Sec. 604. Good Samaritan discharge permits
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Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1342 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: In this subsection: The term cooperating person means any person that— is a Good Samaritan; assists a permittee in the remediation of an inactive or abandoned mine site; and is identified in a Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under paragraph (2). The term cooperating person includes the Federal Government. The term eligible applicant means a person that— is a Good Samaritan; and proposes a project, the purpose of which is to remediate, in whole or in part, actual or threatened pollution caused by historic mine residue at an inactive or abandoned mine site.
The term Good Samaritan means a person that, with respect to historic mine residue at an inactive or abandoned mine site— had no role in the creation of the historic mine residue; had no role in creating any environmental pollution caused by the historic mine residue; and is not liable under any Federal, State, tribal, or local law for the remediation of the historic mine residue. The term historic mine residue means mine residue or any condition resulting from activities at an inactive or abandoned mine site prior to October 18, 1972, that— causes or contributes to the actual or threatened discharge of pollutants from the inactive or abandoned mine site; or otherwise pollutes the environment.
The term historic mine residue includes— ores and minerals that— were mined during the active operation of an inactive or abandoned mine site; and contribute to acid mine drainage or other environmental pollution; equipment (including materials in equipment); any waste or material resulting from any extraction, beneficiation, or other processing activity that occurred during the active operation of an inactive or abandoned mine site; and any acidic or otherwise polluted flow in surface water or groundwater that originates from an inactive or abandoned mine site.
The term identifiable owner or operator means a person that is— legally responsible under section 301 for a discharge that originates from an inactive or abandoned mine site; and financially capable of complying with each requirement described in this section and section 301. The term inactive or abandoned mine site means a mine site (including associated facilities) that— is located in the United States; was used for the production of a mineral other than coal; has historic mine residue; and is no longer actively mined on the date on which an eligible applicant submits to a permitting authority a remediation plan relating to an application for a Good Samaritan discharge permit under paragraph (3)(B) for the remediation of the mine site.
The term inactive or abandoned mine site does not include a mine site (including associated facilities) that is— in a temporary shutdown; 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 the subject of an ongoing or planned remedial action carried out in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq. ).
The term Indian tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 450b ). The term permittee means a person that is issued a Good Samaritan discharge permit under this subsection. Except as provided in clause (ii), the term permitting authority means the Administrator. In the case of a State or Indian tribe with an approved permitting program under paragraph (2)(B), the term permitting authority means the head of the permitting program of the State or Indian tribe.
The term person includes— an individual; a firm; a corporation; an association; a partnership; a consortium; a joint venture; a commercial entity; a nonprofit organization; the Federal Government; a State (including a political subdivision of a State); an interstate entity; a commission; and an Indian tribe. A permitting authority may issue a Good Samaritan discharge permit to an eligible applicant in concurrence, if applicable, with— the State in which the proposed inactive or abandoned mine site remediation project is located; or the Federal agency or Indian tribe that owns or has jurisdiction over the site at which the proposed inactive or abandoned mine site remediation project is located.
The Administrator shall approve a State or tribal program for the issuance of Good Samaritan discharge permits if— the State or Indian tribe has, as of the date of enactment of this subsection, authority to issue a permit under subsection (b); and the State or Indian tribe requests such authority. An eligible applicant may apply for a Good Samaritan discharge permit to conduct remediation activities at any inactive or abandoned mine site from which there is, or may be, a discharge or a threatened discharge of pollutants into any water of the United States.
