{
  "id": "RL33575",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL33575",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 349553,
      "date": "2006-12-15",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T18:38:40.892029",
      "title": "Cleanup at Abandoned Hardrock Mines: Issues Raised by \u201cGood Samaritan\u201d Legislation in the 109th Congress",
      "summary": "In the 109th Congress, several bills were introduced to address the legacy of pollution from inactive and abandoned hardrock mines (IAMs) that degrades the environment throughout the United States, particularly in the West. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that 40% of headwaters in the West have been adversely impacted by acidic and other types of drainage from abandoned sites where gold, silver, copper, lead, and iron ore were mined. The core concept underlying the bills is that, in order to address the problem of pollution from IAM sites, it is appropriate to encourage cleanup by so-called \u201cGood Samaritan\u201d entities. To do so, the bills proposed to establish a process for issuing permits to Good Samaritans and to provide incentives in the form of reduced liability from environmental laws and less stringent environmental cleanup standards.\nThis report discusses four bills introduced in the 109th Congress: H.R. 1266 (M. Udall), S. 1848 (Salazar), S. 2780 (Inhofe), and H.R. 5404 (Duncan). S. 2780 and H.R. 5404 were identical bills, introduced at the request of the Administration. Three House and Senate committees held hearings during the 109th Congress on issues raised by the legislation. In September, an amended version of S. 1848 was reported to the Senate, but no further action occurred on any of the proposals. This report discusses several key issues in these bills:\neligibility for a Good Samaritan permit (especially at issue is whether Good Samaritans should be limited to government entities or may also include the private sector);\nstandards applicable to a Good Samaritan cleanup (defining what standards to apply to a remediation project is often a challenge);\nscope of liability protection (at issue is whether and to what extent the liability and other requirements of Superfund, the Clean Water Act, and other laws should be waived for Good Samaritans);\ntreatment of revenues from cleanup (one particularly controversial issue is whether Good Samaritans should be allowed to benefit economically from minerals that are recovered during a cleanup);\nenforcement and judicial review;\nrole for states and Indian tribes;\nfunding (none of the bills proposed a comprehensive mechanism to fund hardrock remediation activities);\nterminating a permit; and\nsunsetting the permit program.\nReviewing testimony from congressional hearings on these issues, it is evident that, except for witnesses testifying in support of their own bills, no witness endorsed any of the specific legislative approaches in total. For example, some stakeholders want an expanded definition of who may be a remediating party and favor elimination of additional regulatory and legal disincentives. But every effort to broaden the proposals\u2019 scope seemingly enlarges the complexity of the legislation and raises stronger opposition from groups who prefer a narrower approach.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
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  ],
  "topics": [
    "Environmental Policy"
  ]
}