I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5404 
To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
advance cooperative conservation efforts, to reduce barriers to the forma-
tion and use of partnerships to enable Federal environmental stewardship 
agencies to meet the conservation goals and obligations of the agencies, 
to promote remediation of inactive and abandoned mines, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2006 
Mr. DUNCAN (by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to 
the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Resources, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency to advance cooperative conservation efforts, 
to reduce barriers to the formation and use of partner-
ships to enable Federal environmental stewardship agen-
cies to meet the conservation goals and obligations of 
the agencies, to promote remediation of inactive and 
abandoned mines, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Good Samaritan Clean 
Watershed Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) advancing cooperative conservation requires 
greater use of restoration, enhancement, and other 
management actions and effective use of regulatory 
protections; 
(2) to achieve the objectives described in para-
graph (1), the Federal Government must tap the in-
genuity, imagination, and innovative spirit of citi-
zens at the local level; 
(3) to carry out paragraph (2), it is necessary 
to engage the collaborative participation of citizens, 
nongovernmental organizations, and governmental 
agencies in conservation and environmental steward-
ship actions and decisions; 
(4) cooperative conservation yields measurable 
benefits to the environment and natural resources, 
emphasizes collaborative problem solving and alter-
natives to traditional forms of dispute resolution, 
and respects property rights, contracts, compacts, 
and other legally-recognized interests in land and 
other natural resources; 
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(5) it is the intent of Congress to recognize the 
importance of enhancing means available to citizens, 
landowners, 
non-governmental 
entities, 
States, 
tribes, and Federal agencies to achieve improve-
ments to the environment and natural resources 
through cooperative conservation; 
(6) environmental progress can be accelerated 
through cooperative conservation, which encourages 
citizens and government at all levels to achieve envi-
ronmental results through cooperation over con-
frontation; 
(7) historic hardrock mining practices in the 
United Sates occurred under a wide variety of Fed-
eral and State laws, policies, and actions; 
(8) mining operations produce metals and min-
erals with important social benefits and values; 
(9) many areas in which historic mining took 
place in the United States are now inactive and 
abandoned mine sites; 
(10) many of those mine sites have polluted the 
environment for well over a century and will con-
tinue to do so indefinitely unless remediated; 
(11) unabated discharges from inactive and 
abandoned mines will continue to pollute surface 
water, groundwater, and soils; 
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(12) many of the streams and waterbodies im-
pacted by acid mine drainage are important re-
sources for fish and wildlife, recreation, drinking 
water, agriculture, and other public purposes; 
(13) many of the individuals, corporate owners, 
and operators of those mines, which caused that pol-
lution, are no longer alive or in existence; 
(14) many States, Indian tribes, conservation 
groups, corporations, and communities are willing to 
voluntarily remediate historic mine sites for the pub-
lic good as Good Samaritans, even though they are 
not legally required to do so; 
(15) the potential environmental liabilities that 
may result from the remediation continue to dis-
suade Good Samaritans from acting for the public 
good; 
(16) it is in the interest of the United States, 
the States, Indian tribes, and local communities that 
historic mine sites are remediated so that environ-
mental impacts of the sites are lessened; and 
(17) if appropriate legal protections are pro-
vided, Good Samaritans will have a greater incentive 
to remediate those sites for the public good. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
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(1) to restore watersheds and improve water 
quality impacted by historic mine sites; 
(2) to encourage partial or complete remedi-
ation of inactive and abandoned mining sites for the 
public good by persons who are not otherwise legally 
responsible for the remediation; 
(3) to provide appropriate legal protections for 
Good Samaritans under applicable environmental 
laws for work performed under this Act; 
(4) to ensure that remediation performed by 
Good Samaritans creates environmental benefits; 
(5) to further innovation and cooperation 
among government, private individuals, and corpora-
tions to accelerate conservation and environmental 
restoration; 
(6) to create an efficient process under which 
the cost and complexity of obtaining a permit are 
commensurate with the scope of remediation work to 
be completed, recognizing the environmental and so-
cial benefits to be realized; and 
(7) to ensure that the protections for Good Sa-
maritans provided in this Act are interpreted in ac-
cordance with the purposes of this Act and to en-
hance the public good. 
