A bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to clarify that uncertified States and Indian tribes have the authority to use certain payments for certain noncoal reclamation projects and acid mine remediation programs.
Key claim: States and tribes that have not finished coal-mine cleanup could use leftover federal abandoned-mine funds on acid mine drainage treatment and on reclaiming and sealing noncoal mines, not just coal mines.
Abstract
(S222 · 113th Congress) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, with respect to the allocation of surface mining reclamation funds to states and Indian tribes, to authorize uncertified states and Indian tribes to use certain unexpended and unappropriated balance amounts for: (1) acid mine drainage abatement and treatment, and (2) noncoal abandoned mine land reclamation. Modifies limitations placed upon the allocation of such surface mining reclamation funds to provide for payments for filling voids and sealing tunnels and entryways of noncoal mines as well as coal mines. (“Uncertified states and Indian tribes” are those which have not certified completion of their abandoned coal mine reclamation work to the Secretary of the Interior.) Latest action (2013-04-22): Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 51.
Why this matters
SMCRA’s Abandoned Mine Land fund is the main federal pot for cleaning up pre-1977 mine hazards, and ‘uncertified’ states are those that still have unfinished coal work. Broadening what leftover money can pay for would let states and tribes treat acid mine drainage and seal noncoal mines that currently fall outside the fund’s core use, shifting where reclamation dollars land without changing the fee that generates them.