Legislation to Clean Up Abandoned Mines Signed Into Law

Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, of which he is a co-sponsor, was signed into law by President Joe Biden.  his legislation will make it easier for “Good Samaritans,” such as state agencies, nonprofits and other groups, to clean up and improve water quality in and around abandoned hardrock mines. 

“Good Samaritans are upholding a duty to the natural environment as stewards of the land, and we must continue our work to ensure they have the support they need to work unencumbered by burdensome regulations and undue liability risks,” said Crapo.

Background

The U.S. has hundreds of thousands of abandoned hardrock mine features, of which at least 33,000 pose environmental hazards according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.  Organizations that have no legal or financial responsibility to an abandoned mine--true Good Samaritans--want to volunteer to remediate some of these sites.  Unfortunately, liability rules would leave these Good Samaritans legally responsible for all the pre-existing pollution from a mine, even though they had no involvement with the mine prior to cleaning it up.

The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act creates a pilot permitting program to enable not-for-profit cleanup efforts to move forward, while ensuring Good Samaritans have the skills and resources to comply with federal oversight.  This pilot program is designed for lower risk projects that will improve water and soil quality or otherwise protect human health.