not already established in law; or (2) shall be interpreted as establishing a default standard or authority to be used for cleanup actions at covered mine sites, including the definition of cleanup action in subsection (a).