IB 

Union Calendar No. 703 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7779 

[Report No. 118–823, Part I] 

To promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2024 

Ms. MALOY (for herself, Mrs. PELTOLA, Mr. CURTIS, Ms. LEE of Nevada, Mr. 

FULCHER, Mr. COSTA, and Mr. MOORE of Utah) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, 

and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

DECEMBER 6, 2024 

Reported from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure with an 

amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

DECEMBER 6, 2024 

Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged 

DECEMBER 6, 2024 

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, extended for period ending 

not later than December 19, 2024 

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Ms. PETTERSEN, Mr. OWENS, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. 

HORSFORD, Mr. ZINKE, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, 

Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. AMODEI, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. BOEBERT, Mr. CROW, Mr. 

NEHLS, Mr. BEAN of Florida, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, 

Mr. FONG, Mrs. SYKES, Mr. STAUBER, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. VASQUEZ, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. CARAVEO, Mr. CRANE, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. STANTON, and 

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania 


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DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Committee on Natural Resources discharged; committed to the Committee of 

the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 21, 2024] 

A BILL 

To promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines, and 

for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Good Samaritan Reme5 diation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ABANDONED HARDROCK MINE SITE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘abandoned 

10 hardrock mine site’’ means an abandoned or in11 active hardrock mine site and any facility asso12 ciated with an abandoned or inactive hardrock 

13 mine site— 

14 (i) that was used for the production of 

15 a mineral other than coal conducted on 

16 Federal land under sections 2319 through 

17 2352 of the Revised Statutes (commonly 

18 known as the ‘‘Mining Law of 1872’’; 30 

19 U.S.C. 22 et seq.) or on non-Federal land; 

20 and 

21 (ii) for which, based on information 

22 supplied by the Good Samaritan after re23 view of publicly available data and after re24 view of other information in the possession 

25 of the Administrator, the Administrator or, 


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1 in the case of a site on land owned by the 

2 United States, the Federal land manage3 ment agency, determines that no responsible 

4 owner or operator has been identified— 

5 (I) who is potentially liable for, or 

6 has been required to perform or pay 

7 for, environmental remediation activi8 ties under applicable law; and 

9 (II) other than, in the case of a 

10 mine site located on land owned by the 

11 United States, a Federal land manage12 ment agency that has not been involved 

13 in mining activity on that land, except 

14 that the approval of a plan of oper15 ations under the hardrock mining reg16 ulations of the applicable Federal land 

17 management agency shall not be con18 sidered involvement in the mining ac19 tivity. 

20 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘abandoned 

21 hardrock mine site’’ includes a hardrock mine 

22 site (including associated facilities) that was 

23 previously the subject of a completed response ac24 tion under the Comprehensive Environmental 

25 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 


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1 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) or a similar Fed2 eral and State reclamation or cleanup program, 

3 including the remediation of mine-scarred land 

4 under the brownfields revitalization program 

5 under section 104(k) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 9604(k)). 

7 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘abandoned 

8 hardrock mine site’’ does not include a mine site 

9 (including associated facilities)— 

10 (i) in a temporary shutdown or ces11 sation; 

12 (ii) included on the National Priorities 

13 List developed by the President in accord14 ance with section 105(a)(8)(B) of the Com15 prehensive Environmental Response, Com16 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

17 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)) or proposed for in18 clusion on that list; 

19 (iii) that is the subject of a planned or 

20 ongoing response action under the Com21 prehensive Environmental Response, Com22 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

23 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) or a similar Federal 

24 and State reclamation or cleanup program; 


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1 (iv) that has a responsible owner or 

2 operator; or 

3 (v) that actively mined or processed 

4 minerals after December 11, 1980. 

5 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency. 

8 (3) APPLICABLE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS.— 

9 The term ‘‘applicable water quality standards’’ means 

10 the water quality standards promulgated by the Ad11 ministrator or adopted by a State or Indian tribe 

12 and approved by the Administrator pursuant to the 

13 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 

14 et seq.). 

15 (4) BASELINE CONDITIONS.—The term ‘‘baseline 

16 conditions’’ means the concentrations, locations, and 

17 releases of any hazardous substances, pollutants, or 

18 contaminants, as described in the Good Samaritan 

19 permit, present at an abandoned hardrock mine site 

20 prior to undertaking any action under this Act. 

21 (5) COOPERATING PERSON.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘cooperating 

23 person’’ means any person that is named by the 

24 Good Samaritan in the permit application as a 

25 cooperating entity. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘cooperating 

2 person’’ does not include— 

3 (i) a responsible owner or operator 

4 with respect to the abandoned hardrock 

5 mine site described in the permit applica6 tion; 

7 (ii) a person that had a role in the cre8 ation of historic mine residue at the aban9 doned hardrock mine site described in the 

10 permit application; or 

11 (iii) a Federal agency. 

12 (6) COVERED PERMIT.—The term ‘‘covered per13 mit’’ means— 

14 (A) a Good Samaritan permit; and 

15 (B) an investigative sampling permit. 

16 (7) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.—The 

17 term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ means any 

18 Federal agency authorized by law or Executive order 

19 to exercise jurisdiction, custody, or control over land 

20 owned by the United States. 

21 (8) GOOD SAMARITAN.—The term ‘‘Good Samar22 itan’’ means a person that, with respect to historic 

23 mine residue, as determined by the Administrator— 

24 (A) is not a past or current owner or oper25 ator of— 


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1 (i) the abandoned hardrock mine site 

2 at which the historic mine residue is lo3 cated; or 

4 (ii) a portion of that abandoned 

5 hardrock mine site; 

6 (B) had no role in the creation of the his7 toric mine residue; and 

8 (C) is not potentially liable under any Fed9 eral, State, Tribal, or local law for the remedi10 ation, treatment, or control of the historic mine 

11 residue. 

12 (9) GOOD SAMARITAN PERMIT.—The term ‘‘Good 

13 Samaritan permit’’ means a permit granted by the 

14 Administrator under section 4(a)(1). 

15 (10) HISTORIC MINE RESIDUE.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘historic mine 

17 residue’’ means mine residue or any condition at 

18 an abandoned hardrock mine site resulting from 

19 hardrock mining activities. 

20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘historic mine 

21 residue’’ includes— 

22 (i) previously mined ores and minerals 

23 other than coal that contribute to acid mine 

24 drainage or other pollution; 


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1 (ii) equipment (including materials in 

2 equipment); 

3 (iii) any tailings facilities, heap leach 

4 piles, dump leach piles, waste rock, overbur5 den, slag piles, or other waste or material 

6 resulting from any extraction, beneficiation, 

7 or other processing activity that occurred 

8 during the active operation of an aban9 doned hardrock mine site; 

10 (iv) any acidic or otherwise polluted 

11 flow in surface water or groundwater that 

12 originates from, or is pooled and contained 

13 in, an inactive or abandoned hardrock mine 

14 site, such as underground workings, open 

15 pits, in-situ leaching operations, ponds, or 

16 impoundments; 

17 (v) any hazardous substance (as de18 fined in section 101 of the Comprehensive 

19 Environmental Response, Compensation, 

20 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

21 9601)); 

22 (vi) any pollutant or contaminant (as 

23 defined in section 101 of the Comprehensive 

24 Environmental Response, Compensation, 


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1 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

2 9601)); and 

3 (vii) any pollutant (as defined in sec4 tion 502 of the Federal Water Pollution 

5 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362)). 

