Mine reclamation, or the process of closing down a mine so it doesn’t cause further environmental harm, wasn’t enforced in Nevada until the 1980s with the creation of the state’s Abandoned ...

Biden signs bill that could clean up old Nevada mines FILE — An abandoned mine shaft in Gold Butte National Monument, shown Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, was recently closed by a team of state contractors.

In Pennsylvania, there are at least "5,000 abandoned underground mines." Many more states, including others in Appalachia, plus Nevada and California, are also dotted with them.

Under the Clean Water Act, anyone who wanted to clean up an abandoned mine assumed all liability for past, present, and future pollution from it, in perpetuity, the moment they undertook a cleanup ...

Many mines shut down in the '80s and '90s, and while environmental issues remain, using these sites to create new energy brings a sense of continuity." But the shift isn't without challenges.

Old mines pose myriad dangers, with 381 people killed and 152 injured at abandoned mine sites nationwide between 2000 and 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden on Dec. 19, is the first step in removing burdensome legal liabilities for groups and state ...