II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2781 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. 

SINEMA, Mr. DAINES, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. KELLY, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. TESTER, Mr. THUNE, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. CRAMER, Ms. 

ROSEN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Mr. WYDEN) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To promote remediation of abandoned hardrock 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 ‘‘Good Samaritan Reme5 diation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ABANDONED MINE SITE.— 


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

2 mine site’’ means an abandoned or inactive 

3 hardrock mine site and any facility associated 

4 with an abandoned or inactive hardrock mine 

5 site— 

6 (i) that was used for the production of 

7 a mineral other than coal conducted on 

8 Federal land under sections 2319 through 

9 2352 of the Revised Statutes (commonly 

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

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

12 and 

13 (ii) for which, based on information 

14 supplied by the Good Samaritan after re15 view of publicly available data and after re16 view of other information in the possession 

17 of the Administrator, the Administrator or, 

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

19 United States, the Federal land manage20 ment agency, determines that no respon21 sible owner or operator has been identi22 fied— 

23 (I) who is potentially liable for, 

24 or has been required to perform or 


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1 pay for, environmental remediation 

2 activities under applicable law; and 

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

4 mine site located on land owned by 

5 the United States, a Federal land 

6 management agency that has not been 

7 involved in mining activity on that 

8 land, except that the approval of a 

9 plan of operations under the hardrock 

10 mining regulations of the applicable 

11 Federal land management agency 

12 shall not be considered involvement in 

13 the mining activity. 

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

15 mine site’’ includes a hardrock mine site (in16 cluding associated facilities) that was previously 

17 the subject of a completed response action 

18 under the Comprehensive Environmental Re19 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 

20 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) or a similar 

21 Federal and State reclamation or cleanup pro22 gram, including the remediation of mine-scarred 

23 land under the brownfields revitalization pro24 gram under section 104(k) of that Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 9604(k)). 


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

2 mine site’’ does not include a mine site (includ3 ing associated facilities)— 

4 (i) in a temporary shutdown or ces5 sation; 

6 (ii) included on the National Priorities 

7 List developed by the President in accord8 ance with section 105(a)(8)(B) of the 

9 Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

10 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 

11 (42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)) or proposed for 

12 inclusion on that list; 

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

14 ongoing response action under the Com15 prehensive Environmental Response, Com16 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

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

18 and State reclamation or cleanup program; 

19 (iv) that has a responsible owner or 

20 operator; or 

21 (v) that actively mined or processed 

22 minerals after December 11, 1980. 

23 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency. 


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1 (3) APPLICABLE WATER QUALITY STAND2 ARDS.—The term ‘‘applicable water quality stand3 ards’’ means the water quality standards promul4 gated by the Administrator or adopted by a State or 

5 Indian tribe and approved by the Administrator pur6 suant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

7 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 

8 (4) COOPERATING PERSON.— 

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

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

11 Good Samaritan in the permit application as a 

12 cooperating entity. 

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

14 person’’ does not include— 

15 (i) a responsible owner or operator 

16 with respect to the abandoned mine site 

17 described in the permit application; or 

18 (ii) a person that had a role in the 

19 creation of historic mine residue at the 

20 abandoned mine site described in the per21 mit application. 

22 (5) COVERED PERMIT.—The term ‘‘covered per23 mit’’ means— 

24 (A) a Good Samaritan permit; and 

25 (B) an investigative sampling permit. 


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1 (6) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 

2 The term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ 

3 means any Federal agency authorized by law or Ex4 ecutive order to exercise jurisdiction, custody, or 

5 control over land owned by the United States. 

6 (7) GOOD SAMARITAN.—The term ‘‘Good Sa7 maritan’’ means a person that, with respect to his8 toric mine residue, as determined by the Adminis9 trator— 

10 (A) is not a past or current owner or oper11 ator of— 

12 (i) the abandoned mine site at which 

13 the historic mine residue is located; or 

14 (ii) a portion of that abandoned mine 

15 site; 

16 (B) had no role in the creation of the his17 toric mine residue; and 

18 (C) is not potentially liable under any Fed19 eral, State, Tribal, or local law for the remedi20 ation, treatment, or control of the historic mine 

21 residue. 

22 (8) GOOD SAMARITAN PERMIT.—The term 

23 ‘‘Good Samaritan permit’’ means a permit granted 

24 by the Administrator under section 4(a)(1). 

25 (9) HISTORIC MINE RESIDUE.— 


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

2 mine residue’’ means mine residue or any con3 dition at an abandoned mine site resulting from 

4 hardrock mining activities. 

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

6 mine residue’’ includes— 

7 (i) previously mined ores and minerals 

8 other than coal that contribute to acid 

9 mine drainage or other pollution; 

10 (ii) equipment (including materials in 

11 equipment); 

12 (iii) any tailings, heap leach piles, 

13 dump leach piles, waste rock, overburden, 

14 slag piles, or other waste or material re15 sulting from any extraction, beneficiation, 

16 or other processing activity that occurred 

17 during the active operation of an aban18 doned mine site; 

19 (iv) any acidic or otherwise polluted 

20 flow in surface water or groundwater that 

21 originates from, or is pooled and contained 

22 in, an inactive or abandoned mine site, 

23 such as underground workings, open pits, 

24 in-situ leaching operations, ponds, or im25 poundments; 


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1 (v) any hazardous substance (as de2 fined in section 101 of the Comprehensive 

3 Environmental Response, Compensation, 

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

5 9601)); 

6 (vi) any pollutant or contaminant (as 

7 defined in section 101 of the Comprehen8 sive Environmental Response, Compensa9 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

10 9601)); and 

11 (vii) any pollutant (as defined in sec12 tion 502 of the Federal Water Pollution 

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

14 (10) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

15 has the meaning given the term in section 518(h) of 

16 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

17 1377(h)). 

18 (11) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING PERMIT.—The 

19 term ‘‘investigative sampling permit’’ means a per20 mit granted by the Administrator under section 

21 4(d)(1). 

22 (12) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 

23 entity described in— 

24 (A) section 502(5) of the Federal Water 

25 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362(5)); and 


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

2 Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

3 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(21)). 

4 (13) REMEDIATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘remedi6 ation’’ means any action taken to investigate, 

7 characterize, or cleanup, in whole or in part, a 

8 discharge, release, or threat of release of a haz9 ardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant 

10 into the environment at or from an abandoned 

11 mine site, or to otherwise protect and improve 

12 human health and the environment. 

