138 
ation activities conducted by the permittee 
pursuant to the permit have resulted or 
will result in surface water quality condi-
tions that, taken as a whole, are or will be 
worse than the baseline water conditions 
described in paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(I), the 
permitting authority shall terminate the 
permit. 
‘‘(C) NO ENFORCEMENT LIABILITY.— 
‘‘(i) DISCHARGES.—Subject to clause 
(ii), and except as provided in clause (iii), 
the permittee of a permit, or a cooperating 
person with respect to the remediation 
plan of the permittee, shall not be subject 
to enforcement under any provision of this 
Act for liability for any past, present, or 
future discharges at or from the aban-
doned or inactive mining site that is the 
subject of the permit. 
‘‘(ii) OTHER
PARTIES.—Clause (i) 
does not limit the liability of any person 
that is not described in clause (i). 
‘‘(iii) VIOLATION
OF
PERMIT
PRIOR 
TO TERMINATION.—The discharge of liabil-
ity for a permittee of a permit, or a co-
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emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
139 
operating person with respect to the reme-
diation plan of the permittee, under clause 
(i) shall not apply with respect to any vio-
lation of the permit that occurs before the 
date on which the permit is terminated. 
‘‘(8) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) EMERGENCY
POWERS.—Nothing in 
this subsection limits the authority of the Ad-
ministrator to exercise any emergency power 
under section 504 with respect to persons other 
than a permittee and any cooperating persons. 
‘‘(B) PRIOR VIOLATIONS.— 
‘‘(i) ACTIONS
AND
RELIEF.—Except 
as provided in clause (ii), with respect to 
a violation of this subsection or section 
301(a) committed by any person prior to 
the issuance of a Good Samaritan dis-
charge permit under this subsection, the 
issuance of the Good Samaritan discharge 
permit does not preclude any enforcement 
action under section 309. 
‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(I) SCOPE
OF
PERMIT.—If a 
Good Samaritan discharge permit cov-
ers remediation activities carried out 
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by the permittee on a date before the 
issuance of the Good Samaritan dis-
charge permit, clause (i) shall not 
apply to any action that is based on 
any condition that results from the re-
mediation activities. 
‘‘(II) OTHER
PARTIES.—A per-
mittee shall not be subject to any ac-
tion under section 309 or 505 for any 
violation committed by any other 
party. 
‘‘(C) OBLIGATIONS OF STATES AND INDIAN 
TRIBES.—Except as otherwise provided in this 
section, nothing in this subsection limits any 
obligation of a State or Indian tribe described 
in section 303. 
‘‘(D) OTHER DEVELOPMENT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any development 
of an inactive or abandoned mine site (in-
cluding any activity relating to mineral ex-
ploration, processing, beneficiation, or min-
ing), including development by a permittee 
or any cooperating person, not authorized 
in a permit issued by the permitting au-
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141 
thority under this subsection shall be sub-
ject to this Act. 
‘‘(ii) 
COMMINGLING
OF
DIS-
CHARGES.—The commingling of any other 
discharge or water with any discharge or 
water subject to a Good Samaritan dis-
charge permit issued under this subsection 
shall not limit or reduce the liability of any 
person associated with the water or dis-
charge that is not subject to the Good Sa-
maritan discharge permit. 
‘‘(E) RECOVERABLE VALUE.—A Good Sa-
maritan to whom a permit is issued may sell or 
use materials recovered during the implementa-
tion of the plan only if the proceeds of any such 
sale are used to defray the costs of— 
‘‘(i) remediation of the site addressed 
in the permit; or 
‘‘(ii) voluntary remediation of any 
other inactive or abandoned mine site cov-
ered by a permit issued under this section. 
‘‘(F) STATE CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Except as pro-
vided in clause (ii), to the extent that this 
subsection relates to water quality stand-
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142 
ards, certification under section 401 shall 
not apply to any Good Samaritan dis-
charge permit issued under this subsection. 
‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—In any case in 
which certification under section 401 
would otherwise be required, no Good Sa-
maritan discharge permit shall be issued 
by a permitting authority under this sub-
section without the concurrence of— 
‘‘(I) the State in which the site of 
the discharge is located; or 
‘‘(II) the Indian tribe that owns 
or has jurisdiction over the site on 
which a remediation project is pro-
posed. 