To apply for a Good Samaritan discharge permit under subparagraph (A), an eligible applicant shall submit to the permitting authority an application that contains a remediation plan that, to the extent known by the eligible applicant as of the date on which the application is submitted, contains— an identification of— the eligible applicant (including any cooperating person) with respect to the remediation plan; the mine site that is the subject of the remediation plan (including such documentation as the permitting authority determines to be sufficient to demonstrate to the permitting authority that the mine site is an inactive or abandoned mine site); and each body of water of the United States that is affected by actual or threatened discharges from the inactive or abandoned mine site; a description of— the baseline conditions of each body of water described in clause (i)(III) as of the date on which the eligible applicant submits the application, including— the nature and extent of any adverse impact on the quality of each body of water caused by the drainage of historic mine residue or other discharges from the inactive or abandoned mine site; and as applicable, the level of any pollutant in each body of water that has resulted in an adverse impact described in item (aa); the conditions of the inactive or abandoned mine site that cause adverse impacts to the quality of each body of water described in clause (i)(III); the reasonable efforts taken by the eligible applicant to identify identifiable owners or operators of the inactive or abandoned mine site that is the subject of the application; each remediation goal and objective proposed by the eligible applicant, including— each pollutant to be addressed by the remediation plan; and each action that the eligible applicant proposes to take that, to the maximum extent reasonable and practicable under the circumstances, will assist in the attainment of each applicable water quality standard; the practices (including a schedule and estimated completion date for the implementation of each practice) that are proposed by the eligible applicant to meet each remediation goal and objective described in subclause (IV), including— in the case of a new remediation project, the preliminary system design and construction, operation, and maintenance plans relating to the new remediation project; and in the case of an existing remediation project, available system design and construction, operation, and maintenance plans and any planned improvements with respect to the existing remediation project; any proposed recycling or reprocessing of historic mine residue to be conducted by the eligible applicant (including a description of how each proposed recycling or reprocessing activity relates to the remediation of an inactive or abandoned mine site); the monitoring or other forms of assessment that will be undertaken by the eligible applicant to evaluate the success of the practices described in subclause
(V)during and after the implementation of the remediation plan, with respect to the baseline conditions; each contingency plan that is designed for responding to unplanned adverse events (including the practices to be implemented to achieve each remediation goal and objective described in subclause (IV)); the legal authority of the eligible applicant to enter, and conduct activities at, the inactive or abandoned mine site that is the subject of the remediation plan; and any public outreach activity to be conducted by the eligible applicant; an explanation of the manner by which the practices described in clause (ii)(V) are expected to achieve each remediation goal and objective described in clause (ii)(IV); a schedule for the periodic reporting by the eligible applicant with respect to any progress in implementing the remediation plan; a budget for the remediation plan that includes a description of each funding source that will support the implementation of the remediation plan, including— each practice described in clause (ii)(VIII); each action described in clause (ii)(IV)(bb); and each monitoring or other appropriate activity described in clause (ii)(VII); and any other additional information requested by the Administrator to clarify the remediation plan and each proposed activity covered by the remediation plan. An application for a Good Samaritan discharge permit submitted by an eligible applicant to a permitting authority under subparagraph
(B)shall be signed and certified in a manner consistent with section 122.22 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. A Good Samaritan discharge permit may include a program of investigative measures to be completed prior to the remediation of the inactive or abandoned mine site that is the subject of the permit if the permitting authority, upon the receipt of the application of an eligible applicant for a Good Samaritan discharge permit, determines the program of investigative measures to be appropriate. Any water sampling included in the program of investigative measures described in clause
(i)shall be conducted by an eligible applicant in accordance with any applicable method described in part 136 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. In conducting a program of investigative measures described in clause (i), an eligible applicant shall— ensure that each sample collected under the program is representative of the conditions present at the inactive or abandoned mine site that is the subject of the program; and retain records of all sampling events for a period of not less than 3 years. If an eligible applicant proposes to conduct a program of investigative measures, the eligible applicant shall submit to the permitting authority a plan that contains, to the extent known by the eligible applicant as of the date on which the eligible applicant submits the application— each description required under subclauses (I), (II), and
(IV)through
(VIII)of subparagraph (B)(ii); the explanation required under subparagraph (B)(iii); the schedule required under subparagraph (B)(iv); and the budget required under subparagraph (B)(v). An eligible applicant that conducts a program of investigative measures shall, based on the results of the program, supplement each item described in subclause (I), as necessary. The results of the program of investigative measures shall be— detailed in a report for the permitting agency; and made available by the applicant to any member of the public that requests the report. Based upon the results of the investigative measures, a Good Samaritan discharge permit may be modified pursuant to the permit procedures described in this subsection. A Good Samaritan discharge permit may allow the permittee to decline to undertake remediation based on the results of the investigative sampling program, if— the program of investigative measures is authorized under this subparagraph; and the activities under the program of investigative measures have not resulted in surface water quality conditions, taken as a whole, that are worse than the baseline condition of bodies of water described in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I). The permitting authority shall— review each application submitted by an eligible applicant for a Good Samaritan discharge permit; provide to the public, with respect to the Good Samaritan discharge permit— notice and a reasonable opportunity to comment; and a public hearing; if the Administrator is the permitting authority, provide a copy of the application to each affected State, Indian tribe, and other Federal