H.R. 1315 — Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025

This section provides the short title of the Act as the “Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025.”

This section establishes definitions for the Act, including the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a new term, BPMD contamination, which means a release or threatened release of hazardous substances on or before the date of enactment at or from mining-related sources within the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund Site in San Juan County, Colorado, including all areas the Environmental Protection Agency has ever defined for the site under the National Priorities List. It also defines a covered claim as a written request for a specific monetary amount under the Federal Tort Claims Act submitted to the Administrator on or before August 5, 2017, for compensation for covered damages. This section defines covered damages as adequately documented, otherwise uncompensated damages suffered as a result of the Gold King Mine spill, including (1) injury, (2) lost business income incurred during the period beginning on August 5, 2015, and ending on December 31, 2015, excluding vacation-rental income, (3) livestock-relocation and alternative-water expenses incurred during the period beginning on August 5, 2015, and ending on October 15, 2015, and (4) diminished crop yield or crop loss occurring during the period beginning on August 5, 2015, and ending on December 31, 2015. It excludes response costs under section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and emotional distress. This section defines the Gold King Mine spill as the release on August 5, 2015, of more than 3,000,000 gallons of acid mine drainage containing heavy metals from the Gold King Mine in San Juan County, Colorado, into downstream waters, including the Animas and San Juan Rivers, during an Environmental Protection Agency removal site evaluation. It also defines an injured person as a homeowner, livestock grazer, farmer, recreation company, or other business that suffered covered damages because of the spill, did not previously enter into a settlement with the United States for more than $2,500 or receive a court judgment related to BPMD contamination or the spill, and was denied a covered claim or not fully compensated for covered damages. For businesses, the definition applies only if the business submitted a covered claim on or before August 5, 2017, remains in operation when payment is made, and does not own a mine or perform mine-related business. It further defines injury by cross-reference to the meaning of injury or loss of property, personal injury, or death under 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1).

This section establishes a compensation program for injured persons harmed by the Gold King Mine spill and directs the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator to investigate, determine, and settle covered claims on behalf of the United States. As background, the Gold King Mine spill released contaminated mine wastewater into the Animas River watershed in 2015, affecting downstream users and property owners. The section limits recoverable damages to actual compensatory damages measured by injuries suffered and the amount originally claimed, and excludes prejudgment or postjudgment interest and punitive damages. It requires the Administrator to determine the amount, if any, to be paid within 180 days after enactment and to decide only whether the claimant is an injured person, whether the injury resulted from the spill, the amount payable, and who is entitled to receive payment. The section makes acceptance of a payment final and conclusive for all covered claims arising from the same subject matter and constitutes a complete release of related claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. chapter 171) or any other Federal or State law. It also requires claimants to certify, under penalty of perjury and subject to 18 U.S.C. § 1001, that the covered claim is true and correct. The section allows an injured person to elect one remedy for 1 or more injuries from the spill by pursuing a covered claim, filing a claim or civil action under the Federal Tort Claims Act, or bringing another authorized civil action, and makes that election final for all spill-related injuries suffered by the claimant. It preserves a claimant’s right to seek benefits under any Federal entitlement program. The section authorizes judicial review in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado within 60 days after the Administrator issues a final decision, requires the court to review the administrative record, and directs the court to uphold the decision if supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. Finally, it requires the Administrator to submit a report to Congress within 90 days after all covered claims are processed, describing the amounts claimed, the nature of the claims, and their disposition, including any payments made.

This section appropriates to the Administrator for fiscal year 2025 such sums as are necessary, but not to exceed $3.3 million, for payment of claims under the Act, with the funds available until expended. It also designates the full $3.3 million as an emergency requirement under 2 U.S.C. § 901(b)(2)(A), which exempts the appropriation from the discretionary spending limits.