scribed in subparagraph (A), the application 
shall be considered to be denied. 
(3) DISCRETIONARY ACTION.—The issuance of 
a permit by the Administrator and the approval of 
a project by the head of an applicable Federal land 
management agency shall be considered to be discre-
tionary actions taken in the public interest. 
(n) EFFECT OF PERMITS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan and any 
cooperating person undertaking remediation activi-
ties identified in, carried out pursuant to, and in 
compliance with, a covered permit— 
(A) shall be considered to be in compliance 
with all requirements (including permitting re-
quirements) under the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (including 
any law or regulation implemented by a State 
or Indian tribe under section 402 or 404 of 
that Act (33 U.S.C. 1342, 1344)) and the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensa-
tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 
et seq.) during the term of the covered permit, 
after the termination of the Good Samaritan 
permit, and after declining to convert an inves-
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tigative sampling permit into a Good Samaritan 
permit, as applicable; 
(B) shall not be required to obtain a per-
mit under, or to comply with, section 301, 302, 
306, 307, 402, or 404 of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1311, 1312, 
1316, 1317, 1342, 1344), or any State or Trib-
al standards or regulations approved by the Ad-
ministrator under those sections of that Act, 
during the term of the covered permit, after the 
termination of the Good Samaritan permit, and 
after declining to convert an investigative sam-
pling permit into a Good Samaritan permit, as 
applicable; and 
(C) shall not be required to obtain any au-
thorizations, licenses, or permits that would 
otherwise not need to be obtained if the remedi-
ation was conducted pursuant to section 121 of 
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9621). 
(2) UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person (including 
a Good Samaritan or any cooperating person) 
that carries out any activity, including activities 
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relating to mineral exploration, processing, 
beneficiation, or mining, including development, 
that is not authorized by the applicable covered 
permit shall be subject to all applicable law. 
(B) LIABILITY.—Any activity not author-
ized by a covered permit, as determined by the 
Administrator, may be subject to liability and 
enforcement under all applicable law, includ-
ing— 
(i) the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and 
(ii) the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 
(3) NO ENFORCEMENT OR LIABILITY FOR GOOD 
SAMARITANS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graphs (D) and (E), a Good Samaritan or co-
operating person that is conducting a remedi-
ation activity identified in, pursuant to, and in 
compliance with a covered permit shall not be 
subject to enforcement or liability described in 
subparagraph (B) for— 
(i) any actions undertaken that are 
authorized by the covered permit; or 
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(ii) any past, present, or future re-
leases, threats of releases, or discharges of 
hazardous substances, pollutants, or con-
taminants at or from the abandoned 
hardrock mine site that is the subject of 
the covered permit (including any releases, 
threats of releases, or discharges that oc-
curred prior to the grant of the covered 
permit). 
(B) ENFORCEMENT
OR
LIABILITY
DE-
SCRIBED.—Enforcement or liability referred to 
in subparagraph (A) is enforcement, civil or 
criminal penalties, citizen suits and any liabil-
ities for response costs, natural resource dam-
age, or contribution under— 
(i) the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (includ-
ing under any law or regulation adminis-
tered by a State or Indian tribe under that 
Act); or 
(ii) the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 
(C) DURATION OF APPLICABILITY.—Sub-
paragraph (A) shall apply during the term of 
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the covered permit, after the termination of the 
Good Samaritan permit, and after declining to 
convert an investigative sampling permit into a 
Good Samaritan permit, as applicable. 
(D) OTHER
PARTIES.—Nothing in sub-
paragraph (A) limits the liability of any person 
that is not described in that subparagraph. 
(E) DECLINE IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDI-
TIONS.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if 
a Good Samaritan or cooperating person fails 
to comply with any term, condition, or limita-
tion of a covered permit and that failure results 
in surface water quality or other environmental 
conditions that the Administrator determines 
are measurably worse than the baseline condi-
tions as described in the permit (in the case of 
a Good Samaritan permit) or the conditions as 
described pursuant to subsection (d)(3)(B), if 
applicable (in the case of an investigative sam-
pling permit), at the abandoned hardrock mine 
site, the Administrator shall— 
(i) notify the Good Samaritan or co-
operating person, as applicable, of the fail-
ure to comply; and 
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(ii) require the Good Samaritan or the 
cooperating person, as applicable, to un-
dertake reasonable measures, as deter-
mined by the Administrator, to return sur-
face water quality or other environmental 
conditions to those conditions. 
(F) FAILURE
TO
CORRECT.—Subpara-
graph (A) shall not apply to a Good Samaritan 
or cooperating person that fails to take any ac-
tions required under subparagraph (E)(ii) with-
in a reasonable period of time, as established by 
the Administrator. 
(G) MINOR OR CORRECTED PERMIT VIOLA-
TIONS.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 
failure to comply with a term, condition, or lim-
itation of a Good Samaritan permit or inves-
tigative sampling permit shall not be considered 
a permit violation or noncompliance with that 
permit if— 
(i) that failure or noncompliance does 
not result in a measurable adverse impact, 
as determined by the Administrator, on 
water quality or other environmental condi-
tions; or 
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(ii) the Good Samaritan or cooper-
ating person complies with subparagraph 
(E)(ii). 
