The Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025 provides compensation to individuals and businesses who suffered damages from the 2015 Gold King Mine spill in Colorado.
Jeff Hurd
Representative
CO-3
The Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025 allows individuals and businesses harmed by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill to receive compensation from the federal government for specific, documented losses, such as injury, lost business income, and agricultural damages. Claimants must have submitted a claim by August 5, 2017, and meet specific criteria to be considered an "injured person" under the Act. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator will investigate and settle claims, adhering to Colorado state law for calculating damages, with a limited fund of $3,300,000 appropriated for this purpose. Claimants can challenge the Administrator's final decision in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Gold King Mine Spill Victims to Get Paid: EPA to Settle Claims Under New Act, Up to $3.3 Million Available
The "Gold King Mine Spill Compensation Act of 2025" finally puts money where the mess is, setting up a system to pay people hurt by the EPA's massive 2015 toxic spill in Colorado. This isn't about emotional distress or theoretical losses – it's about documented financial hits directly tied to the spill.
Spill Cash: Who Gets It and How?
The bill focuses on compensating homeowners, ranchers, farmers, and businesses (but not vacation rentals) who took a financial bath because of the spill between August 5 and the end of 2015. Think lost business income, the cost of moving livestock and getting emergency water (through October 15, 2015), or crop losses. Crucially, you had to have filed a claim by August 5, 2017, to be eligible, and you can't have already settled with the government for more than $2,500 related to this. The Act specifically defines an "injured person" in SEC. 2, and you'll need to meet that definition to get paid.
The EPA Administrator (basically the agency's boss) is in charge of figuring out who gets what. They've got 180 days from when this bill becomes law to make those calls, focusing on whether you're actually an "injured person" under the law (SEC. 2), whether the Gold King Mine spill directly caused your injury, and how much your damages are worth under Colorado law (SEC. 3). If you're a farmer who lost crops because your irrigation water turned orange, and you can prove it with documentation, you're likely in line for compensation. If you're a business owner who had to shut down for a few weeks, that lost income could be covered, too – as long as you aren't a vacation rental business, which is excluded.
Checks and Balances (and Limits)
There's $3.3 million set aside (SEC. 4), and it's available until it runs out. Once you accept payment, you're done – you give up your right to sue the government over this (SEC. 3). If you disagree with the EPA's decision, you can challenge it in court, but the judge is mostly stuck with what the EPA already looked at (SEC. 3). This is a key point: the court's review is limited, so the initial claim and documentation you provide are critical.
The Bottom Line
This bill offers a path to compensation for a specific group of people harmed by a specific event. It's not a blank check, and the deadlines and limitations matter. If you think you qualify, pay close attention to the definitions and requirements in Sections 2 and 3 of the Act. While it’s a step toward making things right, it's also a reminder of the fine print – and the real-world impact – of government actions and the laws that follow.