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

14 includes any action to remove, treat, or contain 

15 historic mine residue to prevent, minimize, or 

16 reduce— 

17 (i) the release or threat of release of 

18 a hazardous substance, pollutant, or con19 taminant that would harm human health 

20 or the environment; or 

21 (ii) a migration or discharge of a haz22 ardous substance, pollutant, or contami23 nant that would harm human health or the 

24 environment. 


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

2 does not include any action that requires plug3 ging, opening, or otherwise altering the portal 

4 or adit of the abandoned mine site. 

5 (14) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘reservation’’ 

6 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian country’’ in 

7 section 1151 of title 18, United States Code. 

8 (15) RESPONSIBLE OWNER OR OPERATOR.— 

9 The term ‘‘responsible owner or operator’’ means a 

10 person that is— 

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

12 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

13 U.S.C. 1311) for a discharge that originates 

14 from an abandoned mine site; and 

15 (ii) financially able to comply with each re16 quirement described in that section; or 

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

18 or other person that is liable with respect to a 

19 release or threat of release of a hazardous sub20 stance, pollutant, or contaminant associated 

21 with the historic mine residue at or from an 

22 abandoned mine site under section 104, 106, 

23 107, or 113 of the Comprehensive Environ24 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability 


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1 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604, 9606, 9607, 

2 9613); and 

3 (ii) financially able to comply with each re4 quirement described in those sections, as appli5 cable. 

6 SEC. 3. SCOPE. 

7 Nothing in this Act— 

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

9 any existing liability under Federal, State, or local 

10 law; 

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

12 any person from liability under Federal, State, or 

13 local law, except in compliance with this Act; 

14 (3) authorizes the conduct of any mining or 

15 processing other than the conduct of any processing 

16 of previously mined ores, minerals, wastes, or other 

17 materials that is authorized by a Good Samaritan 

18 permit; 

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

20 Federal land management agency pursuant to sec21 tion 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re22 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

23 U.S.C. 9607) or section 301 of the Federal Water 

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


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1 (5) relieves the United States or any Federal 

2 land management agency from any liability under 

3 section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental 

4 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 

5 (42 U.S.C. 9607) or section 301 of the Federal 

6 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311) that 

7 exists apart from any action undertaken pursuant to 

8 this Act. 

9 SEC. 4. ABANDONED MINE SITE GOOD SAMARITAN PILOT 

10 PROJECT AUTHORIZATION. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es13 tablish a pilot program under which the Adminis14 trator shall grant not more than 15 Good Samaritan 

15 permits to carry out projects to remediate historic 

16 mine residue at any portions of abandoned mine 

17 sites in accordance with this Act. 

18 (2) OVERSIGHT OF PERMITS.—The Adminis19 trator may oversee the remediation project under 

20 paragraph (1), and any action taken by the applica21 ble Good Samaritan or any cooperating person 

22 under the applicable Good Samaritan permit, for the 

23 duration of the Good Samaritan permit, as the Ad24 ministrator determines to be necessary to review the 

25 status of the project. 


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1 (3) SUNSET.— 

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

3 subparagraph (B), the pilot program described 

4 in paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date 

5 that is 7 years after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act. 

7 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub8 paragraph (A), the Administrator may grant a 

9 Good Samaritan permit pursuant to this Act 

10 after the date identified in subparagraph (A) if 

11 the application for the Good Samaritan per12 mit— 

13 (i) was submitted not later than 180 

14 days before that date; and 

15 (ii) was completed in accordance with 

16 subsection (c) by not later than 7 years 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (C) EFFECT ON CERTAIN PERMITS.—Any 

19 Good Samaritan permit granted by the deadline 

20 prescribed in subparagraph (A) or (B), as ap21 plicable, that is in effect on the date that is 7 

22 years after the date of enactment of this Act 

23 shall remain in effect after that date in accord24 ance with— 


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1 (i) the terms and conditions of the 

2 Good Samaritan permit; and 

3 (ii) this Act. 

4 (b) GOOD SAMARITAN PERMIT ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

6 Good Samaritan permit to carry out a project to re7 mediate an abandoned mine site, a person shall dem8 onstrate that— 

9 (A) the abandoned mine site that is the 

10 subject of the application for a Good Samaritan 

11 permit is located in the United States; 

12 (B) the purpose of the proposed project is 

13 the remediation at that abandoned mine site of 

14 historic mine residue; 

15 (C) the proposed activities are designed to 

16 result in the partial, interim, or complete reme17 diation of historic mine residue at the aban18 doned mine site; 

19 (D) the proposed project poses a low risk 

20 to the environment; 

21 (E) to the satisfaction of the Adminis22 trator, the person— 

23 (i) possesses, or has the ability to se24 cure, the financial and other resources nec25 essary— 


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1 (I) to complete the permitted 

2 work, as determined by the Adminis3 trator; and 

4 (II) to address any contingencies 

5 identified in the Good Samaritan per6 mit application described in subsection 

7 (c); 

8 (ii) possesses the proper and appro9 priate experience and capacity to complete 

10 the permitted work; and 

11 (iii) will complete the permitted work; 

12 and 

13 (F) the person is a Good Samaritan with 

14 respect to the historic mine residue proposed to 

15 be covered by the Good Samaritan permit. 

16 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF ALL RESPONSIBLE

17 OWNERS OR OPERATORS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan 

19 shall make reasonable and diligent efforts to 

20 identify, from a review of publicly available in21 formation in land records or on internet 

22 websites of Federal, State, and local regulatory 

23 authorities, all responsible owners or operators 

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1 diated by the Good Samaritan under this sec2 tion. 

3 (B) EXISTING RESPONSIBLE OWNER OR

4 OPERATOR.—If the Administrator determines, 

5 based on information provided by a Good Sa6 maritan or otherwise, that a responsible owner 

7 or operator exists for an abandoned mine site 

8 proposed to be remediated by the Good Samari9 tan, the Administrator shall deny the applica10 tion for a Good Samaritan permit. 

