II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1848 

To promote remediation of inactive and abandoned mines, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 6, 2005 

Mr. SALAZAR (for himself and Mr. ALLARD) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To promote remediation of inactive and abandoned mines, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Cleanup of Inactive 

5 and Abandoned Mines Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Federal Government and State govern9 ments encouraged hard rock mining in the United 
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1 States through a wide variety of laws, policies, and 

2 actions; 

3 (2) the mining activities that took place dis4 turbed public and private land, and those disturb5 ances led to considerable environmental pollution; 

6 (3) many areas in which hard rock mining took 

7 place in the United States are now inactive and 

8 abandoned mine sites; 

9 (4) many inactive and abandoned mine sites 

10 pollute the environment today and will continue to 

11 do so indefinitely unless remediated; 

12 (5) adits and other tunnels will continue to 

13 drain pollutants to surface and ground water 

14 through gravity flow; 

15 (6) surface runoff will continue to pick up pol16 lutants as the runoff moves over disturbed ground 

17 and transports pollutants to surface waters; 

18 (7) tailings and other materials left exposed to 

19 the elements will continue to blow in the wind and 

20 pollute the atmosphere and soils; 

21 (8) many of the individuals and corporate own22 ers and operators of those mines, who caused this 

23 pollution, are no longer alive or in existence; 

24 (9) some of the remaining owners and operators 

25 who remain do not have resources that are adequate 
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1 to conduct remediation properly under applicable en2 vironmental laws, for all practical purposes leaving 

3 no one responsible for the cleanup of pollution from 

4 those sites; 

5 (10) inactive and abandoned mine sites are lo6 cated in areas of known economic mineralization; 

7 (11) modern mining activities often take place 

8 on or in the vicinity of the area in which historic 

9 hard rock mining activities took place; 

10 (12) from time to time, individuals and compa11 nies are willing to remediate historic mine sites for 

12 the public good as Good Samaritans, despite the fact 

13 that these individuals and companies are not legally 

14 required to remediate the mine sites; 

15 (13) Good Samaritan remediation activities 

16 may— 

17 (A) vary in size and complexity; 

18 (B) reflect the myriad ways that mine res19 idue may be cleaned up; and 

20 (C) include, among other activities— 

21 (i) the relocation or management of 

22 tailings or other waste piles; 

23 (ii) passive or active water treatment; 

24 (iii) runoff or run-on controls; and 
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1 (iv) the use or reprocessing of, or re2 moval of materials from, mine residue; 

3 (14) the potential environmental liabilities that 

4 may attach to those Good Samaritans as a result of 

5 the remediation can dissuade those Good Samaritans 

6 from acting for the public good; 

7 (15) it is in the interest of the United States, 

8 the States, and local communities to remediate his9 toric mine sites, in appropriate circumstances and to 

10 the maximum extent practicable, so that the environ11 mental impacts of the sites are lessened into the fu12 ture; and 

13 (16) if appropriate protections are provided for 

14 Good Samaritans, Good Samaritans will have a 

15 greater incentive to remediate those sites for the 

16 public good. 

17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

18 (1) to encourage partial or complete remedi19 ation of inactive and abandoned mining sites for the 

20 public good by persons who are not otherwise legally 

21 responsible for the remediation; 

22 (2) to provide appropriate protections for Good 

23 Samaritans under applicable environmental laws; 
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1 (3) to ensure that remediation performed by 

2 Good Samaritans creates actual and significant envi3 ronmental benefits; 

4 (4) to ensure that remediation by Good Samari5 tans is carried out— 

6 (A) with the approval and agreement, and 

7 in the discretion, of affected Federal, State, and 

8 local authorities and with review by the public; 

9 and 

10 (B) in a manner that is beneficial to the 

11 environment and all affected communities; 

12 (5) to create an efficient permit process under 

13 which the cost and complexity of obtaining a permit 

14 are commensurate with the scope of remediation 

15 work to be completed and the environmental benefits 

16 from the work; 

17 (6) to avoid permitting for ongoing, for-profit 

18 businesses that specialize in multiple Good Samari19 tan projects that are designed to be permitted out20 side otherwise applicable Federal, State, and local 

