UPCOMING Webinar: Removing Barriers to Cleaning up Abandoned Mines

Please join ConservAmerica as we welcome Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) for a webinar on Wednesday, April 6 at 11 a.m. ET on the recently introduced Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2022. The bipartisan legislation would make it easier for “Good Samaritans” such as state agencies, local governments, nonprofits, and other groups, to clean up and improve water quality in and around abandoned hardrock mines.

The U.S. has over 140,000 abandoned hardrock mine features, of which 22,500 pose environmental hazards according to the GAO. Organizations that have no legal or financial responsibility to an abandoned mine – true Good Samaritans – want to volunteer to remediate these sites. Unfortunately, liability rules would leave these Good Samaritans legally responsible for all the pre-existing pollution from a mine, even though they had no involvement with the mine prior to cleaning it up. The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act creates 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.

Remarks

U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) & U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico)

Panelists

Ryan Jackson, National Mining Association

Chris Wood, Trout Unlimited

Ayla Neumeyer, Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho)

Maya Hermann, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico)

Moderated by Brent Fewell, ConservAmerica