Old mining sites throughout the West and Arizona specifically have posed risks to public health due to improper closure and cleanup, prompting Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) to introduce a bipartisan bill strengthening cleanup operations of these sites.
The bill, named the Legacy Mine Cleanup Act, would codify the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains (OMDP) division of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which former President Donald Trump created in 2020 to specifically address the issues posed by abandoned mines.
From there, Rep. Crane's legislation would ensure that Congress has oversight of the OMDP's progress in cleaning up the sites and that Tribal and local authorities are adequately represented in the cleanup process.
As Rep. Crane described in his press release, mine operators before the 1970s could abandon a site once the resources were extracted without proper cleanup operation, leaving hazardous material and tunnels open.
Such haphazard abandonment poses public health risks and environmental degradation, the latter of which former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler described in a 2020 column for the Colorado Gazette announcing the OMDP's launch.
Wheeler noted that abandoned mining sites have caused acid mine drainage, erosion, and hazardous substance releases that have contaminated surface and groundwater and degraded habitat.
Crane and Wheeler both brought attention to the presence of over 500 abandoned mines in the Navajo Nation, some of which were dug for uranium.
"As we work to support domestic mining of critical minerals, it's crucial that we remain committed to doing so responsibly. The consequences of poor stewardship are detrimental for the health and safety of those living in rural Arizona—particularly those on the Navajo Nation. I'm proud to introduce this piece of legislation that would help ensure reasonable and timely cleanup and increased Congressional oversight of the process," said Crane.
At the end of September, the House passed the Fix Our Forests Act, a bill backed by the Arizona Congressman to improve the expedition of environmental reviews for forest management projects. The bill also includes provisions such as promoting federal, state, tribal, and local collaboration by creating a new Fireshed Center and codifying the Shared Stewardship initiative.
