Abandoned Mine Legacy

Most of us know the colorful history of mining towns and miners, but are you also aware that this legacy includes approximately 500,000 abandoned mines - mostly in the western United States?

Threats to Water
Vital waterways are polluted by these abandoned mines, many of which were built for extracting hardrock minerals like gold, silver, copper, uranium and lead. Some of these sites now pose serious threats to the health and safety of communities downstream.

At least 40 percent of stream reaches in the headwaters of western watersheds are contaminated by mine waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Threats to the Taxpayer
Total clean-up estimates for abandoned mine range from $32 billion to $72 billion. The American taxpayer is on the hook for almost all of that cost.  Unlike the the coal mining industry, the metal mining industry pays no fee to clean up its legacy of abandoned mines. [1]

Cleanup Legislation
As of 2006, several legislative proposals are being discussed to clean up abandoned hardrock mines.

For More Information

• Maps of abandoned mine locations in western states.

• Federal legislative proposals to help clean up abandoned mines:
  - HR 1265 & 1266
  - S 1848
  - S 2780

References

1) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mine Waste Technology (February, 2007).