I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2721 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to 

reauthorize collection of reclamation fees, revise the abandoned mine 

reclamation program, promote remining, authorize the Office of Surface 

Mining to collect the black lung excise tax, and make sundry other 

changes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2005 

Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. 

PLATTS, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Ms. HART, Mr. 

KANJORSKI, Mr. SHERWOOD, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. REGULA, Mr. 

WAMP, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. FORD, Mr. GORDON, and Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 

of 1977 to reauthorize collection of reclamation fees, 

revise the abandoned mine reclamation program, promote 

remining, authorize the Office of Surface Mining to collect the black lung excise tax, and make sundry other 

changes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Abandoned Mine Rec3 lamation Program Extension and Reform Act of 2005’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE SURFACE MINING CONTROL 

5 AND RECLAMATION ACT OF 1977. 

6 The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 

7 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) is amended as follows: 

8 (1) Section 401(c) is amended by— 

9 (A) striking paragraph (2); 

10 (B) striking the word ‘‘and’’ after the first 

11 occurrence of the word ‘‘subsidence’’ in para12 graph (1) and redesignating the portion of 

13 paragraph (1) following the deleted word as 

14 paragraph (2); and 

15 (C) striking the phrase ‘‘section 402(g)(1) 

16 of this Act’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting in 

17 its place ‘‘section 402(g)(1) or section 

18 403(b)(1) of this Act’’. 

19 (2) Section 401(c)(5) is amended by inserting 

20 before the semicolon ‘‘, and other audit and collec21 tion activities under sections 402(d) and 414(b) of 

22 this Act’’. 

23 (3) Section 401(c)(6) is amended by striking 

24 everything after ‘‘Department of the Interior’’ and 

25 inserting in its place ‘‘with public and private orga26 nizations conducted for the purposes of this title of 
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1 this Act to such extent and in such amounts as are 

2 provided in appropriation Acts;’’. 

3 (4) Section 401(c)(10) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘section 411’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘section 

5 415’’. 

6 (5) Section 401(c)(12) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘section 402(h)’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘sub8 section (f) of this section’’. 

9 (6) In section 401, subsections (d) and (e) are 

10 amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF MONEYS FROM FUND.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Moneys from the fund shall 

13 be available for the purposes of this title of this Act, 

14 or for distribution under paragraph (2) of this sub15 section, only when appropriated therefor. Such ap16 propriations shall be made without fiscal year limita17 tions. 

18 ‘‘(2) DISPOSITION OF UNAPPROPRIATED STATE19 SHARE BALANCE.—This paragraph applies to the 

20 portion of the fund that was allocated to States and 

21 Indian tribes under section 402(g)(1) of this Act 

22 and that was not appropriated as of the end of the 

23 fiscal year ending September 30, 2005. 

24 ‘‘(A) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES CER25 TIFIED AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2005.—States and 
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1 Indian tribes that have been certified under sec2 tion 411 of this Act as of September 30, 2005, 

3 shall receive, subject to appropriation, the un4 appropriated balance of their allocation in an5 nual payments beginning with fiscal year 2006 

6 and ending with fiscal year 2015. 

7 ‘‘(B) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES NOT

8 CERTIFIED AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2005.—States 

9 and Indian tribes that have not been certified 

10 under section 411 of this Act as of September 

11 30, 2005, shall receive, subject to appropria12 tion, the unappropriated balance of their alloca13 tion as grants awarded in accordance with sec14 tions 403(b) and 405(h) of this Act. 

15 ‘‘(C) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES CERTI16 FYING AFTER SEPTEMBER 30, 2005.—States and 

17 Indian tribes that are certified under section 

18 411 of this Act after September 30, 2005, shall 

19 receive, subject to appropriation, the portion of 

20 their allocation under section 402(g)(1) of this 

21 Act that has not been previously disbursed to 

22 those States and tribes as grants under para23 graph (2)(B) of this subsection. Disbursement 

24 shall be made in annual payments, beginning 

25 with the fiscal year following certification and 
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1 ending with fiscal year 2015. These payments 

2 shall be made using funds appropriated for the 

3 purpose of making grants to States and Indian 

4 tribes under section 405(h). 