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SEC. 3. REMEDIATION OF INACTIVE OR ABANDONED MINES 
BY GOOD SAMARITANS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) COOPERATING PERSON.—The term ‘‘cooper-
ating person’’ means any person (other than a Fed-
eral agency) that— 
(A) meets the definition of Good Samari-
tan; 
(B) assists a Good Samaritan in the reme-
diation of an inactive or abandoned mine site; 
and 
(C) is identified in a permit issued pursu-
ant to this Act. 
(3) COOPERATIVE
CONSERVATION.—The term 
‘‘cooperative conservation’’ mean any action that— 
(A) relates to the use, enhancement, and 
enjoyment of natural resources or the protec-
tion of the environment, or both; and 
(B) involves collaborative activity among 2 
or more entities or individuals, including— 
(i) Federal, State, local, and tribal 
governments; 
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(ii) private for-profit and nonprofit in-
stitutions; 
(iii) other nongovernmental entities; 
and 
(iv) individuals. 
(4) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—The term ‘‘envi-
ronmental laws’’ means— 
(A) the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and 
(B) the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 
(5) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 
The term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ 
means any agency of the Federal Government au-
thorized by statute to exercise jurisdiction, custody, 
or control over lands of the United States. 
(6) FINANCIAL RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘finan-
cial resources’’ means any financial condition or in-
strument, including money, insurance, a guarantee, 
a surety bond, a letter of credit, a qualification as 
a self-insurer, or any condition or instrument as the 
Administrator determines to be appropriate. 
(7) GOOD
SAMARITAN.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the term ‘‘Good Samaritan’’ means a 
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person that, with respect to an inactive or aban-
doned mine site— 
(A) did not participate in any way in the 
creation of or activities causing the historic 
mine residue at the inactive or abandoned mine 
site; and 
(B) is not liable or responsible under any 
Federal, State or tribal law for the remediation 
of the historic mine residue. A person who has 
an ownership interest in an inactive or aban-
doned mine site, or who had such an interest at 
any time during or since the creation of the his-
toric mine residue at such site, is not eligible to 
act as a Good Samaritan at such site. 
(8) INACTIVE OR ABANDONED MINE SITE.—The 
term ‘‘inactive or abandoned mine site’’ means any 
mine site, including any mill or processing site, that 
is not owned by any person who caused or contrib-
uted to the historic mine residue or any successor in 
interest to such a person and that— 
(A) was used for the production of a min-
eral-bearing ore other than coal; 
(B) has historic mine residue, which may 
include, among other materials from prior min-
ing activities— 
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(i) tailings or mine waste piles; 
(ii) abandoned equipment (or mate-
rials in equipment); or 
(iii) acidic or otherwise polluted flows 
in surface or ground water; 
(C) is no longer in operation and is not 
subject to a temporary shutdown as of the ef-
fective date of this Act; and 
(D) has no identifiable liable persons under 
Federal, State, or tribal law (excluding the 
owner of the mine site who did not cause or 
contribute to the historic mine residue), based 
on an inquiry that is reasonable under the cir-
cumstances. 
(9) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun-
try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151 
of title 18, United States Code. 
(10) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
means any Indian tribe, band, group, or community 
recognized by the Secretary of the Interior and exer-
cising governmental authority over land within the 
limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdic-
tion of the Federal Government, notwithstanding the 
issuance of any patent, and including rights-of way 
running through the reservation. 
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(11) PERMITTING AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘per-
mitting authority’’ means the Administrator or, in 
the case of a State or tribal program authorized by 
the Administrator, the head of such program. 