6 (11) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

7 has the meaning given the term in— 

8 (A) section 518(h) of the Federal Water Pol9 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1377(h)); or 

10 (B) section 101 of the Comprehensive Envi11 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil12 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601). 

13 (12) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING PERMIT.—The 

14 term ‘‘investigative sampling permit’’ means a permit 

15 granted by the Administrator under section 4(d)(1). 

16 (13) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 

17 entity described in— 

18 (A) section 502(5) of the Federal Water Pol19 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362(5)); or 

20 (B) section 101(21) of the Comprehensive 

21 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Li22 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(21)). 

23 (14) REMEDIATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘remediation’’ 

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1 terize, or cleanup, in whole or in part, a dis2 charge, release, or threat of release of a haz3 ardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant into 

4 the environment at or from an abandoned 

5 hardrock mine site, or to otherwise protect and 

6 improve human health and the environment. 

7 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘remediation’’ 

8 includes any action to remove, treat, or contain 

9 historic mine residue to prevent, minimize, or 

10 reduce— 

11 (i) the release or threat of release of a 

12 hazardous substance, pollutant, or contami13 nant that would harm human health or the 

14 environment; or 

15 (ii) a migration or discharge of a haz16 ardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant 

17 that would harm human health or the envi18 ronment. 

19 (C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘remediation’’ 

20 does not include any action that requires plug21 ging, opening, or otherwise altering the portal or 

22 adit of the abandoned hardrock mine site. 

23 (15) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘reservation’’ has 

24 the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian country’’ in sec25 tion 1151 of title 18, United States Code. 


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1 (16) RESPONSIBLE OWNER OR OPERATOR.—The 

2 term ‘‘responsible owner or operator’’ means a person 

3 that is— 

4 (A)(i) legally responsible under section 301 

5 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

6 U.S.C. 1311) for a discharge that originates from 

7 an abandoned hardrock mine site; and 

8 (ii) financially able to comply with each re9 quirement described in that section; or 

10 (B)(i) a present or past owner or operator 

11 or other person that is liable with respect to a 

12 release or threat of release of a hazardous sub13 stance, pollutant, or contaminant associated 

14 with the historic mine residue at or from an 

15 abandoned hardrock mine site under section 104, 

16 106, 107, or 113 of the Comprehensive Environ17 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability 

18 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604, 9606, 9607, 9613); 

19 and 

20 (ii) financially able to comply with each re21 quirement described in those sections, as applica22 ble. 

23 SEC. 3. SCOPE. 

24 Nothing in this Act— 


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1 (1) except as provided in section 4(n), reduces 

2 any existing liability under Federal, State, or local 

3 law; 

4 (2) except as provided in section 4(n), releases 

5 any person from liability under Federal, State, or 

6 local law, except in compliance with this Act; 

7 (3) authorizes the conduct of any mining or 

8 processing other than the conduct of any processing of 

9 previously mined ores, minerals, wastes, or other ma10 terials that is authorized by a Good Samaritan per11 mit; 

12 (4) imposes liability on the United States or a 

13 Federal land management agency pursuant to section 

14 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

15 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

16 9607) or section 301 of the Federal Water Pollution 

17 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311); or 

18 (5) relieves the United States or any Federal 

19 land management agency from any liability under 

20 section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re21 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

22 U.S.C. 9607) or section 301 of the Federal Water Pol23 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311) that exists apart 

24 from any action undertaken pursuant to this Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. ABANDONED HARDROCK MINE SITE GOOD SAMARI2 TAN PILOT PROJECT AUTHORIZATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es5 tablish a pilot program under which the Adminis6 trator shall grant not more than 15 Good Samaritan 

7 permits to carry out projects to remediate historic 

8 mine residue at any portions of abandoned hardrock 

9 mine sites in accordance with this Act. 

10 (2) OVERSIGHT OF PERMITS.—The Adminis11 trator may oversee a remediation project under para12 graph (1), and any action taken by the applicable 

13 Good Samaritan or any cooperating person under the 

14 applicable Good Samaritan permit, for the duration 

15 of the Good Samaritan permit, as the Administrator 

16 determines to be necessary to review the status of the 

17 project. 

18 (3) SUNSET.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B), the pilot program described 

21 in paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date 

22 that is 7 years after the date of enactment of this 

23 Act. 

24 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub25 paragraph (A), the Administrator may grant a 

26 Good Samaritan permit pursuant to this Act 


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1 after the date identified in subparagraph (A) if 

2 the application for the Good Samaritan per3 mit— 

4 (i) was submitted not later than 180 

5 days before that date; and 

6 (ii) was completed in accordance with 

7 subsection (c) by not later than 7 years 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (C) EFFECT ON CERTAIN PERMITS.—Any 

10 Good Samaritan permit granted by the deadline 

11 prescribed in subparagraph (A) or (B), as appli12 cable, that is in effect on the date that is 7 years 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act shall re14 main in effect after that date in accordance 

15 with— 

16 (i) the terms and conditions of the 

17 Good Samaritan permit; and 

18 (ii) this Act. 

19 (b) GOOD SAMARITAN PERMIT ELIGIBILITY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

21 Good Samaritan permit to carry out a project to re22 mediate an abandoned hardrock mine site, a person 

23 shall demonstrate that, as determined by the Admin24 istrator— 


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1 (A) the abandoned hardrock mine site that 

2 is the subject of the application for a Good Sa3 maritan permit is located in the United States; 

4 (B) the purpose of the proposed project is 

5 the remediation at that abandoned hardrock 

6 mine site of historic mine residue; 

7 (C) the proposed activities are designed to 

8 result in the partial or complete remediation of 

9 historic mine residue at the abandoned hardrock 

10 mine site within the term of the Good Samaritan 

11 permit; 

12 (D) the proposed project poses a low risk to 

13 the environment, as determined by the Adminis14 trator; 

15 (E) to the satisfaction of the Administrator, 

16 the person— 

17 (i) possesses, or has the ability to se18 cure, the financial and other resources nec19 essary— 

20 (I) to complete the permitted 

21 work, as determined by the Adminis22 trator; and 

23 (II) to address any contingencies 

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1 mit application described in subsection 

2 (c); 

3 (ii) possesses the proper and appro4 priate experience and capacity to complete 

5 the permitted work; and 

6 (iii) will complete the permitted work; 

7 and 

8 (F) the person is a Good Samaritan with 

9 respect to the historic mine residue proposed to 

10 be covered by the Good Samaritan permit. 

11 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF ALL RESPONSIBLE OWN12 ERS OR OPERATORS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan shall 

14 make reasonable and diligent efforts to identify, 

15 from a review of publicly available information 

16 in land records or on internet websites of Fed17 eral, State, and local regulatory authorities, all 

18 responsible owners or operators of an abandoned 

19 hardrock mine site proposed to be remediated by 

20 the Good Samaritan under this section. 

