Bipartisan infrastructure law led by Sinema and shaped by Kelly provides at least $15 million to protect Arizona communities from contaminated waste at Dewey-Humboldt site
WASHINGTON – At least $15 million will be invested to protect the health and safety of Arizonans thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law led by Senator Kyrsten Sinema and shaped by Senator Mark Kelly.
The funding will be used to clean up the Iron King Mine/Humboldt Smelter Superfund site, permanently consolidate the contaminated mining and smelting waste, and ensure the health and safety of nearby residential areas in Yavapai County.
“The historic investment I secured from my bipartisan infrastructure law will clean up the hazardous waste impacting the Dewey-Humboldt community – ensuring our state remains a safe, healthy place to call home for generations to come,” said Sinema, co-author and lead negotiator of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
“Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to address critical needs in Arizona, including by making investments to protect public health and the environment,” said Kelly. “When we were negotiating the infrastructure law, one of my priorities was addressing the cleanup of abandoned mine sites in my state. This is going to protect Yavapai County residents from waste and contamination.”
A Superfund site refers to manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills, and mining sites containing hazardous waste. From the early 1900s to 1970, Arizona’s Iron King Mine and the Humboldt Smelter mined rock ores of zinc, silver, lead, and gold. The operations led to wastes and contamination in soils, sediments, and surface drainages within the town of Dewey-Humboldt, causing the Environmental Protection Agency to name Iron King Mine/Humboldt Smelter as a Superfund site in 2008.
The investment in the site’s cleanup will rid the community’s soil of arsenic and consolidate the mine and smelter wastes into two waste repositories – preventing wastes from moving further into drainages or the river.
Sinema and Kelly’s bipartisan infrastructure law secured $3.5 billion for Superfund site cleanup. In the time since Sinema and Kelly’s bipartisan infrastructure bill became law, it has delivered over $38 million to Arizona for environmental cleanup – capping orphaned oil and gas wells, reclaiming abandoned mine lands, and cleaning up brownfield sites.
Sinema led bipartisan Senate negotiations with Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio that included Senator Kelly and senators from both parties.
The bipartisan infrastructure law was supported by groups including The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, The National Association of Manufacturers, The AFL-CIO, The National Retail Federation, The Bipartisan Policy Center, North America’s Building Trades Unions, the Outdoor Industry Association, The American Hotel and Lodging Association, The National Education Association, as well as hundreds of mayors across all 50 states.