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

12 Samaritan permit, a person shall submit to the Adminis13 trator an application, signed by the person and any co14 operating person, that provides, to the extent known or 

15 reasonably discoverable by the person on the date on which 

16 the application is submitted— 

17 (1) a description of the abandoned mine site 

18 (including the boundaries of the abandoned mine 

19 site) proposed to be covered by the Good Samaritan 

20 permit; 

21 (2) a description of all parties proposed to be 

22 involved in the remediation project, including any co23 operating person and each member of an applicable 

24 corporation, association, partnership, consortium, 


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1 joint venture, commercial entity, or nonprofit asso2 ciation; 

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

4 all legal rights or the authority necessary to enter 

5 the relevant abandoned mine site and perform the 

6 remediation described in the application; 

7 (4) a detailed description of the historic mine 

8 residue to be remediated; 

9 (5) a detailed description of the expertise and 

10 experience of the person and the resources available 

11 to the person to successfully implement and com12 plete the remediation plan under paragraph (7); 

13 (6) to the satisfaction of the Administrator and 

14 subject to subsection (d), a description of the base15 line environmental conditions, including potentially 

16 affected surface water quality and hydrological con17 ditions, affected by the historic mine residue to be 

18 remediated that includes— 

19 (A) the nature and extent of any adverse 

20 impact on the water quality of any body of 

21 water caused by the drainage of historic mine 

22 residue or other discharges from the abandoned 

23 mine site; 

24 (B) the flow rate and concentration of any 

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1 charge from the abandoned mine site in any 

2 body of water that has resulted in an adverse 

3 impact described in subparagraph (A); and 

4 (C) any other release or threat of release 

5 of historic mine residue that has resulted in an 

6 adverse impact to public health or the environ7 ment; 

8 (7) subject to subsection (d), a remediation 

9 plan for the abandoned mine site that describes— 

10 (A) the nature and scope of the proposed 

11 remediation activities, including— 

12 (i) any historic mine residue to be ad13 dressed by the remediation plan; and 

14 (ii) a description of the goals of the 

15 remediation including, if applicable, with 

16 respect to— 

17 (I) the reduction or prevention of 

18 a release, threat of release, or dis19 charge to surface waters; or 

20 (II) other appropriate goals relat21 ing to water or soil; 

22 (B) each activity that the person proposes 

23 to take that is designed— 

24 (i) to improve or enhance water qual25 ity or site-specific soil quality relevant to 


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1 the historic mine residue addressed by the 

2 remediation plan, including making meas3 urable progress toward achieving applicable 

4 water quality standards; or 

5 (ii) to otherwise protect human health 

6 and the environment (including through 

7 the prevention of a release, discharge, or 

8 threat of release to water or soil); 

9 (C) the monitoring or other form of assess10 ment that will be undertaken by the person to 

11 evaluate the success of the activities described 

12 in subparagraph (A) during and after the reme13 diation, with respect to the baseline conditions, 

14 as described in paragraph (6); 

15 (D) to the satisfaction of the Adminis16 trator, detailed engineering plans for the 

17 project; 

18 (E) detailed plans for any proposed recy19 cling or reprocessing of historic mine residue to 

20 be conducted by the person (including a de21 scription of how all proposed recycling or re22 processing activities contribute to the remedi23 ation of the abandoned mine site); and 


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1 (F) identification of any proposed con2 tractor that will perform any remediation activ3 ity; 

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

5 work to be carried out under the project, including 

6 a schedule for periodic reporting by the person on 

7 the remediation of the abandoned mine site; 

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

9 designed for mining remediation work; 

10 (10) a specific contingency plan that— 

11 (A) includes provisions on response and 

12 notification to Federal, State, and local authori13 ties with jurisdiction over downstream waters 

14 that have the potential to be impacted by an 

15 unplanned release or discharge of hazardous 

16 substances, pollutants, or contaminants; and 

17 (B) is designed to respond to unplanned 

18 adverse events (such as potential fluid release 

19 that may result from addressing pooled water 

20 or hydraulic pressure situations), including the 

21 sudden release of historic mine residue; 

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

23 and description of financial resources that dem24 onstrate that the permitted work, including any op25 eration and maintenance, will be completed; 


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1 (12) subject to subsection (d), information dem2 onstrating that the applicant has the financial re3 sources to carry out the remediation (including any 

4 long-term monitoring that may be required by the 

5 Good Samaritan permit) or the ability to secure an 

6 appropriate third-party financial assurance, as deter7 mined by the Administrator, to ensure completion of 

8 the permitted work, including any long-term oper9 ations and maintenance of remediation activities 

10 that may be— 

11 (A) proposed in the application for the 

12 Good Samaritan permit; or 

13 (B) required by the Administrator as a 

14 condition of granting the permit; 

15 (13) subject to subsection (d), a detailed plan 

16 for any required operation and maintenance of any 

17 remediation, including a timeline, if necessary; 

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

19 any planned post-remediation monitoring, if nec20 essary; and 

21 (15) subject to subsection (d), any other appro22 priate information, as determined by the Adminis23 trator or the applicant. 

24 (d) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING.— 


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1 (1) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING PERMITS.—The 

2 Administrator may grant an investigative sampling 

3 permit for a period determined by the Administrator 

4 to authorize a Good Samaritan to conduct investiga5 tive sampling of historic mine residue, soil, or water 

6 to determine— 

7 (A) baseline conditions; and 

8 (B) whether the Good Samaritan— 

9 (i) is willing to perform further reme10 diation to address the historic mine res11 idue; and 

12 (ii) will proceed with a permit conver13 sion under subsection (e)(1). 

14 (2) NUMBER OF PERMITS.— 

15 (A) LIMITATION.— Subject to subpara16 graph (B), the Administrator may grant not 

17 more than 15 investigative sampling permits. 

18 (B) APPLICABILITY TO CONVERTED PER19 MITS.—An investigative sampling permit that is 

20 not converted to a Good Samaritan permit pur21 suant to paragraph (6) may be eligible for 

22 reissuance by the Administrator subject to the 

23 overall total of not more than 15 investigative 

24 sampling permits allowed at any 1 time de25 scribed in subparagraph (A). 


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1 (3) APPLICATION.—If a Good Samaritan pro2 poses to conduct investigative sampling, the Good 

3 Samaritan shall submit to the Administrator an in4 vestigative sampling permit application that con5 tains, to the satisfaction of the Administrator— 

6 (A) each description required under para7 graphs (1), (2), (5), and (6) of subsection (c); 

8 (B) the evidence required under subsection 

9 (c)(3); 

10 (C) each plan required under paragraphs 

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

12 (D) a detailed plan of the investigative 

13 sampling. 

14 (4) REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

16 application that proposes only investigative 

17 sampling of historic mine residue, soil, or water 

18 that only includes the requirements described in 

19 paragraph (1), the Administrator may only 

20 grant an investigative sampling permit that au21 thorizes the person only to carry out the plan 

22 of investigative sampling of historic mine res23 idue, soil, or water, as described in the inves24 tigative sampling permit application under 

25 paragraph (3). 


