Although Trout Unlimited is not an owner of the land— it belongs to Snowbird Ski Resort— the order allowed Trout Unlimited to step in and clean the mine. Trout Unlimited's liability will end when the EPA deems the project, as proposed by Trout Unlimited, complete.

The EPA has proposed a Good Samaritan Clean Watershed Act to Congress that would allow future entities to clean areas without the long-term liability, and without the years of negotiations that it took Trout Unlimited.

In the meantime, other environmental groups may use the same loophole that Trout Unlimited did.

The Pacific Mine is one of many that produced gold during a rush during the 1870s. Tiffany and Co., which may have obtained gold from the Pacific Mine at one time, is funding the project to reclaim the mine. Work on the project will cost some $450,000.

"I think the jewelry industry, the mining industry and the retail industry have a collective responsibility to help deal with the legacy of their operations," said Michael Kowalski, CEO of Tiffany and Co. "I think our customers simply expect us to behave responsibly."

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