President Joe Biden signed the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act into law on Wednesday to clean up the Silver State’s 200,000 abandoned mines that pollute waterways and have killed explorers.

The legislation creates a pilot program under the Environmental Protection Agency that allows nonprofits, governments or landowners to clean up old mines without taking on the risk.

Utah has 17,000 abandoned mines scattered throughout the state and has been working to close them — but it is a daunting task.

A new federal law may speed up local government, tribal and nonprofit efforts to clean up abandoned mining projects threatening waters across the West. The law establishes a pilot program in the U.S.