21 (B) EXISTING RESPONSIBLE OWNER OR OP22 ERATOR.—If the Administrator determines, 

23 based on information provided by a Good Sa24 maritan or otherwise, that a responsible owner 

25 or operator exists for an abandoned hardrock 


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1 mine site proposed to be remediated by the Good 

2 Samaritan, the Administrator shall deny the ap3 plication for a Good Samaritan permit. 

4 (c) APPLICATION FOR PERMITS.—To obtain a Good 

5 Samaritan permit, a person shall submit to the Adminis6 trator an application, signed by the person and any cooper7 ating person, that provides, to the extent known or reason8 ably discoverable by the person on the date on which the 

9 application is submitted— 

10 (1) a description of the abandoned hardrock 

11 mine site (including the boundaries of the abandoned 

12 hardrock mine site) proposed to be covered by the 

13 Good Samaritan permit; 

14 (2) a description of all parties proposed to be in15 volved in the remediation project, including any co16 operating person and each member of an applicable 

17 corporation, association, partnership, consortium, 

18 joint venture, commercial entity, or nonprofit associa19 tion; 

20 (3) evidence that the person has or will acquire 

21 all legal rights or the authority necessary to enter the 

22 relevant abandoned hardrock mine site and perform 

23 the remediation described in the application; 

24 (4) a detailed description of the historic mine 

25 residue to be remediated; 


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1 (5) a detailed description of the expertise and ex2 perience of the person and the resources available to 

3 the person to successfully implement and complete the 

4 remediation plan under paragraph (7); 

5 (6) to the satisfaction of the Administrator and 

6 subject to subsection (d), a description of the baseline 

7 conditions caused by the historic mine residue to be 

8 remediated that includes— 

9 (A) the nature and extent of any adverse 

10 impact on the water quality of any body of 

11 water caused by the drainage of historic mine 

12 residue or other discharges from the abandoned 

13 hardrock mine site; 

14 (B) the flow rate and concentration of any 

15 drainage of historic mine residue or other dis16 charge from the abandoned hardrock mine site in 

17 any body of water that has resulted in an ad18 verse impact described in subparagraph (A); and 

19 (C) any other release or threat of release of 

20 historic mine residue that has resulted in an ad21 verse impact to human health or the environ22 ment; 

23 (7) subject to subsection (d), a remediation plan 

24 for the abandoned hardrock mine site that describes— 


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1 (A) the nature and scope of the proposed re2 mediation activities, including— 

3 (i) any historic mine residue to be ad4 dressed by the remediation plan; and 

5 (ii) a description of the goals of the re6 mediation including, if applicable, with re7 spect to— 

8 (I) the reduction or prevention of 

9 a release, threat of release, or discharge 

10 to surface waters; or 

11 (II) other appropriate goals relat12 ing to water or soil; 

13 (B) each activity that the person proposes to 

14 take that is— 

15 (i) designed to— 

16 (I) improve or enhance water 

17 quality or site-specific soil or sediment 

18 quality relevant to the historic mine 

19 residue addressed by the remediation 

20 plan, including making measurable 

21 progress toward achieving applicable 

22 water quality standards; or 

23 (II) otherwise protect human 

24 health and the environment (including 

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1 charge, or threat of release to water, 

2 sediment, or soil); and 

3 (ii) otherwise necessary to carry out an 

4 activity described in subclause (I) or (II) of 

5 clause (i); 

6 (C) a plan describing the monitoring or 

7 other forms of assessment that will be undertaken 

8 by the person to evaluate the success of the ac9 tivities described in subparagraph (A) during 

10 and after the remediation, with respect to the 

11 baseline conditions, as described in paragraph 

12 (6); 

13 (D) to the satisfaction of the Administrator, 

14 detailed engineering plans for the project; 

15 (E) detailed plans for any proposed recy16 cling or reprocessing of historic mine residue to 

17 be conducted by the person (including a descrip18 tion of how all proposed recycling or reprocess19 ing activities contribute to the remediation of the 

20 abandoned hardrock mine site); and 

21 (F) identification of any proposed con22 tractor that will perform any remediation activ23 ity; 

24 (8) subject to subsection (d), a schedule for the 

25 work to be carried out under the project, including a 


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1 schedule for periodic reporting by the person on the 

2 remediation of the abandoned hardrock mine site; 

3 (9) a health and safety plan that is specifically 

4 designed for mining remediation work; 

5 (10) a specific contingency plan that— 

6 (A) includes provisions on response and no7 tification to Federal, State, Tribal, and local au8 thorities with jurisdiction over downstream 

9 waters that have the potential to be impacted by 

10 an unplanned release or discharge of hazardous 

11 substances, pollutants, or contaminants; and 

12 (B) is designed to respond to unplanned ad13 verse events (such as adverse weather events or a 

14 potential fluid release that may result from ad15 dressing pooled water or hydraulic pressure situ16 ations), including the sudden release of historic 

17 mine residue; 

18 (11) subject to subsection (d), a project budget 

19 and description of financial resources that dem20 onstrate that the permitted work, including any oper21 ation and maintenance, will be completed; 

22 (12) subject to subsection (d), information dem23 onstrating that the applicant has the financial re24 sources to carry out the remediation (including any 

25 long-term monitoring that may be required by the 


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1 Good Samaritan permit) or the ability to secure an 

2 appropriate third-party financial assurance, as deter3 mined by the Administrator, to ensure completion of 

4 the permitted work, including any long-term oper5 ations and maintenance of remediation activities that 

6 may be— 

7 (A) proposed in the application for the 

8 Good Samaritan permit; or 

9 (B) required by the Administrator as a con10 dition of granting the permit; 

11 (13) subject to subsection (d), a detailed plan for 

12 any required operation and maintenance of any re13 mediation, including a timeline, if necessary; 

14 (14) subject to subsection (d), a description of 

15 any planned post-remediation monitoring, if nec16 essary; and 

17 (15) subject to subsection (d), any other appro18 priate information, as determined by the Adminis19 trator or the applicant. 

20 (d) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING.— 

21 (1) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING PERMITS.—The 

22 Administrator may grant an investigative sampling 

23 permit for a period determined by the Administrator 

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1 tive sampling of historic mine residue, soil, sediment, 

2 or water to determine— 

3 (A) baseline conditions; and 

4 (B) whether the Good Samaritan— 

5 (i) is willing to perform further reme6 diation to address the historic mine residue; 

7 and 

8 (ii) will proceed with a permit conver9 sion under subsection (e)(1). 

10 (2) NUMBER OF PERMITS.— 

11 (A) LIMITATION.— Subject to subparagraph 

12 (B), the Administrator may grant not more than 

13 15 investigative sampling permits. 

14 (B) APPLICABILITY TO CONVERTED PER15 MITS.—An investigative sampling permit that is 

16 not converted to a Good Samaritan permit pur17 suant to paragraph (5) may be eligible for 

18 reissuance by the Administrator subject to the 

19 overall total of not more than 15 investigative 

20 sampling permits allowed at any 1 time de21 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

22 (3) APPLICATION.—If a Good Samaritan pro23 poses to conduct investigative sampling, the Good Sa24 maritan shall submit to the Administrator an invesVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Dec 12, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7779.RH H7779

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1 tigative sampling permit application that contains, 

2 to the satisfaction of the Administrator— 

3 (A) each description required under para4 graphs (1), (2), and (5) of subsection (c); 

5 (B) to the extent reasonably known to the 

6 applicant, any previously documented water 

7 quality data describing conditions at the aban8 doned hardrock mine site; 

9 (C) the evidence required under subsection 

10 (c)(3); 

11 (D) each plan required under paragraphs 

12 (9) and (10) of subsection (c); and 

13 (E) a detailed plan of the investigative sam14 pling. 

