Sponsors (2)
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Michael F. Bennet · Last progress February 13, 2025
The bill provides a faster, funded federal process that delivers defined economic payments to people injured by the Gold King Mine spill but narrows who can recover, limits the types and amounts of recoverable damages, caps government liability, and shifts some costs and oversight trade‑offs onto taxpayers.
Homeowners, farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and other people injured by the Gold King Mine spill can receive direct federal compensation for documented economic harms caused by the spill.
Claimants get clarity about covered losses because the law explicitly covers categories like lost business income (Aug 5–Dec 31, 2015) and livestock relocation/water-supply costs, making it easier to document eligible claims.
A single federal claims process with a 180-day decision deadline speeds access to relief compared with protracted litigation for injured persons.
Claim payments exclude non‑economic damages (e.g., emotional distress), interest, and punitive damages and are capped at the amount claimed, which increases the risk that injured people will be undercompensated compared with court awards.
Accepting an administrative payment requires claimants to release federal and state claims, making settlements final and potentially barring future remedies if claimants later discover additional harms.
Judicial review of denials is narrowly limited (District of Colorado, on the administrative record, under a substantial‑evidence standard), reducing claimants' ability to obtain broader de novo relief in court.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a claims process for eligible victims of the 2015 mine release, limits compensable losses, and provides up to $3.3M (FY2025) to pay approved claims.
Creates a federal claims process for people and businesses harmed by the August 5, 2015 release of mine wastewater at the Bonita Peak/Gold King Mine site. It defines who may file, what losses are compensable, limits recoverable damages, requires the EPA Administrator to decide claims, and provides up to $3.3 million from the Treasury (FY2025) to pay approved claims. Acceptance of a payment is final and releases the United States from related claims; claimants may seek judicial review in the U.S. District Court for Colorado on the administrative record within a short time window. The funding is designated as an emergency requirement and is available until expended.