# 119-s-568: Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025

119-s-568, Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-16).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-568
- As of: 2026-10-16
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-568
- Congress: 119
- Title: Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-13
- Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-16

## Summary

**This bill would create a federal program to compensate people and businesses harmed by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill.** It defines who may recover specific economic losses from that release and how claims would be handled and paid. - Homeowners and property owners could get payments for property injury if they submitted a covered claim by August 5, 2017 and did not previously settle for more than $2,500. - Farmers and livestock grazers could recover covered lost income, diminished crop yields, and limited costs for relocating livestock and securing alternative water during the spill period in 2015. - Recreation companies and other non–mine businesses could claim lost business income from the 2015 spill provided they filed a covered claim by August 5, 2017 and are still operating when paid; mine owners and mine-related businesses are excluded. - Claimants could choose an administrative covered claim or certain civil actions, but accepting an award would be final and would release related claims against the United States. - The Environmental Protection Agency Administrator would decide payment amounts under applicable Colorado law, make determinations within 180 days of enactment, and report claims and payments to Congress within 90 days after all claims are processed. *Would authorize up to $3.3 million in emergency Treasury funding for fiscal year 2025 to pay claims under the Act.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Who can get spill payments: cost, low. This bill would restrict who may receive payments. To be eligible, you must have filed a written Federal Tort Claims Act request with the EPA Administrator on or before August 5, 2017. If you are a business, it must be operating when payments are made and must not own or run mines. You cannot get a…
- Payments for Gold King spill losses: mixed, medium. This bill would create a program to pay certain economic losses from the Aug 5, 2015 Gold King Mine spill. Covered losses would include injury, lost business income from Aug 5–Dec 31, 2015 (not vacation rentals), livestock relocation and alternative water costs from Aug 5–Oct 15, 2015, and crop los…
- Claims process and court review: mixed, low. This bill would let the EPA Administrator investigate and decide covered claims and set payment amounts within 180 days after enactment. The Administrator could only consider whether the claimant is injured, whether the spill caused the injury, how much to pay, and who gets paid. If you disagree wi…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act
- 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act

## Sources
- [119-s-568 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/568)

## Related
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2763)
- [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-568 (as of 2026-10-16).