Heinrich, Risch Applaud Bipartisan, Unanimous Senate Passage of Their Legislation to Clean Up Abandoned Mines
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) applauded the Senate’s unanimous and bipartisan passage of their legislation, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act. This legislation would make it easier for “Good Samaritans,” such as state agencies, local governments, nonprofits, and other groups, to clean up and improve water quality in and around abandoned hardrock mines.
Now that the bill has passed in the Senate, it also needs to pass in the House before it can go to the President to be signed into law.
“Good Samaritan organizations are ready to help clean up abandoned mines that are threatening our communities and polluting the land, water, fish, and wildlife we rely on. I’m proud of the work we have done to advance our commonsense, bipartisan legislation to create a path for these groups to clean up sites in New Mexico and across our country,” said Heinrich. “Efforts to get this done started well before I came to Congress. It’s been an honor to get it across the finish line in the Senate, and I won’t stop working on this until it’s law.”
“Today’s Senate passage of our Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act puts us one step closer to cutting the red tape that has prevented good faith actors from cleaning up long-abandoned hardrock mines,” said Risch. “I urge the House of Representatives to take up and pass this commonsense legislation to allow Good Samaritans to conduct this important remediation work.”
The U.S. has over 140,000 abandoned hardrock mine features, of which 22,500 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.
Heinrich championed a provision in the Infrastructure Law to establish the first-ever abandoned hardrock mine reclamation program in the Department of the Interior. By passing Good Samaritan legislation, Congress can remove hurdles that public-private partnerships face and use this program to jumpstart abandoned mine cleanups.
The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act has garnered widespread support from organizations, including American Exploration and Mining Association, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, Ecoflight, Fly Fishers International, Izaak Walton League of America, National Deer Association, National Mining Association, National Wildlife Federation, Property and Environment Research Center, Regeneration, Rivian, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Trout Unlimited.
"Passage of the Good Samaritan legislation is the perfect demonstration of the application of common sense to common problems for the common good, and it validates TU’s approach of bridging divides to care for the lands and waters that sustain our great nation,” said Chris Wood, President and CEO of Trout Unlimited. “We thank Senators Heinrich and Risch for their unwavering commitment to cleaning up historic mine pollution and advancing the work of Good Samaritans across the country.”
“Today’s Senate passage of bipartisan Good Samaritan legislation is a deeply important step forward in tackling the long-overdue cleanup of legacy abandoned mine sites,” said Rich Nolan, President and CEO of the National Mining Association. “This bill allows mining companies and local stakeholders to utilize their equipment and technical expertise to clean up abandoned sites without fear of incurring additional legal liability, removing key obstacles that have prevented the remediation of legacy land and water resources for far too long. We commend Senators Heinrich and Risch for their shared vision and leadership to advance the environmental progress we all desire, and we urge the House to send the bill to the president’s desk.”
“The mining industry has the desire, the experience, the technology, the expertise, and the capital to remediate and reclaim AMLs. For more than two decades, AEMA has collaborated with industry allies and conservation groups on this effort. Today’s bipartisan win marks a monumental step forward. We’re grateful for the strong bipartisan support demonstrated by the original cosponsors in the Senate and House. We applaud Senators Heinrich and Risch for their leadership on this legislation and we urge the U.S. House of Representatives to follow suit,” said Mark Compton, Executive Director of the American Exploration and Mining Association.
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