Sec. 303. Permits for remediation of inactive or abandoned mine lands by Good Samaritans
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A permitting authority may issue a permit to a Good Samaritan to carry out a project in accordance with this section. A permitting authority may issue a permit under this section for a project to improve the environment (including water quality) by carrying out remediation at or related to an inactive or abandoned mine site. A permitting authority shall ensure that remediation carried out pursuant to a permit issued under this section— assists in the attainment of applicable water quality standards to the extent reasonable and practicable under the circumstances; and does not result in water quality that is worse than the baseline water condition.
A permitting authority may not issue a permit under this section for a project at or related to a mine site included on the National Priorities List developed by the President in accordance with section 105(a)(8)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( 42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B) ) or a mine site at which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or another Federal, State, or tribal agency is taking an environmental enforcement or response action, unless the permitting authority determines, after consultation with any other interested agency, that— the proposed project is not inconsistent, and will not interfere, with any other planned remediation at the mine site that is reasonably likely to occur; and the proposed project will accelerate environmental improvements.
A permitting authority shall require an application for a permit under this section to include— a description of the project site (including the boundaries of the project site and any degraded waters related to the project site); an identification of— any current owner of the property on which the project is proposed to be carried out; any person with a legal right to exclude other persons from the project site or affect activities on the project site, with a description of those legal rights; for project sites on Federal lands, the Federal land management agency; and based on the conduct of an inquiry that is reasonable under the circumstances— all persons that may be legally responsible for remediation of the project site; and any relationship between those persons and the applicant; a description of any contractual ties or other legal relationship between the applicant and all persons with responsibility for compliance with environmental laws at the project site; a general description of the known and identifiable baseline conditions, including conditions existing prior to the commencement of mining activities, as of the date of submission of the application, of the environment affected by the historic mine residue to be remediated, including, if available, any sampling data or information regarding the extent of contamination; a description of— the historic mine residue proposed to be remediated; the nature and scope of the proposed remediation, including— any proposed recycling or reprocessing of the historic mine residue, how the recycling or reprocessing relates to the remediation, and where the recycling or reprocessing will occur; and the manner in which the proposed remediation will mitigate the drainage from the inactive or abandoned mine site to improve water quality, if applicable; the remediation alternatives, if any, considered in developing the proposed remediation plan for the project site; engineering plans for the project; how any material related to the inactive or abandoned mine site that is identified or listed as hazardous waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq. ) will be disposed of; a monitoring program proposed to be carried out following completion of the remediation, if applicable, that will be implemented to evaluate the effects of the remediation on the environment; and the capacity (including technical and administrative) of the applicant to carry out the proposed activities and any terms of the permit for which the application is being submitted; a plan for any operation and maintenance related to the proposed remediation; a proposed schedule for activities to be carried out under the project, including an expected completion date for the remediation; a budget for the project; evidence satisfactory to the permitting authority that the applicant has sufficient financial resources to ensure that the activities proposed to be carried out by the applicant, including any operation and maintenance activities related to the remediation, will be carried out under the permit; an identification of any cooperating persons and a description of activities proposed to be carried out by such persons; a description of— any recognition for excellence in environmental compliance, reclamation, or remediation received by the applicant or any cooperating person identified under subparagraph (J); and the history of any noncompliance with environmental laws by the applicant or any cooperating person identified under subparagraph
(J)during the 5-year period preceding submission of the application; and if the applicant intends to use the project to comply with an offsite mitigation requirement, a reference to the offsite mitigation requirement and any related permit. As soon as practicable after receiving an application under this section, a permitting authority shall provide notice of the application, including a copy of the application, to— each local government located within a radius of 20 miles of the project site; each Federal, State, and tribal agency that the permitting authority determines may have an interest in the application; and if the project site lies in the headwater area of a major drainage basin, local governments located outside of the 20-mile radius of the project site that are downstream of the project site and may be affected by a discharge resulting from activities carried out pursuant to the project. Not later than 30 days after receiving an application under this section, a permitting authority shall provide to the public notice of the application. A permitting authority may, upon request, authorize a person to carry out investigative sampling, as determined appropriate by the permitting authority, prior to submitting an application for a permit under this section. An authorization to carry out investigative sampling under this section shall, with respect to the authorized activities, have the same effect as a permit for the purposes of subsection (g). Prior to issuing a permit under this section, a permitting authority shall conduct a public hearing in the vicinity of the proposed project site, and shall give public notice of the hearing not later than 30 days before the date of the hearing. The permitting authority shall include a draft permit in the notice of a hearing to be conducted under this section. The permitting authority shall provide the applicant and the public with the opportunity to— comment on the draft permit at the