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1 (B) REPROCESSING.—An investigative 

2 sampling permit— 

3 (i) shall not authorize a Good Samari4 tan or cooperating person to conduct any 

5 reprocessing of material; and 

6 (ii) may authorize metallurgical test7 ing of historic mine residue to determine 

8 whether reprocessing under subsection 

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

10 (C) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SAM11 PLES.—In conducting investigative sampling of 

12 historic mine residue, soil, or water, a Good Sa13 maritan shall— 

14 (i) collect samples that are representa15 tive of the conditions present at the aban16 doned mine site that is the subject of the 

17 investigative sampling permit; and 

18 (ii) retain publicly available records of 

19 all sampling events for a period of not less 

20 than 3 years. 

21 (5) POST-SAMPLING REMEDIATION.— 

22 (A) REFUSAL TO CONVERT PERMIT.—Sub23 ject to subparagraph (B), a Good Samaritan 

24 who obtains an investigative sampling permit 

25 may decline— 


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1 (i) to apply to convert the investiga2 tive sampling permit into a Good Samari3 tan permit under paragraph (6); and 

4 (ii) to undertake remediation activities 

5 on the site where investigative sampling 

6 was conducted on conclusion of investiga7 tive sampling. 

8 (B) RETURN TO PREEXISTING CONDI9 TIONS.—If the activities carried out by a Good 

10 Samaritan under an investigative sampling per11 mit result in surface water quality conditions, 

12 or any other environmental or safety conditions, 

13 that are worse than the preexisting conditions 

14 of the applicable abandoned mine site due to 

15 historic mine residue at the abandoned mine 

16 site, the Good Samaritan shall return the aban17 doned mine site to those preexisting conditions. 

18 (6) PERMIT CONVERSION.—Not later than 1 

19 year after the date on which the investigative sam20 pling under the investigative sampling permit con21 cludes, a Good Samaritan to whom an investigative 

22 sampling permit is granted under paragraph (1) 

23 may apply to convert an investigative sampling per24 mit into a Good Samaritan permit under subsection 

25 (e)(1). 


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1 (e) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING CONVERSION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person to which an inves3 tigative sampling permit was granted may submit to 

4 the Administrator an application in accordance with 

5 paragraph (2) to convert the investigative sampling 

6 permit into a Good Samaritan permit. 

7 (2) APPLICATION.— 

8 (A) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING.—An appli9 cation for the conversion of an investigative 

10 sampling permit under paragraph (1) shall in11 clude any requirement described in subsection 

12 (c) that was not included in full in the applica13 tion submitted under subsection (d)(3). 

14 (B) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—An 

15 application for permit conversion under this 

16 paragraph shall be subject to— 

17 (i) environmental review and public 

18 comment procedures required by sub19 section (l); and 

20 (ii) a public hearing, if requested. 

21 (f) CONTENT OF PERMITS.— 

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

23 shall contain— 


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1 (A) the information described in subsection 

2 (c), including any modification required by the 

3 Administrator; 

4 (B)(i) a provision that states that the 

5 Good Samaritan is responsible for securing, for 

6 all activities authorized under the Good Samari7 tan permit, all authorizations, licenses, and per8 mits that are required under applicable law ex9 cept for— 

10 (I) section 301, 302, 306, 307, 402, 

11 or 404 of the Federal Water Pollution 

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

13 1317, 1342, 1344); and 

14 (II) authorizations, licenses, and per15 mits that would not need to be obtained if 

16 the remediation was conducted pursuant to 

17 section 121 of the Comprehensive Environ18 mental Response, Compensation, and Li19 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9621); or 

20 (ii) in the case of an abandoned mine site 

21 in a State that is authorized to implement State 

22 law pursuant to section 402 or 404 of the Fed23 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

24 1342, 1344) or on land of an Indian tribe that 

25 is authorized to implement Tribal law pursuant 


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1 to that section, a provision that states that the 

2 Good Samaritan is responsible for securing, for 

3 all activities authorized under the Good Samari4 tan permit, all authorizations, licenses, and per5 mits that are required under applicable law, ex6 cept for— 

7 (I) the State or Tribal law, as applica8 ble; and 

9 (II) authorizations, licenses, and per10 mits that would not need to be obtained if 

11 the remediation was conducted pursuant to 

12 section 121 of the Comprehensive Environ13 mental Response, Compensation, and Li14 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9621); 

15 (C) specific public notification require16 ments, including the contact information for all 

17 appropriate response centers in accordance with 

18 subsection (o); 

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

20 by the United States, a notice that the Good 

21 Samaritan permit serves as an agreement for 

22 use and occupancy of Federal land that is en23 forceable by the applicable Federal land man24 agement agency; and 


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1 (E) any other terms and conditions deter2 mined to be appropriate by the Administrator 

3 or the Federal land management agency, as ap4 plicable. 

5 (2) FORCE MAJEURE.—A Good Samaritan per6 mit may include, at the request of the Good Samari7 tan, a provision that a Good Samaritan may assert 

8 a claim of force majeure for any violation of the 

9 Good Samaritan permit caused solely by— 

10 (A) an act of God; 

11 (B) an act of war; 

12 (C) negligence on the part of the United 

13 States; 

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

15 the Good Samaritan— 

16 (i) exercises due care with respect to 

17 the actions of the Good Samaritan under 

18 the Good Samaritan permit, as determined 

19 by the Administrator; 

20 (ii) took precautions against foresee21 able acts or omissions of the third party, 

22 as determined by the Administrator; and 

23 (iii) uses reasonable efforts— 

24 (I) to anticipate any potential 

25 force majeure; and 


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1 (II) to address the effects of any 

2 potential force majeure; or 

3 (E) a public health emergency declared by 

4 the Federal Government or a global govern5 ment, such as a pandemic or an epidemic. 

6 (3) MONITORING.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Good Samaritan 

8 shall take such actions as the Good Samaritan 

9 permit requires to ensure appropriate baseline 

10 monitoring, monitoring during the remediation 

11 project, and post-remediation monitoring of the 

12 environment under paragraphs (6), (7), and 

13 (15), respectively, of subsection (c). 

14 (B) MULTIPARTY MONITORING.—The Ad15 ministrator may approve in a Good Samaritan 

16 permit the monitoring by multiple cooperating 

17 persons if, as determined by the Adminis18 trator— 

19 (i) the multiparty monitoring will ef20 fectively accomplish the goals of this sec21 tion; and 

22 (ii) the Good Samaritan remains re23 sponsible for compliance with the terms of 

24 the Good Samaritan permit. 