5 ‘‘(D) NO EXPENDITURE RESTRICTIONS.— 

6 Monies disbursed under paragraphs (2)(A) and 

7 (C) of this subsection may be expended without 

8 regard to any other provision of this Act: Pro9 vided, That, whenever a certified State or In10 dian tribe becomes aware of a coal mining-re11 lated problem within its borders, the State or 

12 tribe must first use those monies to promptly 

13 address that problem if the site is eligible for 

14 reclamation under section 404 of this Act and 

15 if the problem meets one of the priorities in 

16 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 403(a) of this 

17 Act. 

18 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF OTHER UNAPPROPRI19 ATED BALANCES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) RURAL ABANDONED MINE RECLAMA21 TION PROGRAM.—That part of the fund allo22 cated by section 402(g)(2) for the rural aban23 doned mine reclamation program under section 

24 406 of this Act that has not been appropriated 

25 as of September 30, 2005, shall be available for 
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1 appropriation for the purposes set forth in sec2 tion 403(b) of this Act. 

3 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY’S DISCRETIONARY

4 SHARE.—That part of the fund allocated by 

5 section 402(g)(3) for use by the Secretary that 

6 has not been appropriated as of September 30, 

7 2005, shall be available for appropriation for 

8 the purposes set forth in section 403(b) of this 

9 Act. 

10 ‘‘(C) HISTORIC PRODUCTION ALLOCA11 TION.—That part of the fund allocated by sec12 tion 402(g)(5) for historic production supple13 mental grants to States and Indian tribes that 

14 has not been appropriated as of September 30, 

15 2005, shall be available for appropriation for 

16 the purposes set forth in section 403(b) of this 

17 Act. 

18 ‘‘(e) INTEREST.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

19 notify the Secretary of the Treasury as to what portion 

20 of the fund is not, in his or her judgment, required to 

21 meet current withdrawals. The Secretary of the Treasury 

22 shall invest such portion of the fund in public debt securi23 ties with maturities determined by the Secretary of the 

24 Interior and suitable for the needs of the fund and achiev25 ing the purposes of the transfers under subsection (f). 
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1 Such securities shall bear interest at rates determined by 

2 the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration 

3 current market yields on outstanding marketable obliga4 tions of the United States of comparable maturities. The 

5 income on such investments shall be credited to, and form 

6 a part of, the fund.’’. 

7 (7) In section 401, insert a new subsection (f) 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘(f) TRANSFERS TO COMBINED BENEFIT FUND.— 

10 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

11 law, at the beginning of each fiscal year, the Sec12 retary shall transfer from the fund to the United 

13 Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund 

14 (referred to as the ‘Combined Fund’ in this title of 

15 this Act), as established under section 9702 of the 

16 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9702), 

17 an amount equal to the amount of expenditures that 

18 the trustees of the Combined Fund estimate will be 

19 debited against the unassigned beneficiaries pre20 mium account under section 9704(e) of the Internal 

21 Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9704(e)) for the 

22 fiscal year of the Combined Fund in which the 

23 transfer is made: Provided, That the amount trans24 ferred shall not exceed the amount available under 

25 paragraph (2) of this subsection. 
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1 ‘‘(2) In making the transfers, the Secretary 

2 shall first use the interest that has been earned by 

3 and paid to the fund during the preceding year, fol4 lowed by any interest earned in prior years and not 

5 previously transferred. 

6 ‘‘(3) If, for any fiscal year, the amount trans7 ferred is more or less than the actual expenditures 

8 for the unassigned beneficiaries premium account in 

9 that year, the Secretary shall appropriately adjust 

10 the amount transferred for the next fiscal year.’’. 