(o) PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF ADVERSE EVENT.—A 
Good Samaritan shall notify all appropriate Federal, 
State, Tribal, and local entities of any unplanned or pre-
viously unknown release of historic mine residue caused 
by the actions of the Good Samaritan or any cooperating 
person in accordance with— 
(1) section 103 of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9603); 
(2) section 304 of the Emergency Planning and 
Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 
11004); 
(3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 
(4) any other applicable provision of Federal 
law; and 
(5) any other applicable provision of State, 
Tribal, or local law. 
(p) GRANT ELIGIBILITY.—A remediation project con-
ducted under a Good Samaritan permit shall be eligible 
for funding pursuant to— 
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(1) section 319 of the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1329), for activities that are 
eligible for funding under that section; and 
(2) section 104(k) of the Comprehensive Envi-
ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 
Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(k)), subject to the con-
dition that the recipient of the funding is otherwise 
eligible under that section to receive a grant to as-
sess or remediate contamination at the site covered 
by the Good Samaritan permit. 
(q) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY AND LIABILITY.— 
(1) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 
section affects the authority of— 
(A) the Administrator to take any respon-
sive action authorized by law; or 
(B) a Federal, State, Tribal, or local agen-
cy to carry out any emergency authority, in-
cluding an emergency authority provided under 
Federal, State, Tribal, or local law. 
(2) LIABILITY.—Except as specifically provided 
in this Act, nothing in this Act, a Good Samaritan 
permit, or an investigative sampling permit limits 
the liability of any person (including a Good Samari-
tan or any cooperating person) under any provision 
of law. 
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(r) TERMINATION OF GOOD SAMARITAN PERMIT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A Good Samaritan permit 
shall terminate, as applicable— 
(A) on inspection and notice from the Ad-
ministrator to the recipient of the Good Samar-
itan permit that the permitted work has been 
completed in accordance with the terms of the 
Good Samaritan permit, as determined by the 
Administrator; 
(B) if the Administrator terminates a per-
mit under paragraph (4)(B); or 
(C) except as provided in paragraph (2)— 
(i) on the date that is 18 months after 
the date on which the Administrator grant-
ed the Good Samaritan permit, if the per-
mitted work has not commenced by that 
date; or 
(ii) if the grant of the Good Samari-
tan permit was the subject of a petition for 
judicial review, on the date that is 18 
months after the date on which the judicial 
review, including any appeals, has con-
cluded, if the permitted work has not com-
menced by that date. 
(2) EXTENSION.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator is 
otherwise required to terminate a Good Samari-
tan permit under paragraph (1)(C), the Admin-
istrator may grant an extension of the Good Sa-
maritan permit. 
(B) LIMITATION.—Any extension granted 
under subparagraph (A) shall be not more than 
180 days for each extension. 
(3) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the 
termination of a Good Samaritan permit under 
paragraph (1), but subject to subparagraph 
(B), the provisions of paragraphs (1) through 
(4) of subsection (n) shall continue to apply to 
the Good Samaritan and any cooperating per-
sons after the termination, including to any 
long-term operations and maintenance pursuant 
to the agreement under paragraph (5). 
(B) DEGRADATION
OF
SURFACE
WATER 
QUALITY.— 
(i) OPPORTUNITY
TO
RETURN
TO 
BASELINE
CONDITIONS.—If, at the time 
that 1 or more of the conditions described 
in paragraph (1) are met but before the 
Good Samaritan permit is terminated, ac-
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tions by the Good Samaritan or cooper-
ating person have caused surface water 
quality at the abandoned hardrock mine 
site to be measurably worse, as determined 
by the Administrator, when compared to 
baseline conditions described in the permit, 
the Administrator shall, before terminating 
the Good Samaritan permit, provide the 
Good Samaritan or cooperating person, as 
applicable, the opportunity to return sur-
face water quality to those baseline condi-
tions. 
(ii) EFFECT.—If, pursuant to clause 
(i), the applicable Good Samaritan or co-
operating person does not return the sur-
face water quality at the abandoned 
hardrock mine site to the baseline condi-
tions described in the permit, as deter-
mined by the Administrator, subparagraph 
(A) shall not apply to the Good Samaritan 
or any cooperating persons. 
(4) UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The recipient of a Good 
Samaritan permit may seek to modify or termi-
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nate the Good Samaritan permit to take into 
account any event or condition that— 
(i) significantly reduces the feasibility 
or significantly increases the cost of com-
pleting the remediation project that is the 
subject of the Good Samaritan permit; 
(ii) was not— 
(I) reasonably contemplated by 
the recipient of the Good Samaritan 
permit; or 
(II) taken into account in the re-
mediation plan of the recipient of the 
Good Samaritan permit; and 
(iii) is beyond the control of the re-
cipient of the Good Samaritan permit, as 
determined by the Administrator. 
(B) TERMINATION.—The Administrator 
shall terminate a Good Samaritan permit if— 
(i) the recipient of the Good Samari-
tan permit seeks termination of the permit 
under subparagraph (A); 
(ii) the factors described in subpara-
graph (A) are satisfied; and 
(iii) the Administrator determines 
that remediation activities conducted by 
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