15 (4) REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a person submits an 

17 application that proposes only investigative sam18 pling of historic mine residue, soil, sediment, or 

19 water that only includes the requirements de20 scribed in paragraph (1), the Administrator may 

21 grant an investigative sampling permit that au22 thorizes the person only to carry out the plan of 

23 investigative sampling of historic mine residue, 

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1 vestigative sampling permit application under 

2 paragraph (3). 

3 (B) REPROCESSING.—An investigative sam4 pling permit— 

5 (i) shall not authorize a Good Samari6 tan or cooperating person to conduct any 

7 reprocessing of material; and 

8 (ii) may authorize metallurgical test9 ing of historic mine residue to determine 

10 whether reprocessing under subsection 

11 (f)(4)(B) is feasible. 

12 (C) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SAM13 PLES.—In conducting investigative sampling of 

14 historic mine residue, soil, sediment, or water, a 

15 Good Samaritan shall— 

16 (i) collect samples that are representa17 tive of the conditions present at the aban18 doned hardrock mine site that is the subject 

19 of the investigative sampling permit; and 

20 (ii) retain publicly available records of 

21 all sampling events for a period of not less 

22 than 3 years. 

23 (5) PERMIT CONVERSION.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date on which the investigative sampling 

25 under the investigative sampling permit concludes, a 


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1 Good Samaritan to whom an investigative sampling 

2 permit is granted under paragraph (1) may apply to 

3 convert an investigative sampling permit into a Good 

4 Samaritan permit under subsection (e)(1). 

5 (6) PERMIT NOT CONVERTED.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

7 (B)(ii)(I), a Good Samaritan who obtains an in8 vestigative sampling permit may decline— 

9 (i) to apply to convert the investigative 

10 sampling permit into a Good Samaritan 

11 permit under paragraph (5); and 

12 (ii) to undertake remediation activities 

13 on the site where investigative sampling 

14 was conducted on conclusion of investigative 

15 sampling. 

16 (B) EFFECT OF LACK OF CONVERSION.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding a 

18 refusal by a Good Samaritan to convert an 

19 investigative sampling permit into a Good 

20 Samaritan permit under subparagraph (A), 

21 but subject to clause (ii), the provisions of 

22 paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (n) 

23 shall continue to apply to the Good Samari24 tan and any cooperating persons after the 

25 refusal to convert. 


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1 (ii) DEGRADATION OF SURFACE WATER

2 QUALITY.— 

3 (I) OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT.— 

4 If, before the date on which a Good Sa5 maritan refuses to convert an inves6 tigative sampling permit under sub7 paragraph (A), actions by the Good 

8 Samaritan or any cooperating person 

9 have caused conditions at the aban10 doned hardrock mine site to be measur11 ably worse, as determined by the Ad12 ministrator, when compared to condi13 tions described pursuant to paragraph 

14 (3)(B), if applicable, the Administrator 

15 shall provide the Good Samaritan or 

16 cooperating person, as applicable, the 

17 opportunity to return the conditions at 

18 the abandoned hardrock mine site to 

19 those conditions. 

20 (II) EFFECT.—If, pursuant to 

21 subclause (I), the applicable Good Sa22 maritan or cooperating person does not 

23 return the surface water quality at the 

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1 graph (3)(B), if applicable, as deter2 mined by the Administrator, clause (i) 

3 shall not apply to the Good Samaritan 

4 or any cooperating persons. 

5 (e) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING CONVERSION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person to which an inves7 tigative sampling permit was granted may submit to 

8 the Administrator an application in accordance with 

9 paragraph (2) to convert the investigative sampling 

10 permit into a Good Samaritan permit. 

11 (2) APPLICATION.— 

12 (A) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING.—An appli13 cation for the conversion of an investigative sam14 pling permit under paragraph (1) shall include 

15 any requirement described in subsection (c) that 

16 was not included in full in the application sub17 mitted under subsection (d)(3). 

18 (B) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—An 

19 application for permit conversion under this 

20 paragraph shall be subject to— 

21 (i) environmental review and public 

22 comment procedures required by subsection 

23 (l); and 

24 (ii) a public hearing, if requested. 

25 (f) CONTENT OF PERMITS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan permit 

2 shall contain— 

3 (A) the information described in subsection 

4 (c), including any modification required by the 

5 Administrator; 

6 (B)(i) a provision that states that the Good 

7 Samaritan is responsible for securing, for all ac8 tivities authorized under the Good Samaritan 

9 permit, all authorizations, licenses, and permits 

10 that are required under applicable law except 

11 for— 

12 (I) section 301, 302, 306, 307, 402, or 

13 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

14 Act (33 U.S.C. 1311, 1312, 1316, 1317, 

15 1342, 1344); and 

16 (II) authorizations, licenses, and per17 mits that would not need to be obtained if 

18 the remediation was conducted pursuant to 

19 section 121 of the Comprehensive Environ20 mental Response, Compensation, and Li21 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9621); or 

22 (ii) in the case of an abandoned hardrock 

23 mine site in a State that is authorized to imple24 ment State law pursuant to section 402 or 404 

25 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 


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1 U.S.C. 1342, 1344) or on land of an Indian tribe 

2 that is authorized to implement Tribal law pur3 suant to that section, a provision that states that 

4 the Good Samaritan is responsible for securing, 

5 for all activities authorized under the Good Sa6 maritan permit, all authorizations, licenses, and 

7 permits that are required under applicable law, 

8 except for— 

9 (I) the State or Tribal law, as applica10 ble; and 

11 (II) authorizations, licenses, and per12 mits that would not need to be obtained if 

13 the remediation was conducted pursuant to 

14 section 121 of the Comprehensive Environ15 mental Response, Compensation, and Li16 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9621); 

17 (C) specific public notification require18 ments, including the contact information for all 

19 appropriate response centers in accordance with 

20 subsection (o); 

21 (D) in the case of a project on land owned 

22 by the United States, a notice that the Good Sa23 maritan permit serves as an agreement for use 

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1 able by the applicable Federal land management 

2 agency; and 

3 (E) any other terms and conditions deter4 mined to be appropriate by the Administrator or 

5 the Federal land management agency, as appli6 cable. 

7 (2) FORCE MAJEURE.—A Good Samaritan per8 mit may include, at the request of the Good Samari9 tan, a provision that a Good Samaritan may assert 

10 a claim of force majeure for any violation of the Good 

11 Samaritan permit caused solely by— 

12 (A) an act of God; 

13 (B) an act of war; 

14 (C) negligence on the part of the United 

15 States; 

16 (D) an act or omission of a third party, if 

17 the Good Samaritan— 

18 (i) exercises due care with respect to 

19 the actions of the Good Samaritan under 

20 the Good Samaritan permit, as determined 

21 by the Administrator; 

22 (ii) took precautions against foreseeable 

23 acts or omissions of the third party, as de24 termined by the Administrator; and 

25 (iii) uses reasonable efforts— 


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1 (I) to anticipate any potential 

2 force majeure; and 

3 (II) to address the effects of any 

4 potential force majeure; or 

5 (E) a public health emergency declared by 

6 the Federal Government or a global government, 

7 such as a pandemic or an epidemic. 

8 (3) MONITORING.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Good Samaritan 

10 shall take such actions as the Good Samaritan 

11 permit requires to ensure appropriate baseline 

12 conditions monitoring, monitoring during the re13 mediation project, and post-remediation moni14 toring of the environment under paragraphs (7) 

15 and (14) of subsection (c). 