11 (8) Section 402(b) is amended by— 

12 (A) striking ‘‘Such fee’’ and inserting in 

13 its place ‘‘Reclamation fees’’; and 

14 (B) striking ‘‘2005’’ and all that follows 

15 and inserting in its place ‘‘2019’’. 

16 (9) Section 402(c) is amended to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION OF QUARTERLY REPORTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) All operators of surface coal mining oper20 ations shall submit a report no later than 30 days 

21 after the end of each calendar quarter. The report 

22 shall include— 

23 ‘‘(A) a statement of the amount of coal 

24 produced during the calendar quarter, the 

25 method of coal removal and the type of coal; 
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1 ‘‘(B) an identification of the permittee and 

2 the operator of the surface coal mining oper3 ation, the owner of the coal, the preparation 

4 plant or tipple receiving the coal or the loading 

5 point for the coal, and the person purchasing 

6 the coal from the operator or permittee; 

7 ‘‘(C) the number of the permit required 

8 under section 506 of this Act; and 

9 ‘‘(D) the identification number issued by 

10 the Mine Safety and Health Administration for 

11 the operation. 

12 ‘‘(2) Each quarterly report shall contain a noti13 fication of any changes in the information required 

14 by paragraph (1) of this subsection since the date of 

15 the preceding quarterly report. 

16 ‘‘(3) The operator must certify, under penalty 

17 of perjury, that the information in each report is 

18 true, correct, and complete. Any person, corporate 

19 officer, agent or director who, on behalf of a coal 

20 mine operator, knowingly makes any false statement, 

21 representation or certification or knowingly fails to 

22 make any statement, representation or certification 

23 required in this section shall, upon conviction, be 

24 punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by 

25 imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both. 
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1 ‘‘(4) The information contained in the quarterly 

2 reports submitted under this subsection shall be 

3 maintained by the Secretary in a computerized data4 base.’’. 

5 (10) Section 402(d) is amended by— 

6 (A) striking the word ‘‘PENALTY’’ from the 

7 title and inserting in its place the word ‘‘AU8 DITS’’ ; 

9 (B) striking paragraph (1); 

10 (C) redesignating paragraph (2) as para11 graph (1); and 

12 (D) inserting paragraph (2) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(2) The Secretary is authorized to audit com15 pliance with the excise tax payment requirements of 

16 section 4121 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

17 (26 U.S.C. 4121) when conducting audits under this 

18 subsection.’’. 

19 (11) Section 402(f) is amended to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(f) COOPERATION FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—All 

22 Federal and State agencies shall fully cooperate with the 

23 Secretary of the Interior in the enforcement of this sec24 tion. Whenever the Secretary of the Interior believes that 

25 any person has not paid the full amount of the fee payable 
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1 under section 402(a) of this Act or the excise tax payable 

2 under section 4121 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

3 (26 U.S.C. 4121), he or she shall notify the Federal agen4 cy responsible for enforcing the provisions of section 4121 

5 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 4121).’’. 

6 (12) Section 402(g) is amended by— 

7 (A) amending the subsection heading to 

8 read ‘‘ALLOCATION OF FEE RECEIPTS AND

9 OTHER MONIES PRIOR TO OCTOBER 1, 

10 2005.—’’; 

11 (B) in paragraph (1), striking ‘‘Except as 

12 provided in subsection (h)’’ and inserting in its 

13 place ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this 

14 Act’’; 

15 (C) amending paragraphs (1)(A)(ii) and 

16 (1)(B)(ii) to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(ii) Lands and waters which are eli18 gible pursuant to section 404 (in the case 

19 of a State not certified under section 411). 

