Stand Up with TU to Advocate for Protections to Help Us Make More of an Impact
There are as many as 500,000 abandoned mines in America and 33,000 sites in the West have degraded the environment. In the Appalachia region, 13,000 miles of streams are impacted by abandoned coal mines. Approximately 110,000 miles of streams – enough to circle the Earth over four times – are listed as impaired for heavy metals or acidity. State and federal governments have spent billions cleaning up these leaking abandoned mines and there is much more work to do.
Abandoned mines are a problem – a big problem. But with a little help from Congress, they are a problem we can tackle.
Trout Unlimited’s restoration specialists are experts at fixing degraded streams and we are eager to take on leaking abandoned mines, but under Federal law, groups who have no legal responsibility or connection to an abandoned mine – true Good Samaritans – are deterred from cleaning up these messes due to the incredible liability risks.
We can solve this conundrum by passing legislation that provides bona fide Good Samaritans liability protections. You and your chapters and members can help by contacting your members of Congress and urging them to advance Good Samaritan legislation.
Please share this message – and this link – through your chapter emails, social media and in other ways to urge them to join all of us in calling for these important protections!
Take action today to help us tackle this pervasive problem.