16 (B) MULTIPARTY MONITORING.—The Ad17 ministrator may approve in a Good Samaritan 

18 permit the monitoring by multiple cooperating 

19 persons if, as determined by the Administrator— 

20 (i) the multiparty monitoring will ef21 fectively accomplish the goals of this section; 

22 and 

23 (ii) the Good Samaritan remains re24 sponsible for compliance with the terms of 

25 the Good Samaritan permit. 


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1 (4) OTHER DEVELOPMENT.— 

2 (A) NO AUTHORIZATION OF MINING ACTIVI3 TIES.—No mineral exploration, processing, 

4 beneficiation, or mining shall be— 

5 (i) authorized by this Act; or 

6 (ii) covered by any waiver of liability 

7 provided by this Act from applicable law. 

8 (B) REPROCESSING OF MATERIALS.—A 

9 Good Samaritan may reprocess materials recov10 ered during the implementation of a remediation 

11 plan only if— 

12 (i) the project under the Good Samari13 tan permit is on land owned by the United 

14 States; 

15 (ii) the applicable Federal land man16 agement agency has signed a decision docu17 ment under subsection (l)(2)(G) approving 

18 reprocessing as part of a remediation plan; 

19 (iii) the proceeds from the sale or use 

20 of the materials are used— 

21 (I) to defray the costs of the reme22 diation; and 

23 (II) to the extent required by the 

24 Good Samaritan permit, to reimburse 

25 the Administrator or the head of a 


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1 Federal land management agency for 

2 the purpose of carrying out this Act; 

3 (iv) any remaining proceeds are depos4 ited into the appropriate Good Samaritan 

5 Mine Remediation Fund established by sec6 tion 5(a); and 

7 (v) the materials only include historic 

8 mine residue. 

9 (C) CONNECTION WITH OTHER ACTIVI10 TIES.—The commingling or association of any 

11 other discharge of water or historic mine residue 

12 or any activity, project, or operation conducted 

13 on or after the date of enactment of this Act with 

14 any aspect of a project subject to a Good Samar15 itan permit shall not limit or reduce the liability 

16 of any person associated with the other discharge 

17 of water or historic mine residue or activity, 

18 project, or operation. 

19 (g) ADDITIONAL WORK.—A Good Samaritan permit 

20 may (subject to subsection (r)(5) in the case of a project 

21 located on Federal land) allow the Good Samaritan to re22 turn to the abandoned hardrock mine site after the comple23 tion of the remediation to perform operations and mainte24 nance or other work— 


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1 (1) to ensure the functionality of completed re2 mediation activities at the abandoned hardrock mine 

3 site; or 

4 (2) to protect public health and the environment. 

5 (h) TIMING.—Work authorized under a Good Samari6 tan permit— 

7 (1) shall commence, as applicable— 

8 (A) not later than the date that is 18 

9 months after the date on which the Adminis10 trator granted the Good Samaritan permit, un11 less the Administrator grants an extension under 

12 subsection (r)(2)(A); or 

13 (B) if the grant of the Good Samaritan per14 mit is the subject of a petition for judicial re15 view, not later than the date that is 18 months 

16 after the date on which the judicial review, in17 cluding any appeals, has concluded; and 

18 (2) shall continue until completed, with tem19 porary suspensions permitted during adverse weather 

20 or other conditions specified in the Good Samaritan 

21 permit. 

22 (i) TRANSFER OF PERMITS.—A Good Samaritan per23 mit may be transferred to another person only if— 

24 (1) the Administrator determines that the trans25 feree qualifies as a Good Samaritan; 


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1 (2) the transferee signs, and agrees to be bound 

2 by the terms of, the permit; 

3 (3) the Administrator includes in the transferred 

4 permit any additional conditions necessary to meet 

5 the goals of this section; and 

6 (4) in the case of a project under the Good Sa7 maritan permit on land owned by the United States, 

8 the head of the applicable Federal land management 

9 agency approves the transfer. 

10 (j) ROLE OF ADMINISTRATOR AND FEDERAL LAND

11 MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.—In carrying out this section— 

12 (1) the Administrator shall— 

13 (A) consult with prospective applicants; 

14 (B) convene, coordinate, and lead the appli15 cation review process; 

16 (C) maintain all records relating to the 

17 Good Samaritan permit and the permit process; 

18 (D) in the case of a proposed project on 

19 State, Tribal, or private land, provide an oppor20 tunity for cooperating persons and the public to 

21 participate in the Good Samaritan permit proc22 ess, including— 

23 (i) carrying out environmental review 

24 and public comment procedures pursuant to 

25 subsection (l); and 


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1 (ii) a public hearing, if requested; and 

2 (E) enforce and otherwise carry out this sec3 tion; and 

4 (2) the head of an applicable Federal land man5 agement agency shall— 

6 (A) in the case of a proposed project on 

7 land owned by the United States, provide an op8 portunity for cooperating persons and the public 

9 to participate in the Good Samaritan permit 

10 process, including— 

11 (i) carrying out environmental review 

12 and public comment procedures pursuant to 

13 subsection (l); and 

14 (ii) a public hearing, if requested; and 

15 (B) in coordination with the Administrator, 

16 enforce Good Samaritan permits issued under 

17 this section for projects on land owned by the 

18 United States. 

19 (k) STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.—As 

20 soon as practicable, but not later than 14 days after the 

21 date on which the Administrator receives an application 

22 for the remediation of an abandoned hardrock mine site 

23 under this section that, as determined by the Administrator, 

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1 section (c), the Administrator shall provide notice and a 

2 copy of the application to— 

3 (1) each local government with jurisdiction over 

4 a drinking water utility, and each Indian tribe with 

5 reservation or off-reservation treaty rights to land or 

6 water, located downstream from or otherwise near a 

7 proposed remediation project that is reasonably an8 ticipated to be impacted by the remediation project or 

9 a potential release of contaminants from the aban10 doned hardrock mine site, as determined by the Ad11 ministrator; 

12 (2) each Federal, State, and Tribal agency that 

13 may have an interest in the application; and 

14 (3) in the case of an abandoned hardrock mine 

15 site that is located partially or entirely on land 

16 owned by the United States, the Federal land man17 agement agency with jurisdiction over that land. 

18 (l) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PUBLIC COM19 MENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before the issuance of a Good 

21 Samaritan permit to carry out a project for the reme22 diation of an abandoned hardrock mine site, the Ad23 ministrator shall ensure that environmental review 

24 and public comment procedures are carried out with 

25 respect to the proposed project. 


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1 (2) RELATION TO NEPA.— 

2 (A) MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.—Subject to 

3 subparagraph (F), the issuance or modification 

4 of a Good Samaritan permit by the Adminis5 trator shall be considered a major Federal action 

6 for purposes of section 102 of the National Envi7 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 

8 (B) LEAD AGENCY.—The lead agency for 

9 purposes of an environmental assessment and 

10 public comment under this subsection shall be— 

11 (i) in the case of a proposed project on 

12 land owned by the United States that is 

13 managed by only 1 Federal land manage14 ment agency, the applicable Federal land 

15 management agency; 

16 (ii) in the case of a proposed project 

17 entirely on State, Tribal, or private land, 

18 the Administrator; 

19 (iii) in the case of a proposed project 

20 partially on land owned by the United 

21 States and partially on State, Tribal, or 

22 private land, the applicable Federal land 

23 management agency; and 

24 (iv) in the case of a proposed project 

25 on land owned by the United States that is 


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1 managed by more than 1 Federal land 

2 management agency, the Federal land man3 agement agency selected by the Adminis4 trator to be the lead agency, after consulta5 tion with the applicable Federal land man6 agement agencies. 

