II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 738 

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

provide funds to States and Indian tribes for the purpose of promoting 

economic revitalization, diversification, and development in economically 

distressed communities through the reclamation and restoration of land 

and water resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out before 

August 3, 1977, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27, 2017 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CASEY, and Mr. 

WARNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 

of 1977 to provide funds to States and Indian tribes 

for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization, diversification, and development in economically distressed 

communities through the reclamation and restoration of 

land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out before August 3, 1977, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Revitalizing the Econ3 omy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities 

4 and Investing More Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘RECLAIM Act 

5 of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION FOR COAL COUNTRY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Surface Mining 

8 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 

9 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 416. ABANDONED MINE LAND ECONOMIC REVITAL11 IZATION. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF COMMITTED.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘committed’ 

14 means that a State or Indian tribe receiving funds 

15 under this section has executed a project agreement 

16 with an applicant for the funds. 

17 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION.—The term ‘committed’ in18 cludes, with respect to a project agreement, any 

19 amount used for project planning under subsection 

20 (g). 

21 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—Of the amounts deposited in 

22 the fund under section 401(b) before October 1, 2007, and 

23 not otherwise appropriated, $200,000,000 shall be avail24 able to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for 

25 each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022 for distribution 

26 to States and Indian tribes in accordance with this section 


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1 for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization, di2 versification, and development in economically distressed 

3 communities through the reclamation and restoration of 

4 land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining 

5 carried out before August 3, 1977. 

6 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds distributed to a State 

7 or Indian tribe under subsection (d) shall be used only 

8 for those projects that meet the following criteria: 

9 ‘‘(1) RELATED TO THE RECLAMATION OF ABAN10 DONED MINE LAND AND WATERS.—The project is 

11 designed— 

12 ‘‘(A) to achieve one or more of the prior13 ities stated in section 403(a); or 

14 ‘‘(B) to be conducted on land adjacent to 

15 eligible land and waters described in section 

16 403(a) that has previously been remediated or 

17 will be remediated under this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE ECONOMIC OR

19 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project is reason21 ably likely to create favorable conditions, as 

22 demonstrated in accordance with subparagraph 

23 (B), for the economic development of the 

24 project site or promote the general welfare 


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1 through economic and community development 

2 of the area in which the project is conducted. 

3 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CONDITIONS.— 

4 The conditions referred to in subparagraph (A) 

5 may be demonstrated by any documentation— 

6 ‘‘(i) of the role of the project in the 

7 economic development strategy or other 

8 economic and community development 

9 planning process of the applicable area; 

10 ‘‘(ii) of the planned economic and 

11 community use of the project site after the 

12 primary reclamation activities are com13 pleted, which may include contracts, agree14 ments in principle, or other evidence that, 

15 once reclaimed, the site is reasonably an16 ticipated to be used for one or more indus17 trial, commercial, residential, agricultural, 

18 or recreational purposes; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) agreed to by the State or Indian 

20 tribe that demonstrates the project will 

21 meet the criteria set forth in this sub22 section. 

23 ‘‘(3) LOCATION IN COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY

24 RECENT DECLINE IN MINING.—The project will be 

25 conducted in a community— 


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1 ‘‘(A) that has been adversely affected eco2 nomically by a reduction in coal mining-related 

3 activity over the preceding 5 years, as dem4 onstrated by employment data, per capita in5 come, or other indicators of reduced economic 

6 activity attributable to the reduction; or 

7 ‘‘(B)(i) that has traditionally relied on coal 

8 mining for a substantial portion of the economy 

9 of the community; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in which the economic contribution of 

11 coal mining has significantly declined. 

12 ‘‘(4) STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION.—The 

13 project has been— 

14 ‘‘(A) the subject of project planning under 

15 subsection (g); and 

16 ‘‘(B) the focus of collaboration, including 

17 partnerships, as appropriate, with interested 

18 persons or local organizations. 

19 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—The project has 

20 been proposed and will be executed by entities of 

21 State, local, county, or tribal government, which may 

22 include subcontracting project-related activities, as 

23 appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) UNCERTIFIED STATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made 

2 available under subsection (b), the Secretary 

3 shall distribute $195,000,000 for each of fiscal 

4 years 2018 through 2022 to States and Indian 

5 tribes that have a State program approved 

6 under section 405 or are referred to in section 

7 402(g)(8)(B), and have not made a certification 

8 under section 411(a) in which the Secretary has 

9 concurred, as follows: 

10 ‘‘(i) FISCAL YEARS 2018 AND 2019.— 

11 For each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019, 

12 the Secretary shall allocate to each State 

13 and Indian tribe the funds through a for14 mula based on the quantity of coal histori15 cally produced in each State or from the 

16 land of each Indian tribe before August 3, 

17 1977. 