21 environmental laws; and 

22 (7) to ensure that the protections for Good Sa23 maritans provided in this Act are interpreted in ac24 cordance with the purposes of this Act and to en25 hance the public good. 
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1 SEC. 3. REMEDIATION OF INACTIVE OR ABANDONED MINES 

2 BY GOOD SAMARITANS. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ6 mental Protection Agency. 

7 (2) COOPERATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘cooper8 ating agency’’ means any Federal, State, or local 

9 agency or other person (other than the Adminis10 trator) that— 

11 (A) is authorized under Federal or State 

12 law, or local ordinance, to participate in issuing 

13 a permit under this section; and 

14 (B) elects to participate in the process of 

15 issuing the permit. 

16 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.—The term ‘‘envi17 ronmental law’’ includes— 

18 (A) the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); 

20 (B) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

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

22 (C) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); 

24 (D) the National Environmental Policy Act 

25 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 
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1 (E) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.); 

3 (F) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 

4 seq.); 

5 (G) the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation 

6 Control Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.); 

7 (H) the Comprehensive Environmental Re8 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

9 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); 

10 (I) applicable environmental laws of a 

11 State; and 

12 (J) applicable environmental ordinances of 

13 a political subdivision of a State. 

14 (4) GOOD SAMARITAN.—The term ‘‘Good Sa15 maritan’’ means a person that— 

16 (A) is unrelated, by operation or ownership 

17 (except solely through succession to title), to 

18 the historic mine residue to be remediated 

19 under this section; 

20 (B) had no role in the creation of the his21 toric mine residue; 

22 (C) had no significant role in the environ23 mental pollution caused by the historic mine 

24 residue; and 
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1 (D) is not liable under any Federal, State, 

2 or local law for the remediation of the historic 

3 mine residue. 

4 (5) HISTORIC MINE RESIDUE.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘historic 

6 mine residue’’ means mine residue or conditions 

7 at an inactive or abandoned mine site that pol8 lute the environment. 

9 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘historic 

10 mine residue’’ may include, among other mate11 rials— 

12 (i) ores; 

13 (ii) minerals; 

14 (iii) equipment (or materials in equip15 ment); 

16 (iv) wastes from extractions, 

17 beneficiation, or other processing; and 

18 (v) acidic or otherwise polluted flows 

19 in surface or ground water. 

20 (6) INACTIVE OR ABANDONED MINE SITE; MINE

21 SITE.—The terms ‘‘inactive or abandoned mine site’’ 

22 and ‘‘mine site’’ mean the site of a mine and associ23 ated facilities that— 

24 (A) were used for the production of a min25 eral other than coal; 
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1 (B) have historic mine residue; and 

2 (C) are abandoned or inactive as of the 

3 date on which an application is submitted for a 

4 permit under this section. 

5 (7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

6 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

7 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

8 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

9 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes— 

10 (A) an individual; 

11 (B) a firm; 

12 (C) a corporation; 

13 (D) an association; 

14 (E) a partnership; 

15 (F) a consortium; 

16 (G) a joint venture; 

17 (H) a commercial entity; 

18 (I) a nonprofit organization; 

19 (J) the Federal Government; 

20 (K) a State; 

21 (L) a political subdivision of a State; 

22 (M) an interstate entity; and 

23 (N) a commission. 

24 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

25 (A) a State; and 
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1 (B) an Indian tribe. 

2 (b) PERMITS.—The Administrator may issue a per3 mit to a Good Samaritan to carry out a project to reme4 diate all or part of an inactive or abandoned mine site 

5 in accordance with this section. 