20 In the case of a State certified under sec21 tion 411, eligible lands and waters shall be 

22 those which were mined or processed for 

23 minerals or which were affected by such 

24 mining or processing, and abandoned or 

25 left in an inadequate reclamation status 
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1 prior to August 3, 1977; and for which 

2 there is no continuing reclamation respon3 sibility under State or other Federal 

4 laws.’’; 

5 (D) striking ‘‘section 401(c)(2)’’ at the end 

6 of paragraph (2) and inserting in its place ‘‘for 

7 the purposes of section 406’’; 

8 (E) striking everything in paragraph (4) 

9 after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ in subparagraph (B) 

10 and inserting in its place ‘‘if the requirements 

11 of section 404(b) are met.’’; 

12 (F) striking paragraph (5) in its entirety 

13 and inserting in its place ‘‘This subsection ap14 plies only to fees and other monies payable to 

15 the fund as of the expiration of September 30, 

16 2005, and to monies appropriated from the 

17 fund as of that date. Sections 401(d) and 

18 403(b) of this Act govern allocations and dis19 bursements after that date.’’; 

20 (G) striking paragraphs (6) through (8) in 

21 their entirety; and 

22 (H) striking subsection (h) in its entirety. 

23 (13) Section 403 is amended by— 

24 (A) amending the title to read ‘‘FUND 

25 OBJECTIVES AND EXPENDITURES.’’; 
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1 (B) striking the phrase ‘‘except as pro2 vided for under section 411’’ in subsection (a) 

3 and inserting in its place ‘‘except as otherwise 

4 provided in this section, section 401(c), or sec5 tion 411’’; 

6 (C) striking the period at the end of sub7 section (a)(3) and inserting a semicolon in its 

8 place; 

9 (D) amending subsection (b) to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS AFTER SEPTEMBER 30, 

12 2005.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES AND TRIBES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) At the beginning of each fiscal year 

15 beginning after September 30, 2005, or as soon 

16 thereafter as practicable, the Secretary shall al17 locate the monies appropriated from the fund 

18 for that year for grants to States and Indian 

19 tribes under section 405(h) of this Act. An allo20 cation shall be made to each State and tribe 

21 that is eligible to receive a payment under sec22 tion 401(d)(2)(C) of this Act and to each State 

23 and tribe that— 

24 ‘‘(i) has an approved abandoned mine 

25 reclamation program under section 405 of 
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1 this Act that is not subject to the prohibi2 tion in paragraph (c) of that section; 

3 ‘‘(ii) is not certified under section 411 

4 of this Act; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) has within its jurisdiction 

6 unreclaimed lands or waters that are eligi7 ble pursuant to section 404 and that meet 

8 one of the priorities stated in paragraphs 

9 (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this sec10 tion: Provided, That, when all States and 

11 Indian tribes have completed or provided 

12 for completion of reclamation of all lands 

13 and waters meeting the priorities in para14 graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this 

15 section, this criterion will no longer apply. 

16 ‘‘(B) In making these allocations, the Sec17 retary shall use a formula based on historical 

18 coal production prior to August 3, 1977, in 

19 those States and tribes: Provided, That— 

20 ‘‘(i) donations received under section 

21 401(b)(3) shall be allocated in accordance 

22 with any stipulations by the donor; 

23 ‘‘(ii) no State or Indian tribe shall re24 ceive an allocation of less than $3,000,000 

25 under this paragraph; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) Tennessee shall receive an allo2 cation of not less than $3,000,000; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) no State or Indian tribe shall re4 ceive an allocation of more than 25 percent 

5 of the total monies appropriated for grants 

6 under section 405(h): Provided further, 

7 That this restriction shall expire when 

8 fewer than eight States are eligible to re9 ceive an allocation under paragraph (1) of 

10 this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(C) The amount dedicated by section 

12 401(d)(2)(B) of this Act to each State or In13 dian tribe that is not certified under section 

14 411 of this Act shall be reduced by the amount 

15 allocated to that State or tribe under this para16 graph. 

17 ‘‘(D) Amounts allocated to States and In18 dian tribes under this paragraph may be used 

19 to fund projects that protect, repair, replace, 

20 construct, or enhance facilities relating to water 

21 supply, including water distribution facilities 

22 and treatment plants, to replace water supplies 

23 adversely affected by coal mining practices. In 

24 making funding decisions on these projects, the 

25 State or tribe need not consider the priorities in 
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1 subsection (a) of this section. If the adverse ef2 fect on water supplies occurred both prior to 

3 and after August 3, 1977 (or other applicable 

4 date under section 404), section 404 shall not 

5 be construed to prohibit a State or Indian tribe 

6 from using funds under this paragraph if the 

7 State or Indian tribe determines that such ad8 verse effects occurred predominantly prior to 

9 August 3, 1977 (or other applicable date under 

10 section 404). 

