Butler

Good Samaritan Legislation – Protecting Third Parties Working On Draining Mines 1 Peter Butler, Ph.D. Animas River Stakeholders Group 1711 Baby Bear Road, Durango, CO 81301 [email protected]

Under the Clean Water Act, draining mines are considered point-sources. As such a number of different organizations that want to improve water quality are reluctant to work on draining mine sites for fear of incurring liability beyond their project work. As a result, few discharges from inactive and abandoned mines are being addressed. The presentation will describe the liability issues associated with remediating draining mines under the Clean Water Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as Superfund). Legislative efforts to address these issues have been on-going since 1994 without success. The important issues revolving around those legislative efforts and as well as current legislation will be discussed.

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Presented at the 30th annual National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs Conference, October 26 – 29, 2008; Durango Colorado