Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 697, the Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act, which is an innovative solution for restoring our environment, improving safety, and creating jobs.

H.R. 697 addresses the safety and environmental concerns of the Three Kids Mine, as was stated, an abandoned manganese mine and mill site consisting of approximately 1,262 acres of both Federal and private lands which lie within the Henderson city limits and is located across from a busy parkway and an increasing number of homes and businesses.

The site was owned and operated by various parties, including the United States Government, from approximately 1917 through 1961, and used as a storage area for Federal manganese ore reserves from the late 1950s through 2003.

Currently, the project site contains numerous large, unstable, sheer- cliff open pits as deep as 400 feet, huge volumes of mine overburden and tailings, mill facility remnants, and waste disposal areas. To give a sense of scale, the site contains mine overburden mounds that are approximately 10 stories high in some areas and abandoned waste ponds that are up to 60 feet deep and filled with more than 1 million cubic yards of gelatinous tailings containing high concentrations of arsenic, lead, and petroleum compounds.

H.R. 697 provides an innovative public-private partnership solution to finally clean up the abandoned Three Kids Mine site. In its simplest form, H.R. 697 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Federal lands at the project site--approximately 948 acres--at fair market value, taking into account the costs of investigating and remediating the entire site, which also includes an additional 314 acres of now-private lands that were used historically in mine operations.

In return for conveying the land at fair market value, the Federal Government will also receive a release of liability for cleanup of both the Federal and private lands.

Under this legislation, before the Federal lands are conveyed, the State must enter into a binding consent agreement under which the cleanup of the entire project site will occur. This agreement must include financial assurances to ensure the completion of the remediation and reclamation of the site. The cleanup will be financed with private capital and Nevada tax increment financing at no cost to the Federal Government. Again, this project will be carried out at no cost to the Federal Government.

H.R. 697 is the result of more than 5 years of work among the city of Henderson Redevelopment Agency, the Department of the Interior, the State of Nevada, and private entities. This public-private partnership solution will finally lead to the cleanup and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine site, while at the same time providing for economic development and the creation of as many as 33,000 jobs. Furthermore, I believe this innovative solution could serve as a viable model for the cleanup and reclamation of other similar sites across the country.

This bill, which has the support of the entire Nevada delegation, is nearly identical to H.R. 2512, which passed the House of Representatives by voice vote during the 112th Congress, but unfortunately did not receive consideration in the Senate prior to the adjournment of the last Congress.

I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee for recognizing the importance of this legislation to Nevada and the West, and for their efforts in advancing it, in a bipartisan fashion, through the committee.

H.R. 697 is a win for the economy, a win for the environment, and a win for the Federal taxpayer. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 697) to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine Project Site, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 697, the Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act, was introduced by our colleague from Nevada (Mr. Heck) on Valentine's Day and was marked up on June 12 of this year.

The Three Kids Mine is located in Clark County, Nevada, adjacent to the city of Henderson. The mine was operated from 1916 to 1961. The United States, through the Defense Plant Corporation, owned 446 acres of the Three Kids Mine Project from 1942 to 1955. The mine site was used to produce federally owned manganese ore for national defense purposes and was leased by the U.S. until 2003 to stockpile manganese nodules.

The Three Kids Mine Project area is approximately 1,262 acres and includes 948 acres of Federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation, and 314 acres of private lands where the mill site and processing plant are located.

The site is contaminated with arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons. Cost estimates for cleanup and reclamation of the site range from $300 million to $1.2 billion.

The city of Henderson, the Henderson Redevelopment Agency, the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, Lakemoor Development, and the Bureau of Land Management have negotiated a plan to clean up and redevelop the Three Kids Mine Project site that includes the purchase of 948 acres of Federal land. The purchase price would be adjusted to reflect the actual cleanup cost of the Federal and non-Federal lands where the Federal Government has environmental liability resulting from the mill, from the processing facilities, and the storage of Federal- owned manganese nodules.

All in all, Mr. Speaker, this is a win-win for everyone involved. The environmental problems are addressed, the abandoned mine site is reclaimed, and the land redeveloped for beneficial use--all at no cost to the American taxpayer.

If successful, this could provide a framework for other abandoned mine sites that are near or adjacent to small towns and larger urban areas.

So I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which passed by voice vote in the last Congress, and I would hope it would do so again in this Congress.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the author of this legislation, who introduced it in the last Congress and in this Congress, the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Heck).

I would ask my friend from California, I have no more requests for time and I'm prepared to yield back if the gentleman is prepared to yield back.

I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, as was mentioned, this is a win-win proposition--at no cost to the taxpayer--cleaning up this mine, and I urge its support. It passed, again, by voice vote in the last Congress, and I hope it does so again in this Congress.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. HUFFMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, we agree, the Three Kids Mine is an abandoned manganese mine and mill site located in Henderson, Nevada. This bill designates the combined 314 acres of private land and 948 acres of public land as the 1,262-acre Three Kids Mine Project Site and provides for the conveyance of the public lands to the Henderson Redevelopment Agency.

The bill requires that standard appraisal practices be used to determine the fair market value for the Federal lands to be conveyed. Once that determination has been made, the bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to determine the ``reasonable approximate estimation of the costs to assess, remediate, and reclaim the Three Kids Mine Project Site.'' That cost would then be deducted from the fair market

value of the public land that has conveyed. The Henderson Redevelopment Agency would pay the adjusted fair market value of the conveyed land, if any, and the Federal Government would be released from any and all liabilities or claims.

The BLM supports innovative proposals to address the cleanup of the Three Kids Mine, and we do not oppose this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from Nevada, Representative Titus.

I would tell the chairman I have no further speakers and am prepared to yield back if the chairman is prepared to close.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank my friend from California for the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 697, the Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act, and urge my colleagues to support the bill.

This bipartisan legislation, which has the support of the entire Nevada delegation, including Senators Reid and Heller, is critical to the cleanup and revitalization of long-dormant land near Henderson, Nevada.

H.R. 697 sets up a public-private partnership to address the remediation of the more than 1,200 acres of former manganese mining and industrial lands for redevelopment. These activities, as you have heard, date back nearly a century and were critical to our national defense during World War II. But over the last 50 years, the already nasty, polluted site has become increasingly dangerous. Accordingly, the cleanup of this land is a top priority for the Nevada State Department of Environmental Protection, the city of Henderson, and for the thousands of southern Nevada residents who live nearby.

I support this legislation to clean up the Three Kids Mine for both safety and environmental reasons and to create opportunities for redevelopment of the site for beneficial use and economic potential. So I would urge my colleagues to join me and the Nevada delegation in support of this bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the energy committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 291 and H.R. 356; that the Senate proceed to their consideration and the consideration of the following calendar number items en bloc: Calendar No. 256, H.R. 255; Calendar No. 226, H.R. 330; Calendar No. 359, H.R. 507; Calendar No. 353, H.R. 697; Calendar No. 361, H.R. 876; Calendar No. 362, H.R. 1158; Calendar No. 399, H.R. 2337; Calendar No. 369, H.R. 3110; Calendar No. 54, S. 247; Calendar No. 57, S. 311; Calendar No. 60, S. 354; Calendar No. 129, S. 363; Calendar No. 118, S. 476; and Calendar No. 120, S. 609.