6 (c) ELIGIBILITY FOR PERMITS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a permit 

8 to carry out a project to remediate an inactive or 

9 abandoned mine site in a State under this section— 

10 (A) the mine site shall be located in the 

11 United States; 

12 (B) the principal purpose of the project 

13 shall be the reduction of pollution caused by 

14 historic mine residue; 

15 (C) the mine site may not be a mine site 

16 included on the national priorities list under 

17 section 105(a)(8)(B) of the Comprehensive En18 vironmental Response, Compensation, and Li19 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)) 

20 except in a case in which the Administrator de21 termines, on a case-by-case basis, that— 

22 (i) the remediation project proposed 

23 to be carried out at the mine site is minor 

24 as compared to all remediation activity 

25 needed at the listed mine site; 
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1 (ii) the conduct of the proposed reme2 diation project at the listed mine site will 

3 not interfere with any other remediation at 

4 the mine site that is reasonably likely to 

5 occur; and 

6 (iii) except for the remediation project 

7 proposed by the Good Samaritan at the 

8 mine site under this Act, there is not likely 

9 to be remediation of the historic mine res10 idue that is the subject of the project at 

11 the listed mine site in the reasonably fore12 seeable future; 

13 (D) the permit shall authorize only those 

14 activities that are directly required for the re15 mediation of historic mine residue at the mine 

16 site; 

17 (E) the person obtaining the permit shall 

18 be a Good Samaritan; and 

19 (F) a State remediation program described 

20 in subsection (d) shall be in effect for remedi21 ation of the mine site. 

22 (2) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—Any activity other 

23 than the activities described in paragraph (1)(D) 

24 conducted by the permittee or any other person at 

25 the mine site (including, without limitation, any 
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1 mining or processing in addition to that required for 

2 the remediation of historic mine residue for the pub3 lic good)— 

4 (A) shall not be authorized under a permit 

5 issued under this section; and 

6 (B) may be authorized under other appli7 cable laws, including environmental laws. 

8 (d) STATE REMEDIATION PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before a permit may be 

10 issued to carry out a project in a State under this 

11 section, the State shall have in effect a State reme12 diation program that meets the requirements of this 

13 subsection. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—To meet the require15 ments of this subsection, under the State remedi16 ation program, the State shall— 

17 (A) agree to participate, as a signatory, in 

18 each project for a which a permit for remedi19 ation in the State is issued under this section; 

20 (B) agree that a permittee shall comply 

21 with the terms and conditions of the permit in 

22 lieu of compliance with applicable environ23 mental laws specifically described in the permit 

24 in accordance with subsection (h)(1)(B); 
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1 (C) authorize State agencies and political 

2 subdivisions of the State to participate in the 

3 permit process under this section, as appro4 priate, and assist in providing the resources to 

5 enable that participation; and 

6 (D) designate a lead State agency that is 

7 responsible to carry out permitting responsibil8 ities of the State under this section. 

9 (e) APPLICATION FOR PERMITS.—To obtain a permit 

10 to carry out a project to remediate an inactive or aban11 doned mine site under this section, an applicant shall sub12 mit to the Administrator an application, signed by the ap13 plicant, that provides— 

14 (1) a description of the mine site (including the 

15 boundaries of the mine site); 

16 (2) an identification of— 

17 (A) any current owner or operator of the 

18 mine site; and 

19 (B) any person with a legal right to ex20 clude other persons from the mine site or affect 

21 activities on the mine site, with a description of 

22 those legal rights; 

23 (3) evidence satisfactory to the Administrator 

24 that the applicant has or will acquire all legal rights 
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1 necessary to enter the mine site and to perform the 

2 remediation described in the application; 

3 (4) a description, based on the conduct of an 

4 inquiry that is reasonable under the circumstances, 

5 of— 

6 (A) all persons that may be legally respon7 sible for the remediation of the mine site; and 

8 (B) any relationship between those persons 

9 and the applicant; 

10 (5) a certification that the applicant knows of 

11 no other person that (as of the date of submission 

12 of the application)— 

13 (A) is potentially legally responsible for the 

14 remediation of the mine site; and 

15 (B) has sufficient resources to complete 

16 the remediation; 

17 (6) a detailed description of the historic mine 

18 residue to be remediated; 

19 (7) a description of the baseline conditions (as 

20 of the date of submission of the application) of the 

21 environment affected by the historic mine residue to 

22 be remediated; 

23 (8) a description of— 

24 (A) the nature and scope of the proposed 

25 remediation; and 
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1 (B) detailed engineering plans for the 

