House Passes Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, Funding Abandoned Mine Cleanup With New Site Fees

Operators can propose more than one mill site per mining claim when it’s “reasonably necessary,” as part of a federal plan of operations.

Mining projects on federal land may be able to design larger or more realistic support areas (like tailings storage) without being blocked by a strict one‑site limit, which can speed up project planning once the rule is in effect.

Claim maintenance fees collected on these new mill sites start flowing into the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund.

Instead of going into a general bucket, those fees would be set aside for abandoned hardrock mine cleanup, increasing available cleanup funding when more mill sites are filed and maintained.