Updated information on Good Samaritan policy that will limit liability for Good Samaritans improving water quality at draining abandoned mines is now on the EPA web site (cut/paste below): http://water.epa.gov/action/goodsamaritan/index.cfm

 

Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan Initiative is an Agency-wide initiative to accelerate restoration of watersheds and fisheries threatened by abandoned hard rock mine runoff by encouraging voluntary cleanups by parties that do not own the property and are not responsible for the property's environmental conditions. The Good Samaritan administrative CERCLA tools were issued on June 6, 2007. The tools are a model comfort letter and a model settlement agreement (an administrative order on consent or "AOC"). The Agency also issued a memorandum to EPA Regions in 2007, describing the purpose and intended use of the tools.

On December 12, 2012, EPA issued a memorandum to its regional offices that encourages cleanup activities at hard rock abandoned mine sites. The memorandum is intended to reduce the perceived Clean Water Act legal vulnerability faced by "Good Samaritans" who want to clean up their communities. There are hundreds of thousands of abandoned mine sites across the nation and many pose serious health, safety, and environmental hazards. Many community organizations have been looking at opportunities to clean up these sites and EPA's memorandum clarifies that these "Good Samaritans," or non-liable parties, who volunteer to clean up these abandoned sites are generally not responsible for obtaining a permit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) both during and following a successful cleanup.

• 2012 Memorandum (PDF) (7 pp, 1.7MB, About PDF)
• Questions and Answers About 2012 Memorandum (PDF) (2 pp, 24K, About PDF)

Where to find more information:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Guiding Principles to EPA Regions
• Model Settlement Agreement
• Model Comfort Status Letter
• Funding - EPA funding programs that relate to abandoned mines
• Contacts - EPA contacts on abandoned mine issues
• America's Great Outdoors 

Wow! A present for the Holidays! EPA issues Good Samaritan policy this morning!

The need for clear policy to allow bona-fide Good Samaritans with no connection to past mining activity at abandoned mines to improve water quality where mine waters are draining acidic and/or potentially toxic waters has been an on-going need for almost 40 years.

This morning the EPA released information about a new agency policy that should encourage greater Good Samaritan hard rock mine cleanups. 

Here is the press release from Senator Udall's office.  The new policy guidance can be found at this link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/116560607/2012-EPA-Good-Samaritan-Memo

More information may be posted by the EPA on their web site in the near future.

Thanks to all of my colleagues and those who have been on the front lines of this issue for so long.  This is going to open opportunities for improved water quality in the San Juan Mountains and across the country.

Thanks to Senators Mark Udall, Michael Bennett and Barbara Boxer and their staff for working on this issue.   Thanks to the EPA and Director Lisa Jackson for moving this issue toward resolution.

From Senator Udall's Office:
 
December 12, 2012

Udall’s Leadership Leads to New Policy to Help Good Samaritans Clean Abandoned Mine Sites
 
Udall’s Longtime Efforts, Outreach to EPA Led to New Policy

Mark Udall thanked the Environmental Protection Agency for standing with him and Good Samaritans today by issuing a new policy to give groups additional protections as they help clean up the more than 7,000 abandoned hard rock mine sites located in Colorado and thousands more throughout the West. Today’s announcement follows more than decade’s work on Udall’s part to unleash the power of local groups and volunteers who want to help clean up old mine site.

"This new policy, which follows a multiyear effort I led, is welcome news for my constituents and Good Samaritans everywhere. Abandoned mines in Colorado and across the West threaten our waterways and the environment," Udall said. "I am glad the EPA has partnered with me to develop this policy, which will free up Good Samaritans – like Trout Unlimited, the Animas River Stakeholders Group and the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee – to help protect our streams, waterways and drinking supplies. We still have work to do to address these abandoned mines, but this is a welcome step in the right direction that will unleash the power of local groups and volunteers."

Specifically, the policy clarifies that:

• Good Samaritan agreements with EPA can include extended time periods for monitoring or other activities, thereby extending the legal liability protections contained in the agreement; and,
• Good Samaritans are generally not responsible for obtaining a Clean Water Act permit during or after a successful cleanup conducted according to a Good Samaritan agreement with EPA.

"I commend the EPA and Administrator Lisa Jackson for joining with me to leverage the resources of groups committed to cleaning up abandoned mine pollution. This policy clearly demonstrates their desire to protect Western watersheds. I look forward to working with Good Samaritans to evaluate the effectiveness of these clarifications and determine if other improvements are needed," Udall said. "In the meantime, I plan to continue to work to secure additional federal funds for mine reclamation and the cleanup of abandoned mines."

"Abandoned mines represent the single-greatest, least-understood threat to clean water and fish in the West," said Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited. "The otherwise outstanding laws of our land, the Clean Water Act and Superfund, actually prevent third parties — Good Samaritans — from entering into cleanup projects because of the liability risks they place on would be helpers, such as Trout Unlimited. Today we commend EPA for taking this important step to provide appropriate protection for Good Samaritans, and we applaud Sen. Udall’s efforts to get this problem fixed."

Udall, who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has been one of the leading voices in Congress on cleaning up and remediating abandon mine sites since he joined Congress in 1999. The EPA’s memo stems from Udall’s work over the past two years to find a way to give Good Samaritans additional protections as they continue their important work.

Udall also recently visited a mine site in San Juan County to hear about how additional legal certainty for Good Samaritans would help local groups remediate mines.

Last month Udall implored the U.S. House of Representatives to take up the legislation he co-sponsored that will allow Colorado and other states more flexibility in utilizing federal funds to clean up abandoned hard rock mining sites. The legislation, S.897, would allow states like Colorado to use funds that were previously only available for the reclamation of coal mines to be used for hard rock mines as well.

Please contact Mike Saccone at 202-224-4334.

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