2 project; 

3 (9) a description of the manner in which the re4 mediation will assist the mine site in meeting, to the 

5 maximum extent reasonable and practicable under 

6 the circumstances, water quality standards; 

7 (10) a schedule for the work to be carried out 

8 under the project; 

9 (11) a budget for the work to be carried out 

10 under the project; 

11 (12) a description of financial assurances, if 

12 any, to be provided by the permittee to ensure that 

13 the permitted work, including any operation and 

14 maintenance, will be completed; 

15 (13) a description of a monitoring program fol16 lowing remediation (if any) that will be implemented 

17 to evaluate the effects of the remediation on the en18 vironment; 

19 (14) a detailed plan for the required operation 

20 and maintenance of any remediation; and 

21 (15) a list of all environmental laws for which 

22 the applicant seeks the protection described in para23 graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (g). 

24 (f) PERMIT ISSUANCE.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

2 issue a permit under this section to carry out a 

3 project for the remediation of an inactive or aban4 doned mine site in a State only if— 

5 (A) the Administrator determines that— 

6 (i) the project will improve the envi7 ronment on or in the area of the mine site 

8 to a significant degree, as determined by 

9 the Administrator; 

10 (ii) the project will not degrade any 

11 aspect of the environment in any area to a 

12 significant degree; 

13 (iii) the project will meet applicable 

14 water quality standards, to the maximum 

15 extent reasonable and practicable under 

16 the circumstances; 

17 (iv) the permittee has the financial 

18 and other resources to complete, and will 

19 complete, the permitted work; and 

20 (v) the project meets the requirements 

21 of this section; 

22 (B) the State concurs with the issuance of, 

23 and signs, the permit; 

24 (C) if the permit provides protection for 

25 the permittee under an environmental law of a 
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1 political subdivision of a State in accordance 

2 with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (g), 

3 the political subdivision concurs with the 

4 issuance of, and signs, the permit; and 

5 (D) if the proposed project is to be carried 

6 out on Federal land, each State (or political 

7 subdivision) within which the Federal land is lo8 cated meets the requirements of subparagraphs 

9 (B) and (C). 

10 (2) DISCRETIONARY ACTIONS.—The issuance of 

11 a permit by the Administrator, and the concurrence 

12 of the affected State and political subdivisions of a 

13 State to participate in the permit process, shall be 

14 discretionary actions and shall be taken in the public 

15 interest. 

16 (3) FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENCY.—No action of 

17 the Administrator or any other person pursuant to 

18 this section shall constitute a major Federal action 

19 significantly affecting the quality of the human envi20 ronment under the National Environmental Policy 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

22 (4) DEADLINE.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

24 shall issue or deny a permit for the remediation 

25 of a mine site not later than— 
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1 (i) the date that is 180 days after the 

2 date of receipt by the Administrator of an 

3 application for the permit that, as deter4 mined by the Administrator, is complete; 

5 or 

6 (ii) such later date as may be deter7 mined by the Administrator with the 

8 agreement of the applicant. 

9 (B) CONSTRUCTIVE DENIAL.—If the Ad10 ministrator fails to issue or deny the permit in 

11 accordance with subparagraph (A), the applica12 tion shall be considered to be denied by the Ad13 ministrator. 

14 (5) REVIEW FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.—A 

15 project that, as determined by the Administrator, 

16 would be less complex, or pose less risk, than other 

17 projects under review by the Administrator for a 

18 permit under this section, may be reviewed, at the 

19 discretion of the Administrator, under a more simple 

20 and rapid review process under this subsection. 

21 (g) EFFECT OF PERMITS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A permit issued under this 

23 section to carry out a project for the remediation of 

24 an inactive or abandoned mine site— 
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1 (A) authorizes the permittee to carry out 

2 the activities described in the permit; 

3 (B) authorizes enforcement under this sec4 tion; and 

5 (C) provides to the permittee, in carrying 

6 out the activities authorized under the permit, 

7 protection from actions taken, obligations, and 

8 liabilities arising under the environmental laws 

9 specified in the permit. 

