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The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has passed the bipartisan Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act by unanimous consent. The bill, introduced by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) and Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) in the House, will establish a pilot program under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow “Good Samaritans” – such as non-profits, local governments, and state agencies – to obtain permits to clean up abandoned hardrock mines.

“This bill is a win for Utah. Right now, ‘Good Samaritans’ are not legally able to clean up abandoned hardrock mines, stopping remediation efforts before they even begin. Passage of this bill was the necessary next step towards allowing the cleanup of thousands of abandoned hardrock mine sites scattered across Utah and the West without the threat of taking on liability from the EPA. I will continue working with my House colleagues to make sure we get it across the finish line,” said Rep. Maloy.

“Despite having no legal or financial responsibility, state agencies, non-profits, and advocates are eager to contribute to abandoned hardrock mine cleanup efforts, but over-burdensome permitting requirements bar them from doing so. Too often, government red tape prevents good work from getting done—that’s why passing our Good Samaritan bill out of committee is a great step forward,” said Rep. Peltola. 

"There are hundreds of thousands of abandoned mine sites throughout the United States," said Chairman Sam Graves. "The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 is a bipartisan, bicameral bill that will help accelerate the clean-up at abandoned hardrock mines by providing a liability shield for those undertaking remediation projects. I want to thank Congresswoman Maloy for leading this effort in the House and working to address this issue."

This legislation is co-led by Reps. John Curtis (R-UT), Blake Moore (R-UT), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Susie Lee (D-NV), and Jim Costa (D-CA).

Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Jim Risch (R-ID) reintroduced a companion piece of legislation in the Senate.

“Today’s passage of my bill with Senator Heinrich, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is another step toward this commonsense legislation becoming law,” said Sen. Risch. “This bill will empower Good Samaritans to conduct vital remediation work at long abandoned mine sites, and I urge the House of Representatives to vote on this legislation immediately. My sincere thanks to Representatives Maloy and Peltola for their efforts in guiding this legislation through the committee.”

“Tens of thousands of abandoned mines continue to threaten our communities and pollute the land, water, fish, and wildlife we rely on. We should be empowering ‘Good Samaritan’ organizations who want to step up to help clean them up,” said Sen. Heinrich. “I’m proud to see our commonsense, bipartisan legislation that would create a path for these groups to clean up abandoned mine sites in New Mexico and across our country move one step closer to final passage in the House. I won’t stop working on this until we get this through the House and to the President.” 

“We appreciate the strong leadership of Representatives Maloy and Peltola on this important issue.  Western Governors have supported legal protections for Good Samaritans since at least 1995,” said, Jack Waldorf, the Executive Director of the Western Governors’ Association.  “This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will pave the way for a comprehensive mechanism to address thousands of hazardous abandoned mine sites throughout the West and across the country.  We are pleased to see the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee move this bill forward and encourage the remaining Committees to do the same to expedite its consideration by the full House.” 

Background:

There are over 140,000 remnants of abandoned hardrock mines on federal land with at least 22,500 that pose health and environmental risks. Utah could have between 8,000 and 11,000 abandoned hardrock mines on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands, but a complete inventory has not been conducted.

“Good Samaritans” are those who have no ownership or previous involvement in the creation of these historic mines. These permits will allow cleanup projects to move forward and ensure Good Samaritans have the skills and resources they need to complete permitted work. This program is designed for low-risk projects that will improve water or soil quality or otherwise protect human health and the environment.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.