11 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL EXPENDITURES.—To the extent 

12 authorized by annual appropriations, the Secretary 

13 may expend monies from the fund for any of the fol14 lowing purposes— 

15 ‘‘(A) providing assistance to small opera16 tors under section 507(c) of this Act, either di17 rectly or through grants to the States, subject 

18 to the limitation contained in section 401(c)(11) 

19 of this Act; 

20 ‘‘(B) conducting emergency reclamation 

21 activities and projects under section 410 of this 

22 Act, either directly or through grants to the 

23 States and Indian tribes; 

24 ‘‘(C) meeting the objectives of the fund set 

25 forth in paragraph (a) of this section for eligi-
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1 ble lands and waters pursuant to section 404 of 

2 this Act in States and on Indian lands where 

3 the State or Indian tribe does not have an ap4 proved abandoned mine reclamation program 

5 pursuant to section 405 of this Act; 

6 ‘‘(D) the administration of this title of this 

7 Act by the Secretary; 

8 ‘‘(E) making supplemental grants to 

9 States and Indian tribes for the purposes of 

10 this title of this Act; 

11 ‘‘(F) implementation of section 401(c)(6) 

12 of this Act; and 

13 ‘‘(G) conducting other activities consistent 

14 with this title of this Act.’’; 

15 (E) in subsection (c), redesignating the 

16 first sentence as paragraph (1), the second and 

17 third sentences as paragraph (2), the fourth 

18 sentence as paragraph (3), and the last sen19 tence as paragraph (4); and 

20 (F) striking ‘‘section 411(a)’’ in paragraph 

21 (c)(1) and inserting in its place ‘‘section 411’’. 

22 (14) Section 404 is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 404. ELIGIBLE LANDS AND WATERS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) Lands and waters eligible for reclamation 

2 or drainage abatement expenditures under this title 

3 of this Act are those which were mined for coal, or 

4 which were affected by such mining, waste banks, 

5 coal processing, or other coal mining processes, and 

6 abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation sta7 tus prior to August 3, 1977, and for which there is 

8 no continuing reclamation responsibility under State 

9 or other Federal laws. For other provisions relating 

10 to lands and waters eligible for such expenditures, 

11 see subsections (b) and (c) of this section and sec12 tions 402(g)(1), 403(b)(1), and 409 of this Act. 

13 ‘‘(2) Surface coal mining operations on lands el14 igible for remining shall not affect the eligibility of 

15 such lands for reclamation and restoration under 

16 this title of this Act after the release of the bond or 

17 deposit for any such operation as provided under 

18 section 519 of this Act. In the event the bond or de19 posit for a surface coal mining operation on lands el20 igible for remining is forfeited, funds available under 

21 this title of this Act may be used if the amount of 

22 such bond or deposit is not sufficient to provide for 

23 adequate reclamation or abatement. If conditions 

24 warrant, the Secretary, State, or Indian tribe shall 
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1 immediately exercise the appropriate authority under 

2 section 410 of this Act. 

