Good Samaritan Mine Remediation Fund

What this funds

The Agency notes that FY 2026 levels are estimates and subject to refinement based on Administration priorities. There are an estimated 100 thousand abandoned mines in the western United States.1 These are abandoned hardrock mines produce highly acidic water with high metals concentrations that impair watersheds and pose human health risks. Historically, Good Samaritans who wanted to remediate these sites faced concerns about liability under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA), hindering the potential for remediation. On December 17, 2024, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 (P.L. 118-155) was enacted to help The Good Samaritan law establishes a new EPA-led pilot permit program that will, over the next seven years, allow a maximum of 15 Good Samaritan permits and 15 Investigative Sampling permits. When a project is located on public lands, EPA will coordinate with the responsible federal land management agency (FLMA) (e.g., Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service) to jointly review and grant the permit. The Good Samaritan's permit provides a long-term shield from CERCLA and CWA liability, including citizen suits. Pilot projects must be "low risk" and demonstrate "measurable progress." To support a "low risk" project, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental assessment must document a finding of no significant impacts. In FY 2025, EPA issued for public comment the Good Samaritan Financial Assurance Guidance.3 In addition, EPA provided program development principles and guidance related to eligibility criteria, workflow for permit approvals, permit and NEPA coordination, and permit content (e.g., examples of low-risk projects and measurable progress).4 EPA's goal for FY 2026 is to grant two 2 For additional information, please see: Public Law 118-155. 3 For additional information, please see: Regulations.gov. 4 For additional information, please see: Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Program | US EPA. to three Good Samaritan permits. Additionally, EPA anticipates publishing an annual report to Congress on the success of the program to date. FY 2027 Activities and Performance Plan: Work in this program directly supports Goal 1/Objective 3, Revitalized Land and Contamination Prevention, in the FY 2026-2030 EPA Strategic Plan. In FY 2027, EPA anticipates being able to successfully demonstrate the long-term viability of the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 through initial pilot projects and work toward issuing 15 pilot permits by 2028 to Good Samaritans for the cleanup and improvement of abandoned hardrock mines, benefiting both local watersheds and communities. ' Continue to issue implementing guidance as needed; ' Oversee the work of two to three ongoing permits approved in FY 2026 for Good Samaritan mine cleanup projects. This includes fieldwork, technical assistance, and coordination among EPA, states, FLMAs, and communities; ' Grant an additional five to seven permits for new Good Samaritan mine cleanup permits for the 2027 field season. This includes permit and NEPA evaluations, public involvement, ' Conduct pre-application meetings with potential Good Samaritan permittees for the FY 2028 field season to approve the remainder of the 15 pilot permits; and ' Issue an annual report to Congress on the successful progress of the program. FY 2027 performance goals and targets are located in the FY 2027 Performance Goals tab. ' (+$1,700.0 / +7.0 FTE) This programmatic investment supports the implementation of the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024. Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024. FY 2027 Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justification Table of Contents - FY 2027 Performance Goals Goal 3: Advance Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Goal 1: Provide Clean Air, Land and Water for Every American Objective 1.1 - Healthy Air Quality: Reduce Air Pollutants, Enhance Ambient and Indoor Air Quality, Lower Radiation Exposure, and (PM SIPS) Percentage of backlogged State Implementation Plan submittals acted on. Metric Details: This measure cumulatively tracks backlogged State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals acted on by EPA (or withdrawn and thus terminating EPA's obligation to act) as a percentage of the number of SIPs that were overdue per the Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 110(k)(2) statutory timeframe as of October 1, 2025. SIP submittals that are backlogged include the number of SIP submittals on which EPA did not take final action within 12 months after a SIP submittal has been determined to be complete or become complete by operation of law (no later than six months following date of receipt, consistent with section 110(k)(2) of the CAA). EPA takes action on SIPs to ensure attainment and maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). "Acted on" refers to EPA's statutory responsibility to review and take final action. EPA takes action on SIPs through a regulatory process, including publication of final actions in the Federal Register. Actions that terminate EPA's duty to act on a SIP per the CAA, such as a withdrawal, are counted as final SIP actions to ensure consistent measuring of SIP actions over time. This number will be determined by running the "Simplified Active SIP/Backlog Report," or SABR, query in the State Plan Electronic Collaboration System (SPeCS). Outcomes will be captured at the end of each month and compared against the October 1, 2025, baseline number of backlogged SIP submittals. Results will be reported as a percentage of SIPs acted on out of a total of 427 backlogged SIPs. On a monthly and annual basis, results are measured in a cumulative format. Since SIP actions are regulatory actions subject to legal and other restraints, EPA performance on a monthly or annual basis may vary, necessitating a cumulative assessment to effectively track progress of this measure over time. (PM RAD3) Percentage of RadNet monitoring stations operational.

Extracted from Environmental Protection Agency, p. 15. Verbatim; nothing here is paraphrased.

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