Congress·In Committee·H.R. 1315

Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025

Gold King Mine Spill: Compensation for Victims

Feb 13, 2025·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committeeNo action in 17 months

This bill is currently sitting in the House Judiciary and Budget committees. No action has been taken on the bill since February 2025, which means it has been stalled for over a year. It will not move forward unless these committees decide to hold a vote.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill addresses a very specific local issue from a decade ago. While it has a clear purpose, bills that only benefit a small geographic area often struggle to gain national priority in Congress.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from S. 5192 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
S. 5192 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill provides money to people and businesses harmed by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill. That event happened when the EPA accidentally released 3 million gallons of toxic waste into rivers in Colorado and nearby areas.
To get paid, a person or business must have already filed a claim with the government by August 2017. This bill is meant for those who were turned down or did not get enough money to cover their actual losses.
The money covers specific damages like lost farm crops, the cost of moving livestock to find clean water, and lost business income from late 2015. It does not cover emotional distress or lost income from vacation rentals.
The government would set aside up to $3.3 million to pay these claims. The EPA must review each request and decide on the payment amount within 180 days of the bill becoming law.
If a person accepts a payment, they give up their right to sue the government for this spill in the future. However, anyone unhappy with the EPA's decision can ask a federal court in Colorado to review their case.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 13, 2025House

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Feb 13, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025

Bill NumberHR 1315

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

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Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.