public hearing; and submit written comments to the permitting authority during the 30-day period following the hearing. A permitting authority shall issue a permit or deny a permit application under this section not later than— the date that is 180 days after the date on which the permitting authority receives a complete application for the permit, as determined by the permitting authority; or such later date as may be determined by the permitting authority, with the agreement of the applicant. If the permitting authority does not issue a permit or deny the permit application by the applicable date described in paragraph (1), the application shall be considered to be denied by the permitting authority. In considering whether to issue a permit for a project to be carried out on Federal lands, a permitting authority shall consult with any applicable Federal land management agency. A permitting authority may not issue a permit under this section if— the proposed project site is not a priority site designated under section 204; and the permitting authority receives an objection to the proposed permit from a Federal land management agency with jurisdiction over the project site. A permitting authority shall include in a permit issued under this section— a description of the activities authorized by the permit, including a description of any activities to be carried out by a cooperating person in accordance with paragraph (5); a schedule for the activities to be carried out under the project, in accordance with paragraph (3), including an end date by which the permittee shall complete the permitted activities; conditions requiring the permittee to— secure, for all activities authorized under the permit, all authorizations, licenses, and permits required under law; establish and maintain records, conduct monitoring (as described in paragraph (4)), and provide such other information as may be reasonably necessary to ensure the project will result in improvement to the environment; and minimize any short-term adverse environmental impacts from the remediation, to the extent practicable; a right of entry to the project site for the permitting authority to inspect and collect such information as is reasonably necessary to carry out this title; if the project to be carried out under the permit will be used by the permittee to comply with an offsite mitigation requirement, a reference to the offsite mitigation requirement and any related permit; and any other terms and conditions determined appropriate by the permitting authority. A permitting authority shall ensure that a permit issued under this section is site- and situation-specific, relying on pre-mining conditions and conditions existing as of the date of issuance of the permit to determine appropriate water quality or other environmental benchmarks to achieve in carrying out remediation under the permit. A permitting authority shall require activities authorized by a permit issued under this section to— commence not later than the date that is 1 year after the date on which the permit is issued; and continue until completed, with temporary suspensions permitted during adverse weather or other circumstances, as approved by the permitting authority. A permitting authority shall require a permittee to take such actions as the permitting authority determines are necessary to ensure, where appropriate, baseline, remedial alternative, and postremediation monitoring of the environment. In selecting the type and frequency of monitoring requirements to be included in a permit under this paragraph, the permitting authority shall— balance the utility of information obtained through monitoring against the cost of the monitoring, based on the circumstances relating to the project; and take into account the scope of the project. A permitting authority may approve in a permit the conduct of project activities by cooperating persons if, as determined by the permitting authority, the cooperative arrangement will effectively accomplish the purposes of this title. A person authorized by a permit issued under this section to carry out activities— shall be deemed to be in compliance with environmental laws with respect to such activities; and shall not be liable under environmental laws with respect to such activities, including for any costs or damages deriving from the prior activities of others at the project site. Paragraph
(1)shall not apply if— the person impedes or fails to facilitate a response action, remediation, or other natural resource restoration activity at the project site; the person exacerbates the pollution from historic mine residue as a result of gross negligence or intentional misconduct, in which case the person may be liable under environmental laws for costs or damages resulting from such gross negligence or intentional misconduct; or information supplied to the permitting authority in the permit application is subsequently determined to contain a dishonest, fraudulent, or materially misleading statement or omission, in which case the permit shall be deemed to have been invalid beginning on the date the permit was issued, and shall have no force or effect. A permitting authority may— extend the period during which a permit is valid under procedures established for such purpose by the permitting authority; and modify or terminate a permit for cause, including misrepresentation or a violation of a permit. Unless the permitting authority has extended the period during which a permit is valid, the authority to carry out activities under a permit issued under this section shall terminate— if the activities do not commence by the date that is 1 year after the date on which the permit is issued; if the activities are discontinued or not completed by the end date specified in the permit; or on any other grounds determined appropriate by the permitting authority. A permit may be transferred to another person only if— the appropriate permitting authority determines that the transferee will satisfy all of the requirements of the permit; the transferee is a Good Samaritan; the transferee accepts all of the requirements of the permit; the permitting authority includes in the transferred permit any additional or modified conditions determined to be appropriate by the permitting authority; and any Federal, State, or tribal land management agency with jurisdiction over the project site is notified of the proposed transfer and does not object to the permitting authority before the date that is 30 days before the proposed transfer is to take effect. A permitting authority shall maintain all records relating to permits and the permit process under this section. A permit issued under this section may not authorize any new mining activities other than those activities directly related to carrying out remediation at or related to the inactive or abandoned mine site.
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Sec. 303
Permits for remediation of inactive or abandoned mine lands by Good Samaritans
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