Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 606.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 01 · Reported to Senate with amendment(s) · Sep 27, 2010
Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel Act of 2010 - Amends the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to expand requirements for the operation and maintenance of the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, Colorado, to require the Secretary of the Interior to take any action necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the Tunnel to maintain public safety and to prevent an uncontrolled release of water. Makes the Secretary responsible for the operation and maintenance of the water treatment plant, including authorized sludge disposal. Authorizes the Secretary to offer to enter into one or more contracts with any appropriate individual or entity for the conduct of any required service.
Authorizes the Secretary: (1) to enter into an agreement with any other entity or government agency to provide funding for an increase in any operation, maintenance, replacement, capital improvement, or expansion cost that is necessary to improve or expand the Treatment Plant; and (2) upon entering into an agreement, to make any necessary capital improvement to or expansion of the water treatment plant and to treat flows that are conveyed to the Plant, including any surface water diverted into the Tunnel and water collected by the dewatering relief well installed in June 2008.
Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consult with the Secretary regarding each feature of the proposed new or amended Record of Decision for operable unit 6 of the California Gulch National Priorities List Site that may require any alteration to, or otherwise affect the operation and maintenance of, the Tunnel or the water treatment plant.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Read full official summaryShow less
Authorizes the Secretary to implement any improvement to, or new operation of, the Tunnel or water treatment plant only upon entering into an agreement with the EPA Administrator or other entity or agency to provide funding for the improvement or new operation.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 606.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-320.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-320.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 111-707.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Bill text & related measures
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
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.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze S.3404 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.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine S.3404 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.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine S.3404 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.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine S.3404 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.