3 ‘‘(b) INITIAL PROGRAM SITES AND BOND FOR4 FEITURE SITES WITH INSOLVENT SURETIES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) Sites of surface coal mining operations 

6 conducted after August 3, 1977, and lands and wa7 ters affected by such operations are also eligible for 

8 reclamation or drainage abatement expenditures 

9 under this title of this Act if they were left in an in10 adequate reclamation status and if the Secretary or 

11 the State, with the concurrence of the Secretary, 

12 makes either of the following findings: 

13 ‘‘(A) A finding that the surface coal min14 ing operation occurred during the period begin15 ning on August 3, 1977, and ending on or be16 fore the effective date of the State regulatory 

17 program approved by the Secretary pursuant to 

18 section 503 of this Act for the State in which 

19 the site is located, and that any funds for rec20 lamation or abatement which are available pur21 suant to a bond or other form of financial guar22 antee or from any other source are not suffi23 cient to provide for adequate reclamation or 

24 abatement at the site. 
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1 ‘‘(B) A finding that the surface coal min2 ing operation occurred during the period begin3 ning on August 3, 1977, and ending on or be4 fore November 5, 1990, and that the surety for 

5 the mining operation became insolvent during 

6 that period, and, as of November 5, 1990, 

7 funds immediately available from proceedings 

8 relating to that insolvency, or from any finan9 cial guarantee or other source, are not suffi10 cient to provide for adequate reclamation or 

11 abatement at the site. 

12 ‘‘(2) All sites referred to in paragraph (1) with13 in any State shall be reclaimed before the State or 

14 the Secretary may make the certification referred to 

15 in section 411 of this Act. 

16 ‘‘(3) Amounts collected from assessment of civil 

17 penalties under section 518 of this Act are author18 ized to be appropriated for the purposes of this sub19 section.’’. 

20 (15) Section 405 is amended by— 

21 (A) in subsection (d), striking ‘‘sections 

22 402 and 410’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘sec23 tions 402, 414, and 415’’; 
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1 (B) in subsection (f), striking paragraph 

2 (5) in its entirety and redesignating paragraphs 

3 (6) and (7) as paragraphs (5) and (6); 

4 (C) in subsection (f)(6), striking the colon 

5 after ‘‘grant’’ and inserting ‘‘and’’ before 

6 ‘‘type’’; 

7 (D) in subsection (g), striking the colon 

8 after ‘‘include’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (f) 

9 of’’ before ‘‘this section’’; and 

10 (E) amending subsection (h) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(h) GRANT OF FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon approval of the State 

14 Reclamation Plan under this section and of the sur15 face coal mining regulatory program pursuant to 

16 section 503 of this Act, the Secretary shall grant, on 

17 an annual basis, funds to the State to implement the 

18 State reclamation program as approved by the Sec19 retary. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION PROCESSING DEADLINE.— 

21 Within 60 days of receipt of a complete abandoned 

22 mine reclamation fund grant application from any 

23 eligible State, the Secretary shall grant to that State 

24 any and all funds available for such purposes in the 

25 applicable appropriations Act. 
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1 ‘‘(3) DISPOSITION OF UNEXPENDED FUNDS.— 

2 Except as provided in paragraph (5), any funds not 

3 expended within 3 years after the date of any grant 

4 award shall be available for reallocation or expendi5 ture by the Secretary for any purpose under section 

6 403(b) of this Act. 

7 ‘‘(4) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—In awarding grants 

8 to States and Indian tribes that were not certified 

9 under section 411 as of September 30, 2005, the 

10 Secretary shall exhaust the funds dedicated to those 

11 States and tribes in section 401(d)(2)(B) before 

12 awarding any funds allocated to those States and 

13 tribes under section 403(b)(1). 

14 ‘‘(5) STATE SET-ASIDE.—Any State with an 

15 abandoned mine reclamation program approved 

16 under subsection (d) may retain, without regard to 

17 the 3-year limitation referred to in paragraph (3), 

18 up to 10 percent of the total amount of the grants 

19 awarded annually to the State under paragraph (1), 

20 excluding grants made under the authority of section 

21 403(b)(2), if those amounts are deposited into either 

22 of the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) A special trust fund established under 

24 State law that may earn interest and from 

25 which the State may make expenditures solely 
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1 to achieve the priorities stated in section 403(a) 

2 after the State is no longer eligible to receive an 

3 allocation under section 403(b)(1) of this Act. 

