WASHINGTON D.C. (NMB) – U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester have introduced a bipartisan bill that would make it easier for “Good Samaritans” to help clean up and improve water quality in and around abandoned hardrock mines across Montana.
According to a press release, the “Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act” would create a pilot permitting program to enable not-for-profit cleanup efforts to move forward, while ensuring Good Samaritans have the skills and resources to comply with federal oversight. This pilot program is designed for lower risk projects which will improve water and soil quality or otherwise protect human health.
Montana has approximately 6,000 abandoned hardrock mines according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Organizations that have no legal or financial responsibility to an abandoned mine – true Good Samaritans – want to participate in reclamation. Unfortunately, liability and bureaucratic red-tape could leave these Good Samaritans legally liable for circumstances outside of their control, even though they had no involvement with the mine prior to cleaning it up.
The legislation has received support from Trout Unlimited, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Property and Environment Research Center, National Deer Association, National Wildlife Federation, National Mining Association, American Exploration and Mining Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Izaak Walton League of America, and the Outdoor Alliance.
Information courtesy of the office of Senator Steve Daines