10 (2) CROSS-COMPLIANCE.—A permittee shall 

11 comply with the terms and conditions of a permit 

12 issued under this section in lieu of compliance with 

13 the environmental laws specified in the permit with 

14 respect to the work authorized under the permit. 

15 (h) CONTENT OF PERMITS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A permit issued under this 

17 section shall contain— 

18 (A) a detailed description of the engineer19 ing and other work that is authorized under the 

20 permit; 

21 (B) a specific list of environmental laws, or 

22 selected provisions of environmental laws, with 

23 respect to which compliance with the permit will 

24 operate in lieu of compliance with the laws; 
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1 (C) a provision that states that the per2 mittee is responsible for securing, for all activi3 ties authorized under the permit, all authoriza4 tions, licenses, and permits that are required 

5 under applicable law, other than the environ6 mental laws described in subsection (g)(2); and 

7 (D) any other terms and conditions that 

8 are determined to be appropriate by the Admin9 istrator. 

10 (2) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—A permit may identify 

12 an appropriate program of investigative sam13 pling to be completed prior to remediation, as 

14 determined by the Administrator upon applica15 tion. 

16 (B) OPTION TO DECLINE REMEDIATION.— 

17 In the event that investigative sampling is au18 thorized, the permit may allow the permittee to 

19 decline to undertake remediation based upon 

20 sampling results. 

21 (C) PERMIT MODIFICATION.—Based upon 

22 sampling results, a permittee may apply for a 

23 permit modification using the permit proce24 dures in this Act. 
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1 (3) TIMING.—Work authorized under a permit 

2 shall— 

3 (A) commence not later than the date that 

4 is 18 months after the date of issuance of the 

5 permit; and 

6 (B) continue until completed, with tem7 porary suspensions permitted during adverse 

8 weather or other conditions specified in the per9 mit. 

10 (4) SIGNATURE BY PERMITTEE.—The signature 

11 of the permittee on the permit shall be considered to 

12 be an acknowledgment by the permittee that the 

13 permittee accepts the terms and conditions of the 

14 permit. 

15 (5) TRANSFER OF PERMITS.—A permit may be 

16 transferred to another person only if— 

17 (A) the Administrator determines that the 

18 transferee will satisfy all of the requirements of 

19 the permit; 

20 (B) the transferee signs the permit; and 

21 (C) the Administrator includes in the 

22 transferred permit any additional conditions 

23 necessary to meet the goals of this section. 

24 (6) TERMINATION OF PERMIT.—The authority 

25 to carry out work under a permit issued under this 
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1 section shall terminate if the work does not com2 mence by the date that is 18 months after the date 

3 of issuance of the permit. 

4 (i) ROLE OF ADMINISTRATOR.—In carrying out this 

5 section, the Administrator shall— 

6 (1) consult with prospective applicants; 

7 (2) accept permit applications under this sec8 tion; 

9 (3) convene, coordinate, and lead the applica10 tion review process; 

11 (4) maintain all records relating to the permit 

12 and the permit process; 

13 (5) provide an opportunity for cooperating 

14 agencies and the public to participate in the permit 

15 process; 

16 (6) issue the permit under this section, if ap17 propriate; and 

18 (7) enforce and otherwise carry out this section. 

19 (j) COOPERATING AGENCIES.—If the Administrator 

20 learns that an application for the remediation of a mine 

21 site under this section will be submitted to the Adminis22 trator, the Administrator shall (as soon as practicable) 

23 provide a notice of the application to— 

24 (1) the lead State agency designated under sub25 section (d)(2)(D); 
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1 (2) each local government located within a ra2 dius of 20 miles of the mine site; and 

3 (3) each Federal and State agency that may 

4 have an interest in the application. 

5 (k) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.— 

6 (1) POTENTIAL SUBMISSION OF APPLICA7 TIONS.—If the Administrator learns that an applica8 tion for the remediation of a mine site under this 

9 section will be submitted to the Administrator, the 

10 Administrator shall (as soon as practicable) provide 

11 to the public a notice that describes— 

12 (A) the location of the mine site; 

13 (B) the scope and nature of the proposed 

14 remediation; and 

15 (C) the name of the Good Samaritan that 

16 will be carrying out the proposed remediation. 