25 (4) OTHER DEVELOPMENT.— 


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1 (A) NO AUTHORIZATION OF MINING AC2 TIVITIES.—No mineral exploration, processing, 

3 beneficiation, or mining shall be— 

4 (i) authorized by this Act; or 

5 (ii) covered by any waiver of liability 

6 provided by this Act from applicable law. 

7 (B) REPROCESSING OF MATERIALS.—A 

8 Good Samaritan may reprocess materials recov9 ered during the implementation of a remedi10 ation plan only if— 

11 (i) the project under the Good Samar12 itan permit is on land owned by the United 

13 States; 

14 (ii) the applicable Federal land man15 agement agency has signed a decision doc16 ument under subsection (l)(2)(G) approv17 ing reprocessing as part of a remediation 

18 plan; 

19 (iii) the proceeds from the sale or use 

20 of the materials are used— 

21 (I) to defray the costs of the re22 mediation; 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 de4 posited into the appropriate Good Samari5 tan Mine Remediation Fund established by 

6 section 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 res12 idue or any activity, project, or operation con13 ducted on or after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act with any aspect of a project subject to a 

15 Good Samaritan permit shall not limit or re16 duce the liability of any person associated with 

17 the other discharge of water or historic mine 

18 residue or activity, project, or operation. 

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

20 may allow the Good Samaritan to return to the abandoned 

21 mine site after the completion of the remediation to per22 form operations and maintenance or other work— 

23 (1) to ensure the functionality of the abandoned 

24 mine site; or 


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1 (2) to protect public health and the environ2 ment. 

3 (h) TIMING.—Work authorized under a Good Samar4 itan permit— 

5 (1) shall commence, as applicable— 

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

7 months after the date on which the Adminis8 trator granted the Good Samaritan permit, un9 less the Administrator grants an extension 

10 under subsection (r)(2)(A); or 

11 (B) if the grant of the Good Samaritan 

12 permit is the subject of a petition for judicial 

13 review, not later than the date that is 18 

14 months after the date on which the judicial re15 view, including any appeals, has concluded; and 

16 (2) shall continue until completed, with tem17 porary suspensions permitted during adverse weath18 er or other conditions specified in the Good Samari19 tan permit. 

20 (i) TRANSFER OF PERMITS.—A Good Samaritan per21 mit may be transferred to another person only if— 

22 (1) the Administrator determines that the 

23 transferee qualifies as a Good Samaritan; 

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

25 by the terms of, the permit; 


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1 (3) the Administrator includes in the trans2 ferred permit any additional conditions necessary to 

3 meet the goals of this section; and 

4 (4) in the case of a project under the Good Sa5 maritan permit on land owned by the United States, 

6 the head of the applicable Federal land management 

7 agency approves the transfer. 

8 (j) ROLE OF ADMINISTRATOR AND FEDERAL LAND

9 MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.—In carrying out this section— 

10 (1) the Administrator shall— 

11 (A) consult with prospective applicants; 

12 (B) convene, coordinate, and lead the ap13 plication review process; 

14 (C) maintain all records relating to the 

15 Good Samaritan permit and the permit process; 

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

17 State, Tribal, or private land, provide an oppor18 tunity for cooperating persons and the public to 

19 participate in the Good Samaritan permit proc20 ess, including— 

21 (i) carrying out environmental review 

22 and public comment procedures pursuant 

23 to subsection (l); and 

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


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1 (E) enforce and otherwise carry out this 

2 section; and 

3 (2) the head of an applicable Federal land man4 agement agency shall— 

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

6 land owned by the United States, provide an 

7 opportunity for cooperating persons and the 

8 public to participate in the Good Samaritan 

9 permit process, including— 

10 (i) carrying out environmental review 

11 and public comment procedures pursuant 

12 to subsection (l); and 

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

14 (B) in coordination with the Adminis15 trator, enforce Good Samaritan permits issued 

16 under this section for projects on land owned by 

17 the United States. 

18 (k) STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

19 As soon as practicable, but not later than 14 days after 

20 the date on which the Administrator receives an applica21 tion for the remediation of an abandoned mine site under 

22 this section, the Administrator shall provide notice and a 

23 copy of the application to— 

24 (1) each local government with jurisdiction over 

25 a drinking water utility, and each Indian tribe with 


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1 reservation or off-reservation treaty rights to land or 

2 water, located downstream from a proposed remedi3 ation project that is reasonably anticipated to be ad4 versely impacted by a potential release of contami5 nants from the abandoned mine site, as determined 

6 by the Administrator; 

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

8 may have an interest in the application; and 

9 (3) in the case of an abandoned mine site that 

10 is located partially or entirely on land owned by the 

11 United States, the Federal land management agency 

12 with jurisdiction over that land. 

13 (l) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PUBLIC COM14 MENT.— 

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

16 Good Samaritan permit to carry out a project for 

17 the remediation of an abandoned mine site, the Ad18 ministrator shall ensure that environmental review 

19 and public comment procedures are carried out with 

20 respect to the proposed project. 

21 (2) RELATION TO NEPA.— 

22 (A) MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.—Subject to 

23 subparagraph (F), the issuance or modification 

24 of a Good Samaritan permit by the Adminis25 trator shall be considered a major Federal acVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Sep 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2781.IS S2781

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1 tion for purposes of section 102 of the National 

2 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

3 4332). 

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

5 purposes of an environmental assessment and 

6 public comment under this subsection shall 

7 be— 

8 (i) in the case of a proposed project 

9 on land owned by the United States, the 

10 applicable Federal land management agen11 cy; and 

12 (ii) in the case of a proposed project 

13 on State, Tribal, or private land, the Ad14 ministrator. 

15 (C) COORDINATION.—To the maximum ex16 tent practicable, the lead agency described in 

17 subparagraph (B) shall coordinate procedures 

18 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

19 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with State, Trib20 al, and Federal cooperating agencies, as appli21 cable. 

22 (D) COOPERATING AGENCY.—In the case 

23 of a proposed project on land owned by the 

24 United States, the Administrator shall be a co25 operating agency for purposes of an environVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Sep 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2781.IS S2781

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1 mental assessment and public comment under 

2 this subsection. 

3 (E) SINGLE NEPA DOCUMENT.—The lead 

4 agency described in subparagraph (B) may con5 duct a single environmental assessment for— 

6 (i) the issuance of a Good Samaritan 

7 permit; 

8 (ii) any activities authorized by a 

9 Good Samaritan permit; and 

10 (iii) any applicable permits required 

11 by the Secretary of the Interior or the Sec12 retary of Agriculture. 