18 ‘‘(ii) FISCAL YEARS 2020 THROUGH

19 2022.—For each of fiscal years 2020 

20 through 2022, the Secretary shall allocate 

21 to each State and Indian tribe— 

22 ‘‘(I) the amount allocated to the 

23 State or Indian tribe for fiscal year 

24 2018, plus any amount reallocated to 

25 the State or Indian tribe under this 


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1 paragraph, if the State or Indian tribe 

2 has committed the full amount of the 

3 allocation of the State or Indian tribe 

4 for the preceding fiscal year to eligible 

5 projects; or 

6 ‘‘(II) if the State or Indian tribe 

7 has not committed the full amount of 

8 the allocation of the State or Indian 

9 tribe for the preceding fiscal year to 

10 eligible projects, an amount equal to 

11 the lesser of— 

12 ‘‘(aa) the amount the State 

13 or Indian tribe has committed to 

14 eligible projects from the alloca15 tion of the State or Indian tribe 

16 for the preceding fiscal year; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) the amount allocated 

18 to the State or Indian tribe for 

19 fiscal year 2018. 

20 ‘‘(iii) FISCAL YEAR 2023.—For fiscal 

21 year 2023, the Secretary shall allocate to 

22 each State and Indian tribe the amount re23 allocated to the State or Indian tribe under 

24 subparagraph (B), if the State or Indian 

25 tribe has committed the full amount of the 


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1 allocation of the State or Indian tribe for 

2 fiscal year 2022 to eligible projects. 

3 ‘‘(B) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED

4 FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) FISCAL YEAR 2020 THROUGH

6 2022.—For each of fiscal years 2020 

7 through 2022, the Secretary shall reallo8 cate in accordance with clause (iii) any 

9 amount available for distribution under 

10 this subsection that has not been com11 mitted to eligible projects in the preceding 

12 2 fiscal years, among the States and In13 dian tribes that have committed to eligible 

14 projects the full amount of the annual allo15 cation of the State or Indian tribe for the 

16 preceding fiscal year as described in clause 

17 (iii). 

18 ‘‘(ii) FISCAL YEAR 2023.—For fiscal 

19 year 2023, the Secretary shall reallocate in 

20 accordance with clause (iii) any amount 

21 available for distribution under this sub22 section that has not been committed to eli23 gible projects or distributed under sub24 paragraph (A)(iii), among the States and 

25 Indian tribes that have committed to eligiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Mar 29, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S738.IS S738

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1 ble projects the full amount of the annual 

2 allocation of the State or Indian tribe for 

3 fiscal year 2022. 

4 ‘‘(iii) AMOUNT OF REALLOCATION.— 

5 The amount reallocated to each State and 

6 Indian tribe under each of clauses (i) and 

7 (ii) shall be determined by the Secretary to 

8 reflect, to the extent practicable— 

9 ‘‘(I) the proportion of unre10 claimed eligible land and waters the 

11 State or Indian tribe has in the inven12 tory maintained under section 403(c); 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) the proportion of coal min15 ing employment loss incurred in the 

16 State or Indian land, respectively, as 

17 determined by the Mine Safety and 

18 Health Administration, over the 5- 

19 year period preceding the fiscal year 

20 for which the reallocation is made. 

21 ‘‘(C) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds dis22 tributed under this subsection— 

23 ‘‘(i) shall be in addition to, and shall 

24 not affect, the amount of funds distributed 


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1 to States and Indian tribes under section 

2 401(f); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) shall not reduce any funds dis4 tributed to a State or Indian tribe by rea5 son of the application of section 402(g)(8). 

6 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CERTAIN

7 STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—Of the amount made 

9 available under subsection (b), the Secretary 

10 shall distribute $5,000,000 for each of the 5 

11 fiscal years beginning in fiscal year 2018 to 

12 States and Indian tribes that— 

13 ‘‘(i) have a State program approved 

14 under section 405; and 

15 ‘‘(ii)(I) have made a certification 

16 under section 411(a) in which the Sec17 retary has concurred; or 

18 ‘‘(II) receive an allocation by reason 

19 of the application of section 402(g)(8)(A). 

20 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Using the process 

22 described in section 405(f), any State or 

23 Indian tribe described in subparagraph (A) 

24 may submit a grant application to the Sec25 retary for funds under this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

2 review each grant application to confirm 

3 that the projects identified in the applica4 tion for funding are eligible under sub5 section (c). 

6 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 

7 amount of funds distributed to each State and 

8 Indian tribe under this paragraph shall be de9 termined by the Secretary based on the dem10 onstrated need for the funding to accomplish 

11 the purposes of this section. 

12 ‘‘(e) RESOLUTION OF CONCERNS OF SECRETARY; 

13 CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary does 

14 not agree with a State or Indian tribe that a proposed 

15 project meets the criteria set forth in subsection (c)— 

16 ‘‘(1) the Secretary and the State or Indian tribe 

17 shall meet and confer for a period of not less than 

18 30 days to resolve the concerns of the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(2) during that period, the Secretary may con20 sult with any appropriate Federal agency, such as 

21 the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Eco22 nomic Development Administration, and the Bureau 

23 of Indian Affairs, to assist with the resolution of the 

24 concerns; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) at the end of that period, if the concerns 

2 of the Secretary are not resolved the Secretary shall 

3 provide to Congress an explanation of the concerns. 

4 ‘‘(f) ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 

6 State or Indian tribe that receives funds under this 

7 section may retain such portion of the funds as is 

8 necessary to supplement the acid mine drainage 

9 abatement and treatment fund of the State or In10 dian tribe established under section 402(g)(6)(A), 

11 for future operation and maintenance costs for the 

12 treatment of acid mine drainage associated with the 

13 individual projects funded under this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A State or Indian tribe 

15 shall specify the total funds allotted for costs de16 scribed in paragