Why It Matters: After more than two decades of work, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, a bipartisan effort to reduce burdensome roadblocks to restoring mine sites that can pollute streams, is headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The passage of the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines is another example of the broad bipartisan support that issues of importance to sportsmen and women continue to see in Congress.
Highlights:
- Last week, the House of Representatives passed 2781, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, a longstanding priority of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), which passed the Senate earlier this year by unanimous consent.
- This legislation is led in the Senate by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Members. Sens. Heinrich and Risch, and in the House by CSC Members Reps. Maloy and Peltola, among many other CSC Members who all were critical in getting this bill through Congress.
On Tuesday, December 10, the House of Representatives passed the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, delivering a win on a CSF priority that has been decades in the making.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation extends our thanks to CSC Members Sens. Heinrich and Risch as well as CSC Members Reps. Maloy and Peltola for their efforts in spearheading this legislation. S. 2781 will promote public-private partnerships to restore the health of public lands and waters that have been polluted and damaged by abandoned mine sites across the nation.
There is estimated to be approximately 500,000 abandoned mines across the United States that are polluting over 100,000 miles of streams. Estimates also indicate that cleaning up these abandoned mines would cost $54 billion. Unfortunately, under current federal law, an individual or group cannot touch or attempt to clean up a mine without being held liable for future pollution, even if that individual or group is not responsible for the original pollution, limiting the opportunities to restore these lands. This bipartisan legislation seeks to provide protections to those individuals attempting to clean up abandoned mines. Specifically, the bill allows for 15 pilot sites to be cleaned up across the nation to demonstrate effective restoration as well as the fact that environmental safety measures can be met.
CSF looks forward to seeing the President sign this legislation into law and again thanks the bill sponsors for their leadership in delivering this win for conservation.