7 (C) COORDINATION.—To the maximum ex8 tent practicable, the lead agency described in 

9 subparagraph (B) shall coordinate procedures 

10 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

11 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with State, Tribal, 

12 and Federal cooperating agencies, as applicable. 

13 (D) COOPERATING AGENCY.—In the case of 

14 a proposed project on land owned by the United 

15 States, the Administrator shall be a cooperating 

16 agency for purposes of an environmental assess17 ment and public comment under this subsection. 

18 (E) SINGLE NEPA DOCUMENT.—The lead 

19 agency described in subparagraph (B) may con20 duct a single environmental assessment for— 

21 (i) the issuance of a Good Samaritan 

22 permit; 

23 (ii) any activities authorized by a 

24 Good Samaritan permit; and 


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1 (iii) any applicable permits required 

2 by the Secretary of the Interior or the Sec3 retary of Agriculture. 

4 (F) NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan 

6 permit may only be issued if, after an envi7 ronmental assessment, the head of the lead 

8 agency issues a finding of no significant 

9 impact (as defined in section 111 of the Na10 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

11 (42 U.S.C. 4336e)). 

12 (ii) SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.—If the head 

13 of the lead agency is unable to issue a find14 ing of no significant impact (as so defined), 

15 the head of the lead agency shall not issue 

16 a Good Samaritan permit for the proposed 

17 project. 

18 (G) DECISION DOCUMENT.—An approval or 

19 denial of a Good Samaritan permit may be 

20 issued as a single decision document that is 

21 signed by— 

22 (i) the Administrator; and 

23 (ii) in the case of a project on land 

24 owned by the United States, the head of the 


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1 applicable Federal land management agen2 cy. 

3 (H) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this para4 graph exempts the Secretary of Agriculture or 

5 the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable, from 

6 any other requirements of section 102 of the Na7 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

8 U.S.C. 4332). 

9 (m) PERMIT GRANT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may grant 

11 a Good Samaritan permit to carry out a project for 

12 the remediation of an abandoned hardrock mine site 

13 only if— 

14 (A) the Administrator determines that— 

15 (i) the person seeking the permit is a 

16 Good Samaritan; 

17 (ii) the application described in sub18 section (c) is complete; 

19 (iii) the project is designed to reme20 diate historic mine residue at the aban21 doned hardrock mine site to protect human 

22 health and the environment; 

23 (iv) the proposed project is designed to 

24 meet all other goals, as determined by the 

25 Administrator, including any goals set forth 


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1 in the application for the Good Samaritan 

2 permit that are accepted by the Adminis3 trator; 

4 (v) the proposed activities, as com5 pared to the baseline conditions described in 

6 the permit, will make measurable progress 

7 toward achieving— 

8 (I) applicable water quality 

9 standards; 

10 (II) improved soil quality; 

11 (III) improved sediment quality; 

12 (IV) other improved environ13 mental or safety conditions; or 

14 (V) reductions in threats to soil, 

15 sediment, or water quality or other en16 vironmental or safety conditions; 

17 (vi) the applicant has— 

18 (I) demonstrated that the appli19 cant has the proper and appropriate 

20 experience and capacity to complete 

21 the permitted work; 

22 (II) demonstrated that the appli23 cant will complete the permitted work; 

24 (III) the financial and other re25 sources to address any contingencies 


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1 identified in the Good Samaritan per2 mit application described in sub3 sections (b) and (c); 

4 (IV) granted access and provided 

5 the authority to review the records of 

6 the applicant relevant to compliance 

7 with the requirements of the Good Sa8 maritan permit; and 

9 (V) demonstrated, to the satisfac10 tion of the Administrator, that— 

11 (aa) the applicant has, or 

12 has access to, the financial re13 sources to complete the project de14 scribed in the Good Samaritan 

15 permit application, including any 

16 long-term monitoring and oper17 ations and maintenance that the 

18 Administrator may require the 

19 applicant to perform in the Good 

20 Samaritan permit; or 

21 (bb) the applicant has estab22 lished a third-party financial as23 surance mechanism, such as a 

24 corporate guarantee from a parent 

25 or other corporate affiliate, letter 


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1 of credit, trust, surety bond, or in2 surance to assure that funds are 

3 available to complete the per4 mitted work, including for oper5 ations and maintenance and to 

6 address potential contingencies, 

7 that— 

8 (AA) establishes the Ad9 ministrator or the head of the 

10 Federal land management 

11 agency as the beneficiary of 

12 the third-party financial as13 surance mechanism; and 

14 (BB) allows the Admin15 istrator to retain and use the 

16 funds from the financial as17 surance mechanism in the 

18 event the Good Samaritan 

19 does not complete the remedi20 ation under the Good Samar21 itan permit; and 

22 (vii) the project meets the requirements 

23 of this Act; 

24 (B) the State or Indian tribe with jurisdic25 tion over land on which the abandoned hardrock 


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1 mine site is located has been given an oppor2 tunity to review and, if necessary, comment on 

3 the grant of the Good Samaritan permit; 

4 (C) in the case of a project proposed to be 

5 carried out under the Good Samaritan permit 

6 partially or entirely on land owned by the 

7 United States, pursuant to subsection (l), the 

8 head of the applicable Federal land management 

9 agency has signed a decision document approv10 ing the proposed project; and 

11 (D) the Administrator or head of the Fed12 eral land management agency, as applicable, has 

13 provided— 

14 (i) environmental review and public 

15 comment procedures required by subsection 

16 (l); and 

17 (ii) a public hearing under that sub18 section, if requested. 

19 (2) DEADLINE.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

21 grant or deny a Good Samaritan permit by not 

22 later than— 

23 (i) the date that is 180 days after the 

24 date of receipt by the Administrator of an 

25 application for the Good Samaritan permit 


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1 that, as determined by the Administrator, is 

2 complete and meets all applicable require3 ments of subsection (c); or 

4 (ii) such later date as may be deter5 mined by the Administrator with notifica6 tion provided to the applicant. 

7 (B) CONSTRUCTIVE DENIAL.—If the Admin8 istrator fails to grant or deny a Good Samaritan 

9 permit by the applicable deadline described in 

10 subparagraph (A), the application shall be con11 sidered to be denied. 

12 (3) DISCRETIONARY ACTION.—The issuance of a 

13 permit by the Administrator and the approval of a 

14 project by the head of an applicable Federal land 

15 management agency shall be considered to be discre16 tionary actions taken in the public interest. 

17 (n) EFFECT OF PERMITS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan and any 

19 cooperating person undertaking remediation activities 

20 identified in, carried out pursuant to, and in compli21 ance with, a covered permit— 

22 (A) shall be considered to be in compliance 

23 with all requirements (including permitting re24 quirements) under the Federal Water Pollution 

25 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (including 


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1 any law or regulation implemented by a State or 

2 Indian tribe under section 402 or 404 of that Act 

3 (33 U.S.C. 1342, 1344)) and the Comprehensive 

4 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Li5 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) dur6 ing the term of the covered permit, after the ter7 mination of the Good Samaritan permit, and 

8 after declining to convert an investigative sam9 pling permit into a Good Samaritan permit, as 

10 applicable; 

11 (B) shall not be required to obtain a permit 

12 under, or to comply with, section 301, 302, 306, 

13 307, 402, or 404 of the Federal Water Pollution 

14 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311, 1312, 1316, 1317, 

15 1342, 1344), or any State or Tribal standards or 

16 regulations approved by the Administrator under 

17 those sections of that Act, during the term of the 

18 covered permit, after the termination of the Good 

19 Samaritan permit, and after declining to con20 vert an investigative sampling permit into a 

21 Good Samaritan permit, as applicable; and 

22 (C) shall not be required to obtain any au23 thorizations, licenses, or permits that would oth24 erwise not need to be obtained if the remediation 

25 was conducted pursuant to section 121 of the 


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1 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com2 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

3 9621). 

