On January 18, the US Senate Energy & Public Works Committee passed by unanimous consent bipartisan ‘Good Samaritan’ legislation that would help clean up chronic pollution leaking from abandoned hardrock mines, according to Trout Unlimited.

The legislation will now be considered by the full Senate, where the bill is supported by 28 Senators split evenly between Republicans and Democrats.  

“This is a victory for common sense,” said Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited. “The Good Samaritan bill will allow organizations such as TU that had nothing to do with the creation of mining pollution to clean it up. We thank Senators Risch and Heinrich for their years of attention to addressing the greatest threat to water quality in our nation.”

The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2023  [S. 2781] — sponsored by US Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and James Risch (R-ID) – creates a pilot permitting program for entities which had no role in causing the pollution to clean up abandoned mine waste at up to 15 low-risk sites without the threat of long-term legal and financial liability currently imposed by the existing laws.

This will allow state agencies and nonprofit organizations such as Trout Unlimited to reduce the pollution impairing our waters, even if it is not feasible to achieve 100% of Clean Water Act standards.

“For more than half a century, abandoned hardrock mines have contaminated our waters and lands with toxins that put fish, wildlife, drinking water, and local communities at risk. The bipartisan Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act is a long-overdue, common-sense bill designed to accelerate cleanup efforts by removing barriers for conservation groups and partners so they can restore degraded waterways and landscapes,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “We commend the leadership of Senators Heinrich, Risch, Kelly, and Lummis – and all of the bipartisan co-sponsors – for forging a path forward on this critical issue.”

The EPA estimates that 40 percent of western headwater streams are negatively affected by abandoned mine waste. These should be the sources of cold, clean water upon which trout and salmon depend.

Acid mine drainage leaks toxic metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic, impairing 110,000 miles of freshwater streams.

However, under current law, ‘Good Samaritan’ entities and state agencies wishing to clean up acid mine drainage can be held liable and face legal jeopardy for pollution they didn’t create. 

“There is no constituency for yellow rivers or acid mine drainage,” said Wood. “Cleaning up abandoned mines is one of the few issues that mining companies, states, and conservation interests can agree. We just need Congress to act.” 

“The current law treats those who want to clean up abandoned mines as if they themselves are polluters,” said Corey Fisher, Public Lands Policy Director for TU. “This common-sense legislation would allow us to get started cleaning up abandoned mines that will otherwise continue polluting the environment. We’re ready to get to work under this pilot program to help make our water cleaner and communities healthier. Today’s vote in committee gets us one important step closer.”

Click Here to learn more about federal Good Samaritan legislation and Trout Unlimited’s work to clean up abandoned mines.

[Note: In addition to Trout Unlimited, the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, DEP and many other groups have supported federal good samaritan legislation that mirrors a law passed in Pennsylvania in 1999.  Read more here.]

(Photo: Little Conemaugh River before, after mine drainage treatment.(

(Reprinted from the Trout Unlimited website.]

Related Article This Week:

-- DEP Awards $101.1 Million In Federally-Funded Grants To Support Local Abandoned Mine-Related Restoration; Deadline For Next Round Of Grants Feb. 19  [PaEN]

[Posted: January 19, 2024]

1/22/2024