agency; and determine whether the application for the Good Samaritan discharge permit meets each requirement described in subparagraph (B). If the permitting authority determines that an application for a Good Samaritan discharge permit does not meet each requirement described in subparagraph (B), the permitting authority shall— notify the eligible applicant that the application is disapproved and explain the reasons for the disapproval; and allow the eligible applicant to submit a revised application. If the permitting authority determines that an application for a Good Samaritan discharge permit meets each requirement described in subparagraph (B), the permitting authority shall notify the eligible applicant that the application is accepted. After notice and opportunity for public comment with respect to a Good Samaritan discharge permit proposed by a permitting authority to be issued under this subsection (including any additional requirement that the permitting authority determines would facilitate the implementation of this subsection), the permitting authority may issue a permit to an eligible applicant if— the permitting authority determines that— relative to the resources identified by the eligible applicant for funding the proposed remediation activity, the eligible applicant has made a reasonable effort to identify identifiable owners or operators under subparagraph (B)(ii)(III); no identifiable owner or operator exists (except, with respect to Federal land, where the only identifiable owner or operator is the Federal Government); taking into consideration each funding source (including the amount of each funding source) identified by the eligible applicant for the proposed remediation activity in accordance with subparagraph (B)(v), the remediation plan of the eligible applicant demonstrates that the implementation of the remediation plan will— assist in the attainment of applicable water quality standards to the extent reasonable and practicable under the circumstances; and not result in water quality that is worse than the baseline water condition described in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I); the eligible applicant has provided adequate evidence of financial resources that will enable the eligible applicant to complete the proposed project of the eligible applicant; and the proposed project of the eligible applicant meets the requirements of this section; any Federal, State, or tribal land management agency with jurisdiction over any inactive or abandoned mine site that is the subject of the proposed permit, or any public trustee for natural resources affected by historic mine residue associated with any inactive or abandoned mine site that is the subject of the proposed permit, does not object to the issuance of the permit; and if the Administrator is the permitting authority, the affected State or Indian tribe concurs with the issuance of the permit. Not later than 180 days after the date of receipt by a permitting authority of an application for a Good Samaritan discharge permit that the permitting authority determines to be complete, the permitting authority shall— issue to the eligible applicant a Good Samaritan discharge permit; or deny the application of the eligible applicant for a Good Samaritan discharge permit. In accordance with clause (ii), after the date of receipt by a permitting authority of a written request by a permittee to modify the Good Samaritan discharge permit of the permittee, the permitting authority shall approve or disapprove the request for modification. A permit modification that is approved by a permitting authority under this subparagraph shall be— by agreement between the permittee and the permitting authority and, if the Administrator is the permitting authority, the affected State or Indian tribe; subject to— a period of public notice and comment; and a public hearing; in compliance with each standard described in subparagraph (F)(i)(III); and immediately reflected in, and applicable to, the Good Samaritan discharge permit. A Good Samaritan discharge permit shall— contain— a remediation plan approved by the permitting authority; and any additional requirement that the permitting authority establishes by regulation under paragraph (10); and provide for compliance with, and implementation of, the remediation plan and any additional requirement described in clause (i)(II). A Good Samaritan discharge permit shall authorize only those activities that are required for the remediation of historic mine residue at an inactive or abandoned mine site, as determined by the permitting authority. A Good Samaritan discharge permit shall contain a schedule for review, to be conducted by the permitting authority, to determine compliance by the permittee with each condition and limitation of the permit. A Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under this subsection shall authorize the permittee, and any cooperating persons, to carry out each activity described in the Good Samaritan discharge permit. Compliance by the permittee, and any cooperating persons, with respect to the Good Samaritan discharge permit shall constitute compliance with this Act. Except as provided in paragraph (6), the issuance of a Good Samaritan discharge permit to a permittee relieves the permittee, and any cooperating person, of each obligation and liability under this Act. If a permittee, or any cooperating person fails to comply with any condition or limitation of the permit, the permittee, or cooperating person, shall be subject to liability only under section 309. A permitting authority shall terminate a Good Samaritan discharge permit if— the permittee successfully completes the implementation of the remediation plan; or any discharge covered by the Good Samaritan discharge permit becomes subject to a permit issued for other development that is not part of the implementation of the remediation plan; the permittee seeking termination of coverage, and any cooperating person with respect to the remediation plan of the permittee, is not a participant in the development; and the permitting authority, upon request of the permittee, agrees that the permit should be terminated. Except as provided in clause (ii), the permitting authority, in cooperation with the permittee, shall seek to modify a Good Samaritan discharge permit to take into account any event or condition encountered by the permittee if the event or condition encountered by the permittee— significantly reduces the feasibility, or significantly increases the cost, of completing the remediation project that is the subject of the Good Samaritan discharge permit; was not— contemplated by the permittee; or taken into account in the remediation plan of the permittee; and is beyond the control of the permittee, as determined by the permitting authority. If a permittee described in clause
(i)does not agree to a modification of the Good Samaritan discharge permit of the permittee, or the permitting authority determines that remediation activities conducted by the permittee pursuant to the permit have resulted or will result in surface water quality conditions that, taken as a whole, are or will be worse than the baseline water conditions described in paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(I), the permitting authority shall terminate the permit. Subject to clause (ii), and except as provided in clause (iii), the permittee of a permit, or a cooperating person with respect to the remediation plan of the permittee, shall not be subject to enforcement under any provision of this Act for liability for any past, present, or future discharges at or from the abandoned or inactive mining site that is the subject of the permit. Clause