4 (2) UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person (including a 

6 Good Samaritan or any cooperating person) that 

7 carries out any activity, including activities re8 lating to mineral exploration, processing, 

9 beneficiation, or mining, including development, 

10 that is not authorized by the applicable covered 

11 permit shall be subject to all applicable law. 

12 (B) LIABILITY.—Any activity not author13 ized by a covered permit, as determined by the 

14 Administrator, may be subject to liability and 

15 enforcement under all applicable law, includ16 ing— 

17 (i) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

18 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and 

19 (ii) the Comprehensive Environmental 

20 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 

21 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 

22 (3) NO ENFORCEMENT OR LIABILITY FOR GOOD

23 SAMARITANS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graphs (D) and (E), a Good Samaritan or coVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Dec 12, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7779.RH H7779

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1 operating person that is conducting a remedi2 ation activity identified in, pursuant to, and in 

3 compliance with a covered permit shall not be 

4 subject to enforcement or liability described in 

5 subparagraph (B) for— 

6 (i) any actions undertaken that are 

7 authorized by the covered permit; or 

8 (ii) any past, present, or future re9 leases, threats of releases, or discharges of 

10 hazardous substances, pollutants, or con11 taminants at or from the abandoned 

12 hardrock mine site that is the subject of the 

13 covered permit (including any releases, 

14 threats of releases, or discharges that oc15 curred prior to the grant of the covered per16 mit). 

17 (B) ENFORCEMENT OR LIABILITY DE18 SCRIBED.—Enforcement or liability referred to 

19 in subparagraph (A) is enforcement, civil or 

20 criminal penalties, citizen suits and any liabil21 ities for response costs, natural resource damage, 

22 or contribution under— 

23 (i) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

24 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (including 

25 under any law or regulation administered 


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1 by a State or Indian tribe under that Act); 

2 or 

3 (ii) the Comprehensive Environmental 

4 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 

5 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 

6 (C) DURATION OF APPLICABILITY.—Sub7 paragraph (A) shall apply during the term of the 

8 covered permit, after the termination of the Good 

9 Samaritan permit, and after declining to con10 vert an investigative sampling permit into a 

11 Good Samaritan permit, as applicable. 

12 (D) OTHER PARTIES.—Nothing in subpara13 graph (A) limits the liability of any person that 

14 is not described in that subparagraph. 

15 (E) DECLINE IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDI16 TIONS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a 

17 Good Samaritan or cooperating person fails to 

18 comply with any term, condition, or limitation 

19 of a covered permit and that failure results in 

20 surface water quality or other environmental 

21 conditions that the Administrator determines are 

22 measurably worse than the baseline conditions as 

23 described in the permit (in the case of a Good 

24 Samaritan permit) or the conditions as de25 scribed pursuant to subsection (d)(3)(B), if apVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Dec 12, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7779.RH H7779

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1 plicable (in the case of an investigative sampling 

2 permit), at the abandoned hardrock mine site, 

3 the Administrator shall— 

4 (i) notify the Good Samaritan or co5 operating person, as applicable, of the fail6 ure to comply; and 

7 (ii) require the Good Samaritan or the 

8 cooperating person, as applicable, to under9 take reasonable measures, as determined by 

10 the Administrator, to return surface water 

11 quality or other environmental conditions to 

12 those conditions. 

13 (F) FAILURE TO CORRECT.—Subparagraph 

14 (A) shall not apply to a Good Samaritan or co15 operating person that fails to take any actions 

16 required under subparagraph (E)(ii) within a 

17 reasonable period of time, as established by the 

18 Administrator. 

19 (G) MINOR OR CORRECTED PERMIT VIOLA20 TIONS.—For purposes of this paragraph, the fail21 ure to comply with a term, condition, or limita22 tion of a Good Samaritan permit or investiga23 tive sampling permit shall not be considered a 

24 permit violation or noncompliance with that 

25 permit if— 


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1 (i) that failure or noncompliance does 

2 not result in a measurable adverse impact, 

3 as determined by the Administrator, on 

4 water quality or other environmental condi5 tions; or 

6 (ii) the Good Samaritan or cooper7 ating person complies with subparagraph 

8 (E)(ii). 

9 (o) PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF ADVERSE EVENT.—A 

10 Good Samaritan shall notify all appropriate Federal, 

11 State, Tribal, and local entities of any unplanned or pre12 viously unknown release of historic mine residue caused by 

13 the actions of the Good Samaritan or any cooperating per14 son in accordance with— 

15 (1) section 103 of the Comprehensive Environ16 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

17 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9603); 

18 (2) section 304 of the Emergency Planning and 

19 Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 

20 11004); 

21 (3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

22 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

23 (4) any other applicable provision of Federal 

24 law; and 


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1 (5) any other applicable provision of State, Trib2 al, or local law. 

3 (p) GRANT ELIGIBILITY.—A remediation project con4 ducted under a Good Samaritan permit shall be eligible for 

5 funding pursuant to— 

6 (1) section 319 of the Federal Water Pollution 

7 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1329), for activities that are 

8 eligible for funding under that section; and 

9 (2) section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Environ10 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

11 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)), subject to the condition 

12 that the recipient of the funding is otherwise eligible 

13 under that section to receive a grant to assess or re14 mediate contamination at the site covered by the 

15 Good Samaritan permit. 

16 (q) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY AND LIABILITY.— 

17 (1) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

18 section affects the authority of— 

19 (A) the Administrator to take any respon20 sive action authorized by law; or 

21 (B) a Federal, State, Tribal, or local agency 

22 to carry out any emergency authority, including 

23 an emergency authority provided under Federal, 

24 State, Tribal, or local law. 


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1 (2) LIABILITY.—Except as specifically provided 

2 in this Act, nothing in this Act, a Good Samaritan 

3 permit, or an investigative sampling permit limits 

4 the liability of any person (including a Good Samari5 tan or any cooperating person) under any provision 

6 of law. 

7 (r) TERMINATION OF GOOD SAMARITAN PERMIT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan permit 

9 shall terminate, as applicable— 

10 (A) on inspection and notice from the Ad11 ministrator to the recipient of the Good Samari12 tan permit that the permitted work has been 

13 completed in accordance with the terms of the 

14 Good Samaritan permit, as determined by the 

15 Administrator; 

16 (B) if the Administrator terminates a per17 mit under paragraph (4)(B); or 

18 (C) except as provided in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) on the date that is 18 months after 

20 the date on which the Administrator grant21 ed the Good Samaritan permit, if the per22 mitted work has not commenced by that 

23 date; or 

24 (ii) if the grant of the Good Samaritan 

25 permit was the subject of a petition for juVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Dec 12, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7779.RH H7779

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1 dicial review, on the date that is 18 months 

2 after the date on which the judicial review, 

3 including any appeals, has concluded, if the 

4 permitted work has not commenced by that 

5 date. 