‘‘(G) STATE
AND
TRIBAL
RECLAMATION 
PROGRAMS.—No State, Indian tribe, or other 
person shall be required to obtain a Good Sa-
maritan discharge permit pursuant to this sub-
section for any discharge, including any dis-
charge associated with the remediation of an in-
active or abandoned mine site with respect to 
the conduct of reclamation work under a State 
or tribal abandoned mine reclamation plan ap-
proved under title IV of the Surface Mining 
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emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
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Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 
U.S.C. 1231 et seq.). 
‘‘(9) LIABILITY OF OTHER PARTIES.—Nothing 
in this subsection (including any result caused by 
any action taken by a permittee or a cooperating 
person) limits the liability of any person other than 
a permittee or a cooperating person under this Act 
or any other law. 
‘‘(10) REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this subsection, after providing 
for public notice and an opportunity to com-
ment and a public hearing, the Administrator, 
in consultation with the Secretary of the Inte-
rior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and ap-
propriate State, tribal, and local officials, shall 
promulgate regulations to establish— 
‘‘(i) generally applicable requirements 
for remediation plans described in para-
graph (3)(B); and 
‘‘(ii) any other requirement that the 
Administrator determines to be necessary. 
‘‘(B) SPECIFIC
REQUIREMENTS
BEFORE 
PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Before the 
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date on which the Administrator promulgates 
regulations under subparagraph (A), a permit-
ting authority may establish, on a case-by-case 
basis, specific requirements that the permitting 
authority determines would facilitate the imple-
mentation of this subsection with respect to a 
Good Samaritan discharge permit issued to a 
permittee. 
‘‘(11) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(A) 
ELIGIBILITY
FOR
SECTION
319 
GRANTS.—A permittee shall be eligible to apply 
for a grant under section 319(h). 
‘‘(B) GRANTS.—Subject to the availability 
of appropriated funds, the Administrator may 
award to any permittee a grant to assist the 
permittee in implementing a remediation plan 
with respect to a Good Samaritan discharge 
permit of the permittee. 
‘‘(12) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
before the date of termination of the authority 
of the permitting authority under paragraph 
(13), the Administrator shall submit to Con-
gress a report describing the activities author-
ized by this subsection. 
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emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
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‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report required 
under subparagraph (A) shall contain, at a 
minimum— 
‘‘(i) a description of— 
‘‘(I) each Good Samaritan dis-
charge permit issued under this sub-
section; 
‘‘(II) each permittee; 
‘‘(III) each inactive or abandoned 
mine site addressed by a Good Samar-
itan discharge permit issued under 
this subsection (including each body 
of water and the baseline water qual-
ity of each body of water affected by 
each inactive or abandoned mine site); 
‘‘(IV) the status of the implemen-
tation of each remediation plan associ-
ated with each Good Samaritan dis-
charge permit issued under this sub-
section (including specific progress 
that each remediation activity con-
ducted by a permittee pursuant to 
each Good Samaritan discharge per-
mit has made toward achieving the 
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emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
146 
goals and objectives of the remedi-
ation plan); and 
‘‘(V) each enforcement action 
taken by the Administrator or applica-
ble State or Indian tribe concerning a 
Good Samaritan discharge permit 
issued under this subsection (includ-
ing the disposition of the action); 
‘‘(ii) a summary of each remediation 
plan associated with a Good Samaritan 
discharge permit issued under this sub-
section, including— 
‘‘(I) the goals and objectives of 
the remediation plan; 
‘‘(II) the budget of the activities 
conducted pursuant to the remedi-
ation plan; and 
‘‘(III) the practices to be em-
ployed by each permittee in accord-
ance with the remediation plan of the 
permittee to reduce, control, mitigate, 
or eliminate adverse impacts to the 
quality of applicable bodies of water; 
and 
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147 
‘‘(iii) any recommendations that may 
be proposed by the Administrator to mod-
ify any law (including this subsection and 
any regulation promulgated under para-
graph (10)) to facilitate the improvement 
of water quality through the remediation of 
inactive or abandoned mine sites. 
‘‘(13) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The au-
thority granted to the permitting authority under 
this subsection to issue Good Samaritan discharge 
permits terminates on the date that is 10 years after 
the date of enactment of this subsection. 
‘‘(14) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this 
subsection, or the application of any provision of this 
subsection to any person or circumstance, is held in-
valid, the application of such provision to other per-
sons or circumstances, and the remainder of this 
subsection, shall not be affected thereby.’’. 
Æ 
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