Can a mining company be a Good Samaritan under EPAs administrative CERCLA tools?
A mining company can be a Good Samaritan as long as it meets the definition of “Good Samaritan.” Accordingly, a mining company can be a Good Samaritan under the administrative CERCLA tools if it a Person who is rendering care, assistance, or advice in accordance with the National Contingency Plan (“NCP”) or at the direction of an on-scene coordinator, by voluntarily agreeing to clean up contamination at an Orphan Mine Site, and who: is not a past or current owner of the property, has no intention of purchasing the property in the future, is not potentially liable for the remediation of the contamination pursuant to CERCLA, and is not potentially liable under any other federal, state or local law for the remediation of the contamination.