6 (2) EXTENSION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator is 

8 otherwise required to terminate a Good Samari9 tan permit under paragraph (1)(C), the Admin10 istrator may grant an extension of the Good Sa11 maritan permit. 

12 (B) LIMITATION.—Any extension granted 

13 under subparagraph (A) shall be not more than 

14 180 days for each extension. 

15 (3) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the ter17 mination of a Good Samaritan permit under 

18 paragraph (1), but subject to subparagraph (B), 

19 the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) of 

20 subsection (n) shall continue to apply to the 

21 Good Samaritan and any cooperating persons 

22 after the termination, including to any long-term 

23 operations and maintenance pursuant to the 

24 agreement under paragraph (5). 


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1 (B) DEGRADATION OF SURFACE WATER

2 QUALITY.— 

3 (i) OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN TO BASE4 LINE CONDITIONS.—If, at the time that 1 or 

5 more of the conditions described in para6 graph (1) are met but before the Good Sa7 maritan permit is terminated, actions by 

8 the Good Samaritan or cooperating person 

9 have caused surface water quality at the 

10 abandoned hardrock mine site to be measur11 ably worse, as determined by the Adminis12 trator, when compared to baseline condi13 tions described in the permit, the Adminis14 trator shall, before terminating the Good 

15 Samaritan permit, provide the Good Sa16 maritan or cooperating person, as applica17 ble, the opportunity to return surface water 

18 quality to those baseline conditions. 

19 (ii) EFFECT.—If, pursuant to clause 

20 (i), the applicable Good Samaritan or co21 operating person does not return the surface 

22 water quality at the abandoned hardrock 

23 mine site to the baseline conditions de24 scribed in the permit, as determined by the 

25 Administrator, subparagraph (A) shall not 


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1 apply to the Good Samaritan or any co2 operating persons. 

3 (4) UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The recipient of a Good 

5 Samaritan permit may seek to modify or termi6 nate the Good Samaritan permit to take into ac7 count any event or condition that— 

8 (i) significantly reduces the feasibility 

9 or significantly increases the cost of com10 pleting the remediation project that is the 

11 subject of the Good Samaritan permit; 

12 (ii) was not— 

13 (I) reasonably contemplated by 

14 the recipient of the Good Samaritan 

15 permit; or 

16 (II) taken into account in the re17 mediation plan of the recipient of the 

18 Good Samaritan permit; and 

19 (iii) is beyond the control of the recipi20 ent of the Good Samaritan permit, as deter21 mined by the Administrator. 

22 (B) TERMINATION.—The Administrator 

23 shall terminate a Good Samaritan permit if— 


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1 (i) the recipient of the Good Samari2 tan permit seeks termination of the permit 

3 under subparagraph (A); 

4 (ii) the factors described in subpara5 graph (A) are satisfied; and 

6 (iii) the Administrator determines that 

7 remediation activities conducted by the 

8 Good Samaritan or cooperating person pur9 suant to the Good Samaritan permit may 

10 result in surface water quality conditions, 

11 or any other environmental conditions, that 

12 will be worse than the baseline conditions, 

13 as described in the Good Samaritan permit, 

14 as applicable. 

15 (5) LONG-TERM OPERATIONS AND MAINTE16 NANCE.—In the case of a project that involves long17 term operations and maintenance at an abandoned 

18 hardrock mine site located on land owned by the 

19 United States, the project may be considered complete 

20 and the Administrator, in coordination with the ap21 plicable Federal land management agency, may ter22 minate the Good Samaritan permit under this sub23 section if the applicable Good Samaritan has entered 

24 into an agreement with the applicable Federal land 

25 management agency or a cooperating person for the 


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1 long-term operations and maintenance that includes 

2 sufficient funding for the long-term operations and 

3 maintenance. 

4 (s) REGULATIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the 

6 Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of 

7 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and ap8 propriate State, Tribal, and local officials, may pro9 mulgate any regulations that the Administrator deter10 mines to be necessary to carry out this Act. 

11 (2) GUIDANCE IF NO REGULATIONS PROMUL12 GATED.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator 

14 does not initiate a regulatory process to promul15 gate regulations under paragraph (1) within 180 

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

17 Administrator, in consultation with the Sec18 retary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agri19 culture, and appropriate State, Tribal, and local 

20 officials, shall issue guidance establishing specific 

21 requirements that the Administrator determines 

22 would facilitate the implementation of this sec23 tion. 

24 (B) PUBLIC COMMENTS.—Before finalizing 

25 any guidance issued under subparagraph (A), 


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1 the Administrator shall hold a 30-day public 

2 comment period. 

3 SEC. 5. SPECIAL ACCOUNTS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

5 Treasury of the United States a Good Samaritan Mine Re6 mediation Fund (referred to in this section as a ‘‘Fund’’) 

7 for— 

8 (1) each Federal land management agency that 

9 authorizes a Good Samaritan to conduct a project on 

10 Federal land under the jurisdiction of that Federal 

11 land management agency under a Good Samaritan 

12 permit; and 

13 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency. 

14 (b) DEPOSITS.—Each Fund shall consist of— 

15 (1) amounts provided in appropriation Acts; 

16 (2) any proceeds from reprocessing deposited 

17 under section 4(f)(4)(B)(iv); 

18 (3) any financial assurance funds collected from 

19 an agreement described in section 

20 4(m)(1)(A)(vi)(V)(bb); 

21 (4) any funds collected for long-term operations 

22 and maintenance under an agreement under section 

23 4(r)(5); and 

24 (5) any amounts donated to the Fund by any 

25 person. 


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1 (c) UNUSED FUNDS.—Amounts in each Fund not cur2 rently needed to carry out this Act shall be maintained as 

3 readily available or on deposit. 

4 (d) RETAIN AND USE AUTHORITY.—The Adminis5 trator and each head of a Federal land management agency, 

6 as appropriate, may, notwithstanding any other provision 

7 of law, retain and use money deposited in the applicable 

8 Fund without fiscal year limitation for the purpose of car9 rying out this Act. 

10 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 8 years after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con13 sultation with the heads of Federal land management agen14 cies, shall submit to the Committee on Environment and 

15 Public Works of the Senate and the Committees on Trans16 portation and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, and 

17 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report 

18 evaluating the Good Samaritan pilot program under this 

19 Act. 

20 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The report under subsection (a) 

21 shall include— 

22 (1) a description of— 

23 (A) the number, types, and objectives of 

24 Good Samaritan permits granted pursuant to 

25 this Act; and 


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1 (B) each remediation project authorized by 

2 those Good Samaritan permits; 

3 (2) interim or final qualitative and quantitative 

4 data on the results achieved under the Good Samari5 tan permits before the date of issuance of the report; 

6 (3) a description of— 

7 (A) any problems encountered in admin8 istering this Act; and 

9 (B) whether the problems have been or can 

10 be remedied by administrative action (including 

11 amendments to existing law); 

12 (4) a description of progress made in achieving 

13 the purposes of this Act; and 

14 (5) recommendations on whether the Good Sa15 maritan pilot program under this Act should be con16 tinued, including a description of any modifications 

17 (including amendments to existing law) required to 

18 continue administering this Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 703 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7779 

[Report No. 118–823, Part I] 

A BILL 

To promote remediation of abandoned hardrock 

mines, and for other purposes. 

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Committee on Natural Resources discharged; committed 

the Union and ordered to be printed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 


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