(12) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes— 
(A) an individual; 
(B) a firm; 
(C) a corporation; 
(D) an association; 
(E) a partnership; 
(F) a consortium; 
(G) a joint venture; 
(H) a commercial entity; 
(I) a nonprofit organization; 
(J) the Federal Government; 
(K) a State; 
(L) a political subdivision of a State; 
(M) an Indian tribe; 
(N) an interstate entity; and 
(O) a commission. 
(13) PUBLIC
TRUSTEE
FOR
NATURAL
RE-
SOURCES.—The term ‘‘public trustee for natural re-
sources’’ means any public entity designated by the 
President in the National Contingency Plan pub-
lished under section 105 of the Comprehensive Envi-
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ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 
Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605), to act on behalf of 
the public as trustee for natural resources. 
(14) REMEDIATION.—The term ‘‘remediation’’ 
means the cleanup of historic mine residue at an in-
active or abandoned mine site and shall not be con-
strued to have the meaning set forth for that term 
under any other environmental statute or program. 
(15) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 
the several States of the United States, the District 
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin 
Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari-
anas, and any other territory or possession over 
which the United States has jurisdiction. 
(b) PERMITS.—The Administrator, or a State or In-
dian tribe with an approved remediation program under 
subsection (e), may issue a permit to a Good Samaritan 
to carry out a project to remediate all or part of an inac-
tive or abandoned mine site in accordance with the re-
quirements of this section. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR PERMITS.—To be eligible for a 
permit to carry out a project to remediate an inactive or 
abandoned mine site in a State or area of Indian country 
under this section— 
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(1) the mine site shall be located in the United 
States; 
(2) the purpose of the project shall be to miti-
gate the effects of historic mine residue to improve 
the environment; 
(3) the mine site may not be a mine site in-
cluded on the National Priorities List developed by 
the 
President 
in 
accordance 
with 
section 
105(a)(8)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 
(42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B)) or a site at which the 
Environmental Protection Agency or another Fed-
eral, State, or tribal agency is investigating, plan-
ning to conduct, or is taking an environmental en-
forcement or response action, except where the Per-
mitting Authority determines, on a case-by-case 
basis, and after consultation with any other inter-
ested agency, that— 
(A) the proposed remediation project at 
the listed mine site is not inconsistent with and 
will not otherwise interfere with any other 
planned remediation at the mine site that is 
reasonably likely to occur; and 
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(B) the remediation project proposed by 
the Good Samaritan at the mine site will accel-
erate environmental improvements; 
(4) the permit shall authorize activities to reme-
diate historic mine residue at the inactive or aban-
doned mine site or to mitigate the impacts of the 
historic mine residue outside of the mine site; and 
(5) the person obtaining the permit shall be a 
Good Samaritan. 
(d) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—Any activities not described 
in the permit application and those activities not directly 
relating to the remediation of historic mine residue at or 
from the site shall not be authorized under a permit under 
this section. No new mining shall be authorized under this 
section. 
(e) STATE OR TRIBAL REMEDIATION PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Before a permit may be 
issued by a State or Indian tribe to carry out a 
project under this Act, the State or Indian tribe 
shall have in effect a voluntary Good Samaritan per-
mit program approved by the Administrator. The 
Governor of any State or the head of an Indian 
tribe’s governing body may submit to the Adminis-
trator an application to administer a Good Samari-
tan permit program for activities within its jurisdic-
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tion at any time. An application under this section 
shall include a full and complete description of the 
permit program it proposes to administer under 
State or tribal law. The application must also in-
clude a statement from the State attorney general 
or, for an Indian tribe, the equivalent official author-
ized to represent the tribe in court pertaining to the 
Good Samaritan permit program application that 
the laws of the State or Indian tribe provide ade-
quate authority to carry out the described program. 
