PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 24, 2015
Gold King Mine Spill Recovery Act of 2015
This bill entitles persons to compensation for allowable damages (i.e., property, business, or financial losses) under the Federal Tort Claims Act if they were injured by the spill into Cement Creek from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. The spill occurred on August 5, 2015.
The bill establishes an Office of Gold King Mine Spill Claims within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to process and pay compensation claims.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The EPA must work with affected states and Indian tribes to develop, fund, and implement a long-term monitoring program for water quality of the Animas and San Juan Rivers in response to the spill.
The bill amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 by requiring certain agencies to work with affected states as well as research universities to: (1) identify the most dangerous abandoned and inactive mines, (2) establish a priority plan for cleaning up those mines, (3) update the plan as new information becomes available, and (4) develop a long-term research initiative. That initiative must evaluate the physical, chemical, and geological attributes of closed, abandoned, and inactive mines and pursue technological developments to aid in the cleanup of those mines.
Prior to carrying out mine remediation activities, agencies must: (1) provide affected tribal, state, and local governments notice of such activities; and (2) develop a spill prevention, control, and countermeasures plan for avoiding and mitigating the impacts of a spill.
People & committees
Rep. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM-3] · D–NM
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 3, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.3602 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.3602 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.3602 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.3602 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.