Heinrich Legislation to Clean Up Abandoned Mines Signed into Law
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced today that his Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden. Co-led with U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), this legislation will make it easier for “Good Samaritans,” such as state agencies, nonprofits, and other groups, to clean up and improve water quality in and around abandoned hardrock mines.
Heinrich applauded the passage of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives last week and hailed the Senate’s unanimous passage of the bill in July. The House companion legislation is led by U.S. Representatives Celeste Maloy (R-Utah), Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), and Susie Lee (D-Nev.).
“Our Good Samaritan legislation is now the law of the land, after more than 25 years of hard work to get it over the finish line. Good Samaritans will no longer face hurdles preventing them from helping to protect the land, water, fish, and wildlife our communities rely on. This victory belongs to every single person who rolled up their sleeves to fix this longstanding roadblock, and I’d like to thank those who have carried the baton to get us to this point. Now it’s time to get to work to clean up abandoned mines in New Mexico and across the country, making our water cleaner and lands safer,” said Heinrich.
“After years of red tape and unnecessary barriers, Good Samaritans willing to clean up long-abandoned mine sites can finally move forward with meaningful remediation. I’m proud to have led the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act with Senator Heinrich and look forward to the positive impacts this law will have on our land and water in Idaho,” said Risch.
"Today, we celebrate Utahns having more freedom,” said Maloy. “With this bill signed into law, Utahns can bypass bureaucratic hurdles and senseless lawsuits to clean up abandoned mines for the benefit of their communities. This achievement is the culmination of decades of bipartisan work, and I want to thank everyone who helped get this commonsense bill across the finish line.”
“Abandoned hardrock mines in Nevada and across the country are poisoning our waters, threatening Tribal lands, and their hazardous landscapes have injured and killed Americans. For 25 years, bills like this one to clean up these mines have stalled because of Washington politics. Today, we made history by finally empowering nonprofits and agencies that are willing and able to assist this long overdue clean up,” said Lee. “Because of commonsense bipartisanship, our nation is now on a path to cleaner waters and safer landscapes.”
Background
The U.S. has hundreds of thousands of abandoned hardrock mine features, of which at least 33,000 pose environmental hazards according to the GAO. Organizations that have no legal or financial responsibility to an abandoned mine – true Good Samaritans – want to volunteer to remediate some of these sites. Unfortunately, liability rules would leave these Good Samaritans legally responsible for all the pre-existing pollution from a mine, even though they had no involvement with the mine prior to cleaning it up.
The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act creates a pilot permitting program to enable not-for-profit cleanup efforts to move forward, while ensuring Good Samaritans have the skills and resources to comply with federal oversight. This pilot program is designed for lower risk projects that will improve water and soil quality or otherwise protect human health.
A one-page summary is here.
The text of the bill is here.
Heinrich championed a provision in the Infrastructure Law to establish the first-ever abandoned hardrock mine reclamation program in the Department of the Interior. With the passage of the Good Samaritan legislation, public-private partnerships can use this program to jumpstart abandoned mine cleanups.
In November, the Biden administration announced its support for the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act.
The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Brain Schatz (D-Hawaii), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
In the House, the legislation is cosponsored U.S. Representatives John Curtis (R-Utah), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), Burgess Owens (R-Utah), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Aaron Bean (R-Fla.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Blake Moore (R-Utah), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Garrett Graves (R-La.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Elijah Crane (R-Ariz.), Teresa Leger Fernández (D- N.M.), Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio), Vince Fong (R-Calif.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Reuben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), and Glen Thompson (R-Pa.).
The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act has garnered widespread support from agencies and organizations:
States: Western Governor’s Association, Western States Water Council, Interstate Mining Compact Commission, National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Attorney General of Colorado, Governor of Nevada
National conservation organizations: American Rivers, American Sportfishing Association, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, National Parks Conservation Association, National Wildlife Federation, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, Conservation Alliance, Nature Conservancy, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Trout Unlimited.
Mining industry organizations: National Mining Association, American Exploration and Mining Association.
Tribal leaders: National Congress of American Indians.
Outdoor Recreation organizations and businesses: American Fly Fishing Trade Association, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, Outdoor Alliance, and dozens of state and local organizations and businesses.
Wildlife and sportsmen’s organizations: American Fly Fishing Trade Association, American Sportfishing Association, Angler Action Foundation, Archery Trade Association, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S), Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, Boone and Crockett Club, Campfire Club of America, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited, Fly Fishers International, Houston Safari Club, Izaak Walton League of America, Mule Deer Foundation, National Association of Forest Service Retirees, National Deer Association, National Wild Turkey Federation, National Wildlife Federation, New York State Conservation Council, North American Grouse Partnership, Orion: The Hunter’s Institute, Pheasants Forever, Pope & Young Club, Property and Environment Research Center, Public Lands Foundation, Quail Forever, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters, The Nature Conservancy, The Wildlife Society, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
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