(i)does not limit the liability of any person that is not described in clause (i). The discharge of liability for a permittee of a permit, or a cooperating person with respect to the remediation plan of the permittee, under clause
(i)shall not apply with respect to any violation of the permit that occurs before the date on which the permit is terminated. Nothing in this subsection limits the authority of the Administrator to exercise any emergency power under section 504 with respect to persons other than a permittee and any cooperating persons. Except as provided in clause (ii), with respect to a violation of this subsection or section 301(a) committed by any person prior to the issuance of a Good Samaritan discharge permit under this subsection, the issuance of the Good Samaritan discharge permit does not preclude any enforcement action under section 309. If a Good Samaritan discharge permit covers remediation activities carried out by the permittee on a date before the issuance of the Good Samaritan discharge permit, clause
(i)shall not apply to any action that is based on any condition that results from the remediation activities. A permittee shall not be subject to any action under section 309 or 505 for any violation committed by any other party. Except as otherwise provided in this section, nothing in this subsection limits any obligation of a State or Indian tribe described in section 303. Any development of an inactive or abandoned mine site (including any activity relating to mineral exploration, processing, beneficiation, or mining), including development by a permittee or any cooperating person, not authorized in a permit issued by the permitting authority under this subsection shall be subject to this Act. The commingling of any other discharge or water with any discharge or water subject to a Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under this subsection shall not limit or reduce the liability of any person associated with the water or discharge that is not subject to the Good Samaritan discharge permit. A Good Samaritan to whom a permit is issued may sell or use materials recovered during the implementation of the plan only if the proceeds of any such sale are used to defray the costs of— remediation of the site addressed in the permit; or voluntary remediation of any other inactive or abandoned mine site covered by a permit issued under this section. Except as provided in clause (ii), to the extent that this subsection relates to water quality standards, certification under section 401 shall not apply to any Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under this subsection. In any case in which certification under section 401 would otherwise be required, no Good Samaritan discharge permit shall be issued by a permitting authority under this subsection without the concurrence of— the State in which the site of the discharge is located; or the Indian tribe that owns or has jurisdiction over the site on which a remediation project is proposed. No State, Indian tribe, or other person shall be required to obtain a Good Samaritan discharge permit pursuant to this subsection for any discharge, including any discharge associated with the remediation of an inactive or abandoned mine site with respect to the conduct of reclamation work under a State or tribal abandoned mine reclamation plan approved under title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 ( 30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq. ). Nothing in this subsection (including any result caused by any action taken by a permittee or a cooperating person) limits the liability of any person other than a permittee or a cooperating person under this Act or any other law. Subject to subparagraph (B), not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, after providing for public notice and an opportunity to comment and a public hearing, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and appropriate State, tribal, and local officials, shall promulgate regulations to establish— generally applicable requirements for remediation plans described in paragraph (3)(B); and any other requirement that the Administrator determines to be necessary. Before the date on which the Administrator promulgates regulations under subparagraph (A), a permitting authority may establish, on a case-by-case basis, specific requirements that the permitting authority determines would facilitate the implementation of this subsection with respect to a Good Samaritan discharge permit issued to a permittee. A permittee shall be eligible to apply for a grant under section 319(h). Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the Administrator may award to any permittee a grant to assist the permittee in implementing a remediation plan with respect to a Good Samaritan discharge permit of the permittee. Not later than 1 year before the date of termination of the authority of the permitting authority under paragraph (13), the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report describing the activities authorized by this subsection. The report required under subparagraph
(A)shall contain, at a minimum— a description of— each Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under this subsection; each permittee; each inactive or abandoned mine site addressed by a Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under this subsection (including each body of water and the baseline water quality of each body of water affected by each inactive or abandoned mine site); the status of the implementation of each remediation plan associated with each Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under this subsection (including specific progress that each remediation activity conducted by a permittee pursuant to each Good Samaritan discharge permit has made toward achieving the goals and objectives of the remediation plan); and each enforcement action taken by the Administrator or applicable State or Indian tribe concerning a Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under this subsection (including the disposition of the action); a summary of each remediation plan associated with a Good Samaritan discharge permit issued under this subsection, including— the goals and objectives of the remediation plan; the budget of the activities conducted pursuant to the remediation plan; and the practices to be employed by each permittee in accordance with the remediation plan of the permittee to reduce, control, mitigate, or eliminate adverse impacts to the quality of applicable bodies of water; and any recommendations that may be proposed by the Administrator to modify any law (including this subsection and any regulation promulgated under paragraph (10)) to facilitate the improvement of water quality through the remediation of inactive or abandoned mine sites. The authority granted to the permitting authority under this subsection to issue Good Samaritan discharge permits terminates on the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this subsection. If any provision of this subsection, or the application of any provision of this subsection to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, and the remainder of this subsection, shall not be affected thereby. .
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Sec. 604
Good Samaritan discharge permits
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