SIGNED INTO LAW: Congresswoman Lee's Bipartisan Bill to Clean Up Toxic Abandoned Hardrock Mines Signed into Law

DOWNLOAD VIDEO: Lee’s 12/10 floor speech ahead of House vote  

WASHINGTON – Last night, President Joe Biden signed into law the bipartisan, bicameral Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, or “Good Sam legislation,” led by Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03), Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (UT-02) and Congresswoman Mary Peltola (AK-AL), to clean up toxic abandoned hardrock mines. The legislation had previously passed out of the House and Senate with overwhelming support from both parties. It is also supported by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. 

“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 Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03). “Because of commonsense bipartisanship, our nation is now on a path to cleaner waters and safer landscapes.” 

In a statement, President Biden thanked Congresswoman Lee and her fellow co-leads for their leadership. 

There are hundreds of thousands of abandoned hardrock mines scattered throughout the country, particularly concentrated in the American West — with an estimated 300,000 historic mining-related features and sites located in Nevada alone. Many of these sites pose direct risks to human health, the environment, and tribal lands, sending mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic materials into Western waters and communities in addition to the physical dangers they present. 

State and local agencies and non-profit organizations that have no legal or financial responsibility for these abandoned hardrock hazards — true Good Samaritans — actively want to volunteer to clean up some of these sites, but they currently risk incurring the same liability that would have applied to the original and often long-defunct polluters who can no longer be held to account. To date, this has deterred would-be Good Samaritans from moving ahead with cleanup efforts. 

This Good Sam legislation will create a new, carefully crafted pilot program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for qualified Good Samaritans to begin remediating up to 15 low-risk abandoned hardrock mine sites — while preserving a backstop of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Clean Water Act enforcement. 

The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act is supported by the National Mining Association, the American Exploration and Mining Association, American Rivers, American Sportfishing Association, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, National Parks Conservation Association, National Wildlife Federation, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, The Conservation Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Trout Unlimited. 

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