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Congress Passes Good Samaritan Legislation To Address Toxic Legacy Of Abandoned Mines, Biden Expected To Sign

On December 10, in a historic bipartisan achievement two decades in the making, the US House of Representatives passed the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act (S.2781 / H.R.7779), according to Trout Unlimited.

The legislation is expected to be signed into law by President Biden.

The federal legislation mirrors Pennsylvania’s 1999 Environmental Good Samaritan Act.

This long-sought federal legislation will pave the way for Trout Unlimited, state agencies, and other third parties to increase the pace and scale of efforts to clean up abandoned hardrock mines, tens of thousands of which are polluting waterways across the country.

In Pennsylvania, the legislation was supported by the Eastern PA and Western PA Coalitions For Abandoned Mine Reclamation, the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, the Department of Environmental Protection, watershed groups and local governments all across the state. Read more here.

The legislation was championed by U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Jim Risch (R-ID) and U.S. Reps. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), Mary Peltola (D-AK), and Susie Lee (D-NV).

It cleared the US Senate by unanimous consent in July. Congress has debated Good Samaritan legislation for more than two decades.

Trout Unlimited thanks Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for their bipartisan support in bringing the legislation to the House floor.

“Today marks an important step toward cleaning up our nation’s rivers and streams,” said Chris Wood, President and CEO of Trout Unlimited. “Over 40 percent of small mountain streams in the West are polluted by heavy metals from abandoned mines. This bill is about clean water and healthy communities. It will make it possible for organizations that had nothing to do with the causes of pollution to make our rivers and streams cleaner. We commend Congress for taking this critical step, and especially thank Senators Heinrich and Risch, along with Representatives Maloy, Peltola and Lee, for their leadership in bringing Good Samaritan legislation over the finish line.”

“The House’s passage of the bipartisan Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 represents a huge step forward for water quality and fish and wildlife habitat in areas surrounding abandoned hardrock mines,” said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “This legislation has been a priority for the hunting and angling community for a quarter century, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law.”

“Abandoned hardrock mines have contaminated our public lands and poisoned the waters that wildlife and people alike rely upon. The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act will allow conservation organizations and other community groups to put this toxic legacy behind us,” said Abby Tinsley, vice president for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation. “The National Wildlife Federation appreciates the strong bipartisan leadership that delivered on this long-overdue initiative and looks forward to President Joe Biden signing this historic win for people and wildlife into law.”

Abandoned mines are historic mine sites – often a century old or more – where there are no parties that can be held responsible for cleaning up mine waste.

Current federal laws treat organizations that volunteer to clean up these abandoned mines—including state agencies and private non-profits groups like Trout Unlimited—as if they are the very polluters who left behind the mine waste.

This creates daunting obstacles that prevent abandoned mine cleanups, including complicated permitting and long-term legal and financial liability for any remaining mine pollution.

“Clean water and healthy fish and wildlife habitat are values that unite us,” said Corey Fisher, Public Policy Director at Trout Unlimited. “For too long, toxic hardrock mine waste has polluted rivers, causing downstream impacts to communities and wildlife. This common-sense law will give us a critical tool to turn the tide, restoring clean water to watersheds across the West and beyond.”

The Good Samaritan legislation establishes a new program under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), providing limited liability protections for up to 15 low-risk abandoned mine cleanup pilot projects conducted by state agencies, tribes, and qualified volunteer parties.

Trout Unlimited, the leading conservation organization dedicated to restoring America’s rivers, recovering trout and salmon, and conserving clean water, has long championed the need for Good Samaritan protections to accelerate cleanup efforts.

The organization played a pivotal role in advocating for the legislation, drawing on decades of on-the-ground restoration experience to raise awareness about the urgent need for action.

(Photos: Little Conemaugh River in Cambria County before and after mine drainage treatment.)

NewsClips:

-- Trout Unlimited: A Watershed Moment: Congress Passes Good Samaritan Legislation To Address Toxic Legacy Of Abandoned Mines

-- Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership: Federal Good Samaritan Legislation To Help Cleanup Abandoned Mines Heads To President’s Desk

-- National Wildlife Federation: Final Passage Of Federal Good Samaritan Act Will Encourage Abandoned Mine Cleanup

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-- Congress Passes Good Samaritan Legislation To Address Toxic Legacy Of Abandoned Mines, Biden Expected To Sign [PaEN]

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