Cleaning up abandoned mine lands is one of the targets of more than $1.5 billion of economic stimulus funds provided to BLM, US Forest Service, and National Park Service but there are no guarantees that any of the money will be spent to clean up mines. Other projects, such as maintenance, construction, and trail repairs are also eligible to use the funds.
One report says the 3 agencies spent a total of $25 million on abandoned mine cleanup in the last fiscal year. EPA estimates cleaning up all the abandoned hardrock mines would cost as much as $50 billion.
The stimulus bill says priority for funds go to projects that generate jobs. Our State Mine Inspector, Joe Hart, identified 23 mine sites with 81 openings on short notice in December that could be readily closed in the next 24 months for a cost of $810,000. Overall there are 80,000 abandoned openings in Arizona, second only to Nevada's 200,000. I bet there are many more that could be added to the short list pretty quickly. [right, Tyro Mill cleanup near Bullhead City. Credit, USFS]