4 ‘‘(B) An acid mine drainage abatement 

5 and treatment fund established under State law 

6 and from which the State may make expendi7 tures solely for abatement of the causes of acid 

8 mine drainage and treatment of the effects of 

9 that drainage in a comprehensive manner with10 in qualified hydrologic units affected by coal 

11 mining practices. Any interest earned by this 

12 fund shall be expended for the purposes of this 

13 paragraph. 

14 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘qualified 

15 hydrologic unit’ means a hydrologic unit in which 

16 water quality has been significantly affected by acid 

17 mine drainage from coal mining practices in a man18 ner that adversely impacts biological resources and 

19 which contains lands and waters that— 

20 ‘‘(i) meet the eligibility requirements of 

21 section 404 and at least one of the priorities in 

22 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 403(a); 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) either are or are proposed to be the 

25 subject of expenditures by the State from bond 
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1 forfeiture proceeds under section 509 of this 

2 Act, or from other State sources, to abate or 

3 treat acid mine drainage. 

4 ‘‘(6) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—In awarding 

5 grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall give 

6 priority consideration to a State that receives an al7 location under section 403(b) that is determined 

8 under clause (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (2) of that sec9 tion.’’. 

10 (16) Section 406 is amended by— 

11 (A) striking the word ‘‘Soil’’ wherever it 

12 appears in subsection (h) and inserting in its 

13 place the words ‘‘Natural Resources’’; and 

14 (B) adding the following new subsection at 

15 the end: 

16 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri18 culture, from the general fund of the Treasury, such sums 

19 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 

20 section.’’. 

21 (17) In section 408(a), the last sentence is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘, in accordance with this sub23 section, who owned the surface prior to May 2, 

24 1977, and’’. 

25 (18) Section 409 is amended— 
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1 (A) in the second sentence of subsection 

2 (a), by striking the second ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘gov3 erning body’’; 

4 (B) in the last sentence of subsection (a), 

5 by striking ‘‘State regulatory authorities’’ and 

6 inserting in its place ‘‘States and Indian 

7 tribes’’; 

8 (C) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘section 

9 403(b)(1)’’ before ‘‘the provisions’’; and 

10 (D) in subsection (c)(3), by striking 

11 ‘‘which have made the certification referred to 

12 in section 411(a)’’ and inserting in its place 

13 ‘‘that have been certified under section 411 of 

14 this Act’’. 

15 (19) Section 410 is amended by— 

16 (A) inserting the title ‘‘IN GENERAL.—’’ at 

17 the beginning of subsection (a); 

18 (B) inserting the title ‘‘RIGHT OF

19 ENTRY.—’’ at the beginning of subsection (b); 

20 and 

21 (C) inserting a new subsection (c) to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘(c) STATE ASSUMPTION OF EMERGENCY RECLAMA24 TION PROGRAM.—The Secretary may propose, and, after 

25 opportunity for public comment, adopt, regulations to re-
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1 quire that States assume responsibility for administering 

2 the emergency reclamation program under this section to 

3 remain eligible to receive grants under section 405(h) of 

4 this Act. The regulations must establish procedures for 

5 that assumption, including, at a minimum, a requirement 

6 that States revise their abandoned mine reclamation plans 

7 approved under section 405 of this Act to include provi8 sions that— 

9 ‘‘(1) authorize the State to make the findings 

10 required under subsection (a) of this section; and 

11 ‘‘(2) enable the State to conduct emergency rec12 lamation activities consistent with subsection (b) of 

13 this section.’’. 

14 (20) Section 411 is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 411. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLETION OF COAL REC16 LAMATION. 

17 ‘‘(a) The Governor of a State, or the head of a gov18 erning body of an Indian tribe, with an approved aban19 doned mine reclamation program under section 405, may 

20 certify to the Secretary that reclamation of all eligible 

21 lands and waters under section 404 with the priorities 

22 stated in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 403(a) 

23 has been achieved. The Secretary, after notice in the Fed24 eral Register and opportunity for public comment, shall 
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1 concur with such certification if the Secretary determines 

2 that such certification is correct. 

