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Allows hardrock mining operators to include multiple small mill-site claims (each up to five acres) within an approved plan of operations on public land when needed for waste storage or processing, and creates a dedicated Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund to receive certain claim maintenance fees from those mill sites. The Interior Secretary may use money in that fund to carry out specified mine remediation activities under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; the bill also adds definitions, preserves existing agency and land protections, and makes clerical fee-language changes to earlier law.
The bill speeds and clarifies certain mining activities and creates a dedicated, fee-financed cleanup fund for abandoned hardrock mines—improving remediation funding and reducing permitting friction—while raising concerns about increased local impacts on public lands and reduced congressional budget
Communities near abandoned hardrock mines and the general public will gain from a new dedicated Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund, financed by mill-site maintenance fees, which increases and stabilizes funding for mine cleanup without waiting for annual appropriations.
Communities near mines and outdoor recreationists may see reduced environmental and public-health hazards because maintenance/claim fees are explicitly directed into a cleanup fund tied to remediation of abandoned mines.
Mining operators and workers can site multiple small (≤5-acre) mill sites within an approved plan, reducing permitting delays and permitting friction for necessary waste/tailings handling and speeding project implementation.
Taxpayers and the public face reduced congressional oversight because maintenance fees are directed into a Treasury account the Secretary can spend without further appropriation, enabling spending outside the annual appropriations process.
Communities near mines and tribal communities could experience increased local disturbance and higher pollution risk if allowing multiple mill sites is not tightly regulated, potentially worsening local health and environmental outcomes.
Recreationists and local residents could see expanded mining activity and corresponding impacts on recreation, scenery, and local ecosystems from permitting more mill-site locations on public lands.
Introduced February 14, 2025 by Mark E. Amodei · Last progress December 18, 2025