The Administrator shall approve such application 
within 120 days unless he or she determines that the 
requirements for a Good Samaritan permit program 
are not met. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—To meet the require-
ments of this subsection, under the State or tribal 
Good Samaritan permit program, a State (or Indian 
tribe) shall— 
(A) agree to participate in each project for 
which a State (or tribal) permit for remediation 
in the State or relevant area of Indian country 
is issued under this section; 
(B) designate a lead State (or tribal) agen-
cy that is responsible for carrying out permit-
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ting responsibilities of the State (or Indian 
tribe) under this section; 
(C) provide an opportunity for judicial re-
view in State Court (or the body that exercises 
judicial functions of an Indian tribe) of the 
final approval or denial of permits by the State 
(or Indian tribe) that is sufficient to provide 
for, encourage, and assist public participation 
in the permitting process; and 
(D) possess legal authority to implement a 
Good Samaritan permit program with program 
elements consistent with those described in this 
Act, including State (or tribal) enforcement au-
thorities analogous to those in subsection (p). A 
State’s (or Indian tribe’s) Good Samaritan per-
mit program shall be administered in conform-
ance with the requirements and procedures in 
this Act, including any regulations promulgated 
under subsection (t), except that a State (or In-
dian tribe) is not precluded from omitting or 
modifying any program element to impose more 
stringent requirements. 
(f) APPLICATION FOR A PERMIT.—To obtain a per-
mit to carry out a project to remediate an inactive or 
abandoned mine site under this section, an applicant shall 
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submit to the Permitting Authority an application, signed 
by the applicant, that provides— 
(1) a description of the project site (including 
the boundaries of the project site and degraded wa-
ters); 
(2) an identification of— 
(A) any current owner or operator of the 
mine site; 
(B) any person with a legal right to ex-
clude other persons from the mine site or affect 
activities on the mine site, with a description of 
those legal rights; and 
(C) for sites on federally managed lands, 
the Federal land management agency; 
(3) evidence satisfactory to the Permitting Au-
thority that the applicant has acquired or is contrac-
tually authorized to acquire all legal rights necessary 
to enter the mine site and to perform the remedi-
ation described in the application; 
(4) evidence satisfactory to the Permitting Au-
thority that it will have access to the mine site to 
oversee the remediation; 
(5) a description, based on the conduct of an 
inquiry that is reasonable under the circumstances, 
of— 
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(A) all persons that may be legally respon-
sible for the remediation of the mine site; and 
(B) any relationship between those persons 
and the applicant; 
(6) a certification that— 
(A) the applicant knows of no other person 
that (as of the date of submission of the appli-
cation) is potentially legally responsible for the 
remediation of the mine site (excluding the 
owner of the mine site who did not cause or 
contribute to the historic mine residue); and 
(B) the applicant meets the definition of a 
Good Samaritan under this Act; 
(7) a description of any contractual ties or 
other legal relationship between the applicant and all 
persons with responsibility for compliance with any 
environmental laws at the mine and all sources of 
revenues for the proposed remediation; 
(8) a description of the historic mine residue to 
be remediated; 
(9) a general description of the baseline condi-
tions (meaning conditions as of the date of submis-
sion of the application) of the environment affected 
by the historic mine residue to be remediated, in-
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cluding, if available, any sampling data or informa-
tion regarding the extent of contamination; 
(10) a description of— 
(A) the nature and scope of the proposed 
remediation, including any proposed recycling 
or incidental reprocessing of historic mine res-
idue at the site and how it relates to the reme-
diation; 
(B) engineering plans for the project; and 
(C) the remediation alternatives, if any, 
considered in developing the proposed remedi-
ation plan; 
(11) a description of the manner in which the 
remediation will mitigate the drainage from the mine 
site to improve water quality; 
(12) a schedule for the work to be carried out 
under the project, including an end date by which 
the applicant plans to complete the work; 
(13) a budget for the work to be carried out 
under the project; 
(14) evidence satisfactory to the Permitting Au-
thority that the permittee has sufficient financial re-
sources to ensure that the permitted work, including 
any operation and maintenance, if any, will be com-
pleted; 
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