3 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may make the certification re4 ferred to in subsection (a) on behalf of any State or Indian 

5 tribe if, on the basis of the inventory referred to in section 

6 403(c), all reclamation projects relating to the priorities 

7 set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 403(a) 

8 for eligible lands and waters under section 404 in such 

9 State or tribe have been completed. The Secretary shall 

10 only make such certification after notice in the Federal 

11 Register and opportunity for public comment.’’. 

12 (21) Section 413(d) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘(33 U.S.C.A. 1151, et seq. as amended)’’ and in14 serting in its place ‘‘(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.)’’. 

15 (22) Section 413(e) is amended by striking the 

16 comma after the word ‘‘agencies’’. 

17 (23) Section 414 is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 414. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—All departments, boards, com20 missioners, and agencies of the United States of America 

21 shall cooperate with the Secretary by providing technical 

22 expertise, personnel, equipment, materials, and supplies to 

23 implement and administer the provisions of this title of 

24 this Act. 
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1 ‘‘(b) EXCISE TAX COLLECTION.—Notwithstanding 

2 any provision of law to the contrary, the Secretary is au3 thorized to collect the excise tax imposed by section 4121 

4 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 4121). 

5 The Secretary of the Treasury shall enter into an agree6 ment with the Secretary providing for reimbursement of 

7 any additional expenses that the Office incurs in connec8 tion with collecting this tax and conducting audits related 

9 thereto.’’. 

10 (24) Section 415 is added to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 415. REMINING INCENTIVES. 

12 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act 

13 to the contrary, the Secretary may propose, and, after op14 portunity for public comment, adopt, regulations that 

15 would prescribe conditions under which the fund may be 

16 used to promote remining of eligible lands under section 

17 404 to leverage use of monies available from the fund to 

18 achieve more reclamation of those lands than would other19 wise be likely to occur. Any such regulations shall specify 

20 that these incentives will apply only in situations in which 

21 the agency administering this title of this Act determines, 

22 with the concurrence of the regulatory authority under 

23 title V of this Act, that the site is otherwise not likely 

24 to be remined and reclaimed under the applicable regu25 latory program. 
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1 ‘‘(b) Incentives that may be considered include, but 

2 are not limited to: 

3 ‘‘(1) A rebate or waiver of the reclamation fee 

4 payments required under section 402(a) of this Act. 

5 The rebate or waiver shall be limited to operations 

6 that remove or reprocess abandoned coal mine waste 

7 or that remine sites meeting the priorities in para8 graph (1) or (2) of section 403(a). The amount of 

9 the rebate or waiver shall be limited to the estimated 

10 cost of reclaiming those sites under this title of this 

11 Act. 

12 ‘‘(2) Use of the fund to provide financial assur13 ance for remining operations in lieu of all or part of 

14 the performance bond required under section 509 of 

15 this Act.’’. 

16 (25) Section 510 is amended by— 

17 (A) inserting a sentence at the end of sub18 section (c) to read as follows: ‘‘In applying the 

19 prohibitions of this subsection after October 24, 

20 1992, the regulatory authority shall not include 

21 any violation resulting from an unanticipated 

22 event or condition at a surface coal mining op23 eration on lands eligible for remining under a 

24 permit held by the person making the applica25 tion.’’; and 
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1 (B) striking subsection (e) in its entirety. 

2 (26) Section 515(b)(22)(B) is amended to read 

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘(B) the areas of disposal are within either 

5 a bonded permit area or the boundaries of an 

6 abandoned mine land reclamation project ap7 proved under title IV of this Act, and all or8 ganic matter shall be removed immediately 

9 prior to spoil placement;’’. 

10 (27) Section 701 is amended by— 

11 (A) in paragraph (33), striking ‘‘section 

12 510(e)’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘section 

13 510(c)’’; and 

14 (B) amending paragraph (34) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(34) the term ‘lands eligible for remining’ 

17 means those lands eligible for expenditures under 

18 section 404 of this Act.’’. 

Æ