13 (F) NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan 

15 permit may only be issued if, after an envi16 ronmental assessment, the head of the lead 

17 agency issues a finding of no significant 

18 impact. 

19 (ii) SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.—If the 

20 head of the lead agency determines that a 

21 project would likely have a significant im22 pact on the environment, the head of the 

23 lead agency shall not issue a Good Samari24 tan permit for the proposed project. 


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1 (G) DECISION DOCUMENT.—An approval 

2 or denial of a Good Samaritan permit may be 

3 issued as a single decision document that is 

4 signed by— 

5 (i) the Administrator; and 

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

7 owned by the United States, the head of 

8 the applicable Federal land management 

9 agency. 

10 (H) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this para11 graph exempts the Secretary of Agriculture or 

12 the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable, 

13 from any other requirements of section 102 of 

14 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

15 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 

16 (m) PERMIT GRANT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

18 grant a Good Samaritan permit to carry out a 

19 project for the remediation of an abandoned mine 

20 site only if— 

21 (A) the Administrator determines that— 

22 (i) the person seeking the permit is a 

23 Good Samaritan; 

24 (ii) the application described in sub25 section (c) is complete; 


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1 (iii) the project is designed to reme2 diate historic mine residue at the aban3 doned mine site to protect public health 

4 and the environment; 

5 (iv) the proposed project is designed 

6 to meet all other goals, as determined by 

7 the Administrator, including any goals set 

8 forth in the application for the Good Sa9 maritan permit that are accepted by the 

10 Administrator; 

11 (v) the proposed activities, as com12 pared to the baseline conditions described 

13 in subsection (c)(6), will make measurable 

14 progress toward achieving— 

15 (I) applicable water quality 

16 standards; 

17 (II) improved soil quality; 

18 (III) other improved environ19 mental or safety conditions; or 

20 (IV) reductions in threats to soil 

21 quality or other environmental or 

22 safety conditions; 

23 (vi) the applicant has— 

24 (I) demonstrated that the appli25 cant has the proper and appropriate 


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1 experience and capacity to complete 

2 the permitted work; 

3 (II) demonstrated that the appli4 cant will complete the permitted work; 

5 (III) the financial and other re6 sources to address any contingencies 

7 identified in the Good Samaritan per8 mit application described in sub9 sections (b) and (c); 

10 (IV) granted access and provided 

11 the authority to review the records of 

12 the applicant relevant to compliance 

13 with the requirements of the Good Sa14 maritan permit; and 

15 (V) demonstrated, to the satisfac16 tion of the Administrator, that— 

17 (aa) the applicant has, or 

18 has access to, the financial re19 sources to complete the project 

20 described in the Good Samaritan 

21 permit application, including any 

22 long-term monitoring and oper23 ations and maintenance that the 

24 Administrator may require the 


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1 applicant to perform in the Good 

2 Samaritan permit; or 

3 (bb) the applicant has estab4 lished a third-party financial as5 surance mechanism, such as a 

6 corporate guarantee from a par7 ent or other corporate affiliate, 

8 letter of credit, trust, surety 

9 bond, or insurance to assure that 

10 funds are available to complete 

11 the permitted work, including for 

12 operations and maintenance and 

13 to address potential contin14 gencies, that— 

15 (AA) establishes the 

16 Administrator or the head of 

17 the Federal land manage18 ment agency as the bene19 ficiary of the third-party fi20 nancial assurance mecha21 nism; and 

22 (BB) allows the Admin23 istrator to retain and use 

24 the funds from the financial 

25 assurance mechanism in the 


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1 event the Good Samaritan 

2 does not complete the reme3 diation under the Good Sa4 maritan permit; and 

5 (vii) the project meets the require6 ments of this Act; 

7 (B) the State or Indian tribe with jurisdic8 tion over land on which the abandoned mine 

9 site is located has been given an opportunity to 

10 review and, if necessary, comment on the grant 

11 of the Good Samaritan permit; 

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

13 carried out under the Good Samaritan permit 

14 partially or entirely on land owned by the 

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

16 head of the applicable Federal land manage17 ment agency has signed a decision document 

18 approving the proposed project; and 

19 (D) the Administrator or head of the Fed20 eral land management agency, as applicable, 

21 has provided— 

22 (i) environmental review and public 

23 comment procedures required by sub24 section (l); and 


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1 (ii) a public hearing under that sub2 section, if requested. 

3 (2) DEADLINE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

5 shall grant or deny a Good Samaritan permit 

6 by not later than— 

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

8 date of receipt by the Administrator of an 

9 application for the Good Samaritan permit 

10 that, as determined by the Administrator, 

11 is complete and meets all applicable re12 quirements of subsection (c); or 

13 (ii) such later date as may be deter14 mined by the Administrator with notifica15 tion provided to the applicant. 

16 (B) CONSTRUCTIVE DENIAL.—If the Ad17 ministrator fails to grant or deny a Good Sa18 maritan permit by the applicable deadline de19 scribed in subparagraph (A), the application 

20 shall be considered to be denied. 

21 (3) DISCRETIONARY ACTION.—The issuance of 

22 a permit by the Administrator and the approval of 

23 a project by the head of an applicable Federal land 

24 management agency shall be considered to be discre25 tionary actions taken in the public interest. 


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1 (n) EFFECT OF PERMITS.— 

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

3 cooperating person undertaking remediation activi4 ties identified in, carried out pursuant to, and in 

5 compliance with, a covered permit— 

6 (A) shall be considered to be in compliance 

7 with all requirements (including permitting re8 quirements) under the Federal Water Pollution 

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

10 any law or regulation implemented by a State 

11 or Indian tribe under section 402 or 404 of 

12 that Act (33 U.S.C. 1342, 1344)) and the Com13 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensa14 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 

15 et seq.) during the term of the Good Samaritan 

16 permit and after the termination of the Good 

17 Samaritan permit; 

18 (B) shall not be required to obtain a per19 mit under, or to comply with, section 301, 302, 

20 306, 307, 402, or 404 of the Federal Water 

21 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311, 1312, 

22 1316, 1317, 1342, 1344), or any State or Trib23 al standards or regulations approved by the Ad24 ministrator under those sections of that Act, 

25 during the term of the Good Samaritan permit 


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1 and after the termination of the Good Samari2 tan permit; and 

3 (C) shall not be required to obtain any au4 thorizations, licenses, or permits that would 

5 otherwise not need to be obtained if the remedi6 ation was conducted pursuant to section 121 of 

