PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 10, 2006
Good Samaritan Clean Watershed Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state or Indian tribe with an approved remediation program to issue a permit to a Good Samaritan to remediate inactive or abandoned mines. Defines "Good Samaritan" as a person that: (1) did not cause the historic mine residue at the inactive or abandoned mines; (2) is not liable or responsible under federal, state, or tribal law for remediation of such residue; and (3) does not have an ownership interest in such site during or since the creation of the residue.
States that to be eligible for a remediation permit, projects: (1) shall have the purpose of mitigating the effects of historic mine residue to improve the environment; and (2) are not in mines that are included on the National Priorities List of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) or mines that are subject to enforcement or response actions.
Provides conditions for permit issuance, including environmental improvement and financial resources requirements and consideration of objections by land management agencies and public trustees.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Deems permit activities to be compliant with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act or CWA) and CERCLA. Precludes the imposition of costs or damages under CWA and CERCLA related to the permit activities, except where the permittee's actions exacerbate the pollution as a result of gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
Provides for the transfer, modification, or termination of permits and the role of the permitting authority.
Requires the permitting authority to provide notice of the application for remediation of a mine site to: (1) designated lead state or tribal agencies; (2) local governments within a 20-mile radius of the project site; (3) federal, state, and tribal agencies that may have an interest in the application; and (4) the public.
Authorizes the Administrator to enforce this Act and prescribes civil monetary penalties.
People & committees
Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK] · R–OK
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2780 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2780 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2780 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2780 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.