(Washington, DC) – As he continues working to improve the economy and get southern Nevada working again, Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV-03) today applauded the Natural Resources Committee’s passage of H.R. 2512, The Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Heck in July, would allow the City of Henderson to reclaim the abandoned Three Kids Mine site and form a public-private partnership for cleanup and redevelopment while eliminating Federal government liability at no cost to taxpayers. Committee passage of Rep. Heck’s Three Kids Mine bill sets up the legislation for floor consideration in the House Representatives.
“I am pleased that the Natural Resources Committee has passed the Three Kids Mine legislation that will create jobs and improve safety in southern Nevada at no cost to the Federal government,” Rep. Heck said. “The long-abandoned Three Kids Mine has been an unsightly, dangerous and potentially environmentally-damaging site close to homes and businesses in Henderson that must be reclaimed. This legislation offers a viable reclamation and cleanup protocol that can serve as a model for the cleanup of other sites around the country.”
Congressmen Mark Amodei (R-NV-02) and Doug Lamborn (CO-05), both members of the Natural Resources Committee, touted the Three Kids Mine bill introduced by Rep. Heck as a job creator.
“My fellow-Nevadan Dr. Heck crafted a win-win with this legislation, which I was happy to support in committee,” said Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV-02), who is a member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. “This worthy project will put Nevadans back to work and will help clean up the local environment at no cost to taxpayers.”
Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral resources said, “This bill will help clean up an abandoned mine and create jobs, at no cost to the taxpayers. I believe this unique public-private partnership could serve as a model for cleaning up similar sites across the country.”
Background:
The Three Kids Mine (TKM) is an abandoned manganese mine and mill site consisting of approximately 1,262 acres of Federal and private lands which lies within the Henderson city limits and is across Lake Mead Parkway from an increasing number of homes and businesses. The Three Kids Mine 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. The project site contains numerous large unstable sheer-cliff open pits as deep as 400 feet, huge volumes of mine overburden/tailings, mill facility remnants and waste disposal areas.
The City of Henderson, the Henderson Redevelopment Agency, Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, Lakemoor Development, LLC and the Bureau of Land Management has negotiated to come up with a plan to clean up and redevelop the TKM Project site that includes the purchase of 948 acres of Federal lands.