7 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

8 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

9 U.S.C. 9621). 

10 (2) UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person (including 

12 a Good Samaritan or any cooperating person) 

13 that carries out any activity, including activities 

14 relating to mineral exploration, processing, 

15 beneficiation, or mining, including development, 

16 that is not authorized by the applicable Good 

17 Samaritan permit shall be subject to all applica18 ble law. 

19 (B) LIABILITY.—Any activity not author20 ized by a Good Samaritan permit, as deter21 mined by the Administrator, may be subject to 

22 liability and enforcement under all applicable 

23 law, including— 

24 (i) the Federal Water Pollution Con25 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and 


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1 (ii) the Comprehensive Environmental 

2 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 

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

4 (3) NO ENFORCEMENT OR LIABILITY FOR GOOD

5 SAMARITANS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara7 graphs (D) and (E), a Good Samaritan or co8 operating person that is conducting a remedi9 ation activity identified in, pursuant to, and in 

10 compliance with a covered permit shall not be 

11 subject to enforcement or liability described in 

12 subparagraph (B) for— 

13 (i) any actions undertaken that are 

14 authorized by the covered permit; or 

15 (ii) any past, present, or future re16 leases, threats of releases, or discharges of 

17 hazardous substances, pollutants, or con18 taminants at or from the abandoned mine 

19 site that is the subject of the covered per20 mit (including any releases, threats of re21 leases, or discharges that occurred prior to 

22 the grant of the covered permit). 

23 (B) ENFORCEMENT OR LIABILITY DE24 SCRIBED.—Enforcement or liability referred to 

25 in subparagraph (A) is enforcement, civil or 


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1 criminal penalties, citizen suits and any liabil2 ities for response costs, natural resource dam3 age, or contribution under— 

4 (i) the Federal Water Pollution Con5 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (includ6 ing under any law or regulation adminis7 tered by a State or Indian tribe under that 

8 Act); or 

9 (ii) the Comprehensive Environmental 

10 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 

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

12 (C) DURATION OF APPLICABILITY.—Sub13 paragraph (A) shall apply during the term of 

14 the Good Samaritan permit and after termi15 nation of the Good Samaritan permit. 

16 (D) OTHER PARTIES.—Nothing in sub17 paragraph (A) limits the liability of any person 

18 that is not described in that subparagraph. 

19 (E) DECLINE IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDI20 TIONS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if 

21 a Good Samaritan or cooperating person fails 

22 to comply with any term, condition, or limita23 tion of a covered permit and that failure results 

24 in surface water quality or other environmental 

25 conditions that are measurably worse than 


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1 baseline conditions at the abandoned mine site, 

2 the Administrator shall— 

3 (i) notify the Good Samaritan or co4 operating person, as applicable, of the fail5 ure to comply; and 

6 (ii) require the Good Samaritan or the 

7 cooperating person, as applicable, to un8 dertake reasonable measures, as deter9 mined by the Administrator, to return sur10 face water quality or other environmental 

11 conditions to those baseline conditions. 

12 (F) FAILURE TO CORRECT.—Subpara13 graph (A) shall not apply to a Good Samaritan 

14 or cooperating person that fails to take any ac15 tions required under subparagraph (E)(ii) with16 in a reasonable period of time, as established by 

17 the Administrator. 

18 (G) MINOR OR CORRECTED PERMIT VIOLA19 TIONS.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 

20 failure to comply with a term, condition, or lim21 itation of a Good Samaritan permit or inves22 tigative sampling permit shall not be considered 

23 a permit violation or noncompliance with that 

24 permit if— 


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1 (i) that failure or noncompliance does 

2 not result in a measurable adverse impact 

3 on water quality or other environmental 

4 conditions; or 

5 (ii) the Good Samaritan or cooper6 ating person complies with subparagraph 

7 (E)(ii). 

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

9 Good Samaritan shall notify all appropriate Federal, 

10 State, Tribal, and local entities of any unplanned or pre11 viously unknown release of historic mine residue caused 

12 by the actions of the Good Samaritan or any cooperating 

13 person in accordance with— 

14 (1) section 103 of the Comprehensive Environ15 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 

16 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9603); 

17 (2) section 304 of the Emergency Planning and 

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

19 11004); 

20 (3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

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

22 (4) any other applicable provision of Federal 

23 law; and 

24 (5) any other applicable provision of State, 

25 Tribal, or local law. 


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1 (p) GRANT ELIGIBILITY.—A remediation project con2 ducted under a Good Samaritan permit shall be eligible 

3 for funding pursuant to— 

4 (1) section 319 of the Federal Water Pollution 

5 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1329); and 

6 (2) section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Envi7 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 

8 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)). 

9 (q) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY AND LIABILITY.— 

10 (1) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

11 section affects the authority of— 

12 (A) the Administrator to take any respon13 sive action authorized by law; or 

14 (B) a Federal, State, Tribal, or local agen15 cy to carry out any emergency authority, in16 cluding an emergency authority provided under 

17 Federal, State, Tribal, or local law. 

18 (2) LIABILITY.—Except as specifically provided 

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

20 permit, or an investigative sampling permit limits 

21 the liability of any person (including a Good Samari22 tan or any cooperating person) under any provision 

23 of law. 

24 (r) TERMINATION OF PERMIT.— 


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

2 shall terminate, as applicable— 

3 (A) on inspection and notice from the Ad4 ministrator to the recipient of the Good Samar5 itan permit that the permitted work has been 

6 completed in accordance with the terms of the 

7 Good Samaritan permit, as determined by the 

8 Administrator; 

9 (B) if the Administrator terminates a per10 mit under paragraph (4)(B); or 

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

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

13 the date on which the Administrator grant14 ed the Good Samaritan permit, if the per15 mitted work has not commenced by that 

16 date; or 

17 (ii) if the grant of the Good Samari18 tan permit was the subject of a petition for 

19 judicial review, on the date that is 18 

20 months after the date on which the judicial 

21 review, including any appeals, has con22 cluded, if the permitted work has not com23 menced by that date. 

24 (2) EXTENSION.— 


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

2 otherwise required to terminate a Good Samari3 tan permit under paragraph (1)(C), the Admin4 istrator may grant an extension of the Good Sa5 maritan permit. 

6 (B) LIMITATION.—Any extension granted 

7 under subparagraph (A) shall be not more than 

8 180 days for each extension. 