17 (2) RECEIPT OF APPLICATION.—If the Admin18 istrator receives an application for the remediation 

19 of a mine site under this section, the Administrator 

20 shall (as soon as practicable) provide to the public 

21 a notice that provides the information described in 

22 paragraph (1). 

23 (3) HEARING.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days 

25 after the date of receipt of a complete applica-
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1 tion for the remediation of a mine site under 

2 this section, the Administrator shall hold a 

3 hearing in the vicinity of the mine site to be re4 mediated. 

5 (B) COMMENTS.—At the hearing, the Ad6 ministrator shall provide the applicant, the pub7 lic, and cooperating agencies with the oppor8 tunity to comment on the application. 

9 (4) NOTICE OF PENDING ISSUANCE.—Not less 

10 than 14 days before the date of issuance of a permit 

11 for the remediation of a mine site under this section, 

12 the Administrator shall provide to the public and 

13 each cooperating agency notice of the pending 

14 issuance of the permit. 

15 (5) PUBLIC RECORDS.—All records relating to 

16 the permit and the permit process shall be consid17 ered to be public records, except to the extent the 

18 records are subject to a legal privilege. 

19 (l) MONITORING.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The permittee shall take 

21 such actions as the Administrator determines are 

22 necessary to ensure appropriate baseline and post-re23 mediation monitoring of the environment under 

24 paragraphs (7) and (13) of subsection (e). 
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1 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—When selecting the type 

2 and frequency of the monitoring requirements to be 

3 included in a permit, if any, the Administrator 

4 shall— 

5 (A) balance the need for monitored infor6 mation against the cost of the monitoring, 

7 based on the circumstances relating to the re8 mediation; and 

9 (B) take into account the scope of the 

10 project. 

11 (3) MULTIPARTY MONITORING.—The Adminis12 trator may approve in a permit the conduct of moni13 toring by multiple parties if, as determined by the 

14 Administrator, the multiparty monitoring will effec15 tively accomplish the goals of this section. 

16 (m) ENFORCEMENT.— 

17 (1) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who violates 

18 a permit issued under this section shall be subject 

19 to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each day of 

20 the violation. 

21 (2) INJUNCTIONS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A court may issue an 

23 injunction— 
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1 (i) mandating that a person comply 

2 with a permit or take action to abate a 

3 permit violation; or 

4 (ii) prohibiting a person from vio5 lating a permit. 

6 (B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.—In the 

7 event of a permit violation, and absent extraor8 dinary circumstances, the court shall, at a min9 imum, require— 

10 (i) the permittee to repair the damage 

11 to any part of the environment that is 

12 caused by an action of the permittee in vio13 lation of the permit; and 

14 (ii) the environment to be restored to 

15 the condition of the environment prior to 

16 the action of the permittee in violation of 

17 the permit. 

18 (3) AGENCIES.—Any government agency that 

19 signs a permit issued under this section may enforce 

20 the permit through appropriate administrative or ju21 dicial proceedings. 

22 (n) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A court may set aside or 

23 modify an action of the Administrator in issuing a permit 

24 under this section, or an action of a State or political sub-
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1 division of a State in signing a permit, only on clear and 

2 convincing evidence of an abuse of discretion. 

3 (o) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

4 (1) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

5 section affects the authority of a Federal, State, or 

6 local agency to carry out any emergency authority, 

7 including an emergency authority provided under 

8 any environmental law listed in a permit. 

9 (2) LIABILITY.—Except to the extent that a 

10 permit provides protection under an environmental 

11 law specified in a permit in accordance with sub12 section (g)(1)(C), nothing in this section or a permit 

13 issued under this section limits the liability of any 

14 person (including a permittee) under any other pro15 vision of law. 

16 (p) REGULATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may pro18 mulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry 

19 out this section. 

20 (2) EFFECTIVENESS.—This section shall be ef21 fective regardless of whether regulations are promul22 gated by the Administrator under paragraph (1). 

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