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Good Samaritan Abandoned Or Inactive Mine Waste Remediation Act

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Good Samaritan Abandoned Or Inactive Mine Waste Remediation Act S. HRG. 106–955 GOOD SAMARITAN ABANDONED OR INACTIVE MINE WASTE REMEDIATION ACT HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, AND WATER OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 21, 2000 ON S. 1787 A BILL TO AMEND THE FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY ON ABANDONED OR INACTIVE MINED LAND Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 71–517 cc WASHINGTON : 2002 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:04 Feb 25, 2002 Jkt 071517 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 71517 SENENV1 PsN: SENENV1 COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ROBERT SMITH, New Hampshire, Chairman JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia MAX BAUCUS, Montana JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN, New York CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri HARRY REID, Nevada GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio BOB GRAHAM, Florida MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah BARBARA BOXER, California KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas RON WYDEN, Oregon LINCOLN CHAFEE, Rhode Island DAVE CONOVER, Staff Director TOM SLITER, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, AND WATER MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho, Chairman CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming HARRY REID, Nevada CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia RON WYDEN, Oregon ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah BOB GRAHAM, Florida KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas BARBARA BOXER, California (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:04 Feb 25, 2002 Jkt 071517 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 71517 SENENV1 PsN: SENENV1 CONTENTS Page JUNE 21, 2000 OPENING STATEMENTS Baucus, Hon. Max, U.S. Senator from the State of Montana .............................. 3 Crapo, Hon. Michael D., U.S. Senator from the State of Idaho ........................... 1 WITNESSES Fox, J. Charles, Assistant Administrator of Water, Environmental Protection Agency; accompanied by Mike Cook, Director, Office of Wastewater Man- agement ................................................................................................................. 12 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 62 Gerard, David, research associate, Political Economy Research Center, Boze- man, MT ................................................................................................................ 36 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 109 Responses to additional questions from Senator Crapo ................................ 114 Goodhard, William, Director of Reclamation and Environmental Affairs, Echo Bay Mines, Englewood, CO, on behalf of the National Mining Association .... 30 Executive summary, Reclaiming Inactive and Abandoned Mine Lands— What Really is Happening, National Mining Association ......................... 78 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 68 Responses to additional questions from Senators Crapo and Boxer ............ 81 Janklow, Hon. William J., Governor, Pierre, SD, on behalf of the Western Governors’ Association ......................................................................................... 6 List, Examples of Abandoned Mines in Western States ............................... 52 Letter, Western Governors’ Association ......................................................... 56 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 49 Resolution, Abandoned Mines, Western Governors’ Association .................. 56 Responses to additional questions from Senators Crapo and Boxer ............ 58 Kelly, Katherine, administrator, Waste Management and Remediation Pro- gram, Idaho Division of Environmental Quality, Boise, ID .............................. 26 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 65 Responses to additional questions from Senator Crapo ................................ 67 Kendall, Sara, Western Organization of Resource Councils, Washington, DC .. 34 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 108 Lyman, Jack, executive director, Idaho Mining Association, Boise, ID .............. 32 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 106 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Letters: Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies ............................................ 117 Association of State and Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) .................................................................................................... 117 Colorado Mining Association ........................................................................... 119 Montana Governor Marc Racicot ..................................................................... 118 Western States Water Council ........................................................................ 118 Report, Abandoned Mine Land Initiative, Debra Struhsacker ............................ 83 (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:04 Feb 25, 2002 Jkt 071517 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 71517 SENENV1 PsN: SENENV1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:04 Feb 25, 2002 Jkt 071517 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 71517 SENENV1 PsN: SENENV1 GOOD SAMARITAN ABANDONED OR INACTIVE MINE WASTE REMEDIATION ACT U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, AND WATER, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Mike Crapo, (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Crapo, Reid, and Baucus [ex officio]. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL D. CRAPO, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF IDAHO Senator CRAPO. The subcommittee will come to order. This is the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water’s hearing on S. 1787, the Good Samaritan Abandoned or Inactive Mine Waste Remediation Act. I appreciate our witnesses joining us here today to explore the issue of remediating and reclaiming aban- doned and inactive mine sites and to reflect on S. 1787, introduced by Senator Baucus. Throughout the United States, we have several hundred thou- sand mine sites that lie undisturbed as a legacy of another time when mining practices were less sophisticated than our current in- dustry standards and when today’s rigorous environmental stew- ardship laws were not yet a glimmer on the horizon. In other areas, the Federal Government directed mining companies to ex- tract resources quickly and without regard for ecological con- sequences to support war efforts and economic growth. Although operated in full compliance with governing laws at the time, many abandoned and inactive mines pose environmental threats to sur- rounding watersheds and downstream interests. However, because of the economic uncertainties of the mining in- dustry, the vast majority of these abandoned mine lands lack a via- ble owner with the resources to remediate them. Others lie on pub- lic lands where State and Federal agencies lack the incentives and funds to adopt and remediate them. And still others are truly aban- doned with no identifiable owner in sight. As such, Federal policy should encourage Federal agencies, States, and private parties to volunteer themselves to clean up the abandoned mine lands that would otherwise remain unremediated. In other words, we should help them to become good Samaritan and promote voluntary stewards of the environment. If uncon- nected parties step forward to address these sites, everyone wins. I believe there is little disagreement that this is a policy to which we should all aspire. But how do we achieve this policy? (1) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:04 Feb 25, 2002 Jkt 071517 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 71517 SENENV1 PsN: SENENV1 2 Clearly, a combination of two factors must be addressed. First, the current legal and economic disincentives for identifying good Samaritans need to be eliminated. Today’s witnesses are expected to highlight the multitude of legal barriers, including the Clean Water Act and Superfund liability, that discourage parties from taking actions. The existence of unnecessary regulatory burdens may also dissuade potential good Samaritans because of the time, cost, and hassle of the bureaucratic process. Second, it should be the Federal policy to invite as many good Samaritans as financially viable to contribute to the repair of our environment. Neither a needy charity nor a worthwhile environ- mental cause would reject the contribution or assistance from a willing donor. Is our environment any less worthy a cause? To do so, we should err on the side of establishing as many in- centives as possible to identify good Samaritans. Federal, State, and local agencies could be parties, as well as private companies and not just mining sources. Any combination of the following would be created for this purpose: Federal or State funding, tax in- centives,
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