9 (3) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the 

11 termination of a Good Samaritan permit or an 

12 investigative sampling permit under paragraph 

13 (1), but subject to subparagraph (B), the provi14 sions of paragraphs (1) through (4) of sub15 section (n) shall continue to apply to the Good 

16 Samaritan and any cooperating persons after 

17 the termination, including to any long-term op18 erations and maintenance pursuant to the 

19 agreement under paragraph (5). 

20 (B) DEGRADATION OF SURFACE WATER

21 QUALITY.— 

22 (i) OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN TO

23 BASELINE.—If, at the time that 1 or more 

24 of the conditions described in paragraph 

25 (1) are met but before the Good Samaritan 


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1 permit is terminated, actions by the Good 

2 Samaritan or cooperating person have 

3 caused surface water quality at the aban4 doned mine site to be measurably worse, as 

5 compared to baseline conditions described 

6 in subsection (c)(6), the Administrator 

7 shall, before terminating the Good Samari8 tan permit, provide the Good Samaritan or 

9 cooperating person, as applicable, the op10 portunity to return surface water quality 

11 to those baseline conditions. 

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

13 (i), the applicable Good Samaritan or co14 operating person does not return the sur15 face water quality at the abandoned mine 

16 site to the baseline conditions described in 

17 subsection (c)(6), subparagraph (A) shall 

18 not apply to the Good Samaritan or any 

19 cooperating persons. 

20 (4) UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The recipient of a cov22 ered permit may seek to modify or terminate 

23 the covered permit to take into account any 

24 event or condition that— 


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1 (i) significantly reduces the feasibility 

2 or significantly increases the cost of com3 pleting the remediation project that is the 

4 subject of the covered permit; 

5 (ii) was not— 

6 (I) reasonably contemplated by 

7 the recipient of the permit; or 

8 (II) taken into account in the re9 mediation plan of the recipient of the 

10 permit; and 

11 (iii) is beyond the control of the re12 cipient of the permit, as determined by the 

13 Administrator. 

14 (B) TERMINATION.—The Administrator 

15 shall terminate a covered permit if— 

16 (i) the recipient of the permit seeks 

17 termination of the permit under subpara18 graph (A); 

19 (ii) the factors described in subpara20 graph (A) are satisfied; and 

21 (iii) the Administrator determines 

22 that remediation activities conducted by 

23 the Good Samaritan or cooperating person 

24 pursuant to the covered permit may result 

25 in surface water quality conditions, or any 


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1 other environmental conditions, that will be 

2 worse than the baseline conditions, as de3 scribed in subsection (c)(6), as applicable. 

4 (5) LONG-TERM OPERATIONS AND MAINTE5 NANCE.—In the case of a project that involves long6 term operations and maintenance at an abandoned 

7 mine site located on land owned by the United 

8 States, the project may be considered complete and 

9 the Administrator may terminate the Good Samari10 tan permit under this subsection if the applicable 

11 Good Samaritan has entered into an agreement with 

12 the applicable Federal land management agency or 

13 a cooperating person for the long-term operations 

14 and maintenance that includes sufficient funding for 

15 the long-term operations and maintenance. 

16 (s) REGULATIONS.— 

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

18 not later than 18 months after the date of enact19 ment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation 

20 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

21 of Agriculture, and appropriate State, Tribal, and 

22 local officials, shall promulgate regulations to estab23 lish— 

24 (A) requirements for remediation plans de25 scribed in subsection (c); and 


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1 (B) any other requirement that the Admin2 istrator determines to be necessary to carry out 

3 this Act. 

4 (2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS BEFORE PROMUL5 GATION.—Before the date on which the Adminis6 trator promulgates regulations under paragraph (1), 

7 the Administrator may establish, on a case-by-case 

8 basis, specific requirements that the Administrator 

9 determines would facilitate the implementation of 

10 this section with respect to a Good Samaritan per11 mitting program. 

12 SEC. 5. SPECIAL ACCOUNTS. 

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

14 Treasury of the United States a Good Samaritan Mine 

15 Remediation Fund (referred to in this section as a 

16 ‘‘Fund’’) for— 

17 (1) each Federal land management agency that 

18 authorizes a Good Samaritan to conduct a project 

19 on Federal land under the jurisdiction of that Fed20 eral land management agency under a Good Samari21 tan permit; and 

22 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency. 

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

24 (1) amounts provided in appropriation Acts; 


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1 (2) any proceeds from reprocessing deposited 

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

3 (3) any financial assurance funds collected from 

4 an agreement described in section 

5 4(m)(1)(A)(vi)(V)(bb); 

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

7 and maintenance under an agreement under section 

8 4(r)(5); 

9 (5) any interest earned under an investment 

10 under subsection (c); 

11 (6) any proceeds from the sale or redemption of 

12 investments held in the Fund; and 

13 (7) any amounts donated to the Fund by any 

14 person. 

15 (c) UNUSED FUNDS.—Amounts in each Fund not 

16 currently needed to carry out this Act shall be— 

17 (1) maintained as readily available or on de18 posit; 

19 (2) invested in obligations of the United States 

20 or guaranteed by the United States; or 

21 (3) invested in obligations, participations, or 

22 other instruments that are lawful investments for a 

23 fiduciary, a trust, or public funds. 

24 (d) RETAIN AND USE AUTHORITY.—The Adminis25 trator and each head of a Federal land management agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Sep 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2781.IS S2781

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1 cy, as appropriate, may, notwithstanding any other provi2 sion of law, retain and use money deposited in the applica3 ble Fund without fiscal year limitation for the purpose of 

4 carrying out this Act. 

5 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

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

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con8 sultation with the heads of Federal land management 

9 agencies, shall submit to the Committee on Environment 

10 and Public Works of the Senate and the Committees on 

11 Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and Com12 merce, and Natural Resources of the House of Represent13 atives a report evaluating the Good Samaritan pilot pro14 gram under this Act. 

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

16 shall include— 

17 (1) a description of— 

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

19 Good Samaritan permits granted pursuant to 

20 this Act; and 

21 (B) each remediation project authorized by 

22 those Good Samaritan permits; 

23 (2) qualitative and quantitative data on the re24 sults achieved under the Good Samaritan permits 

25 before the date of issuance of the report; 


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1 (3) a description of— 

2 (A) any problems encountered in admin3 istering this Act; and 

4 (B) whether the problems have been or can 

5 be remedied by administrative action (including 

6 amendments to existing law); 

7 (4) a description of progress made in achieving 

8 the purposes of this Act; and 

9 (5) recommendations on whether the Good Sa10 maritan pilot program under this Act should be con11 tinued, including a description of any modifications 

12 (including amendments to existing law) required to 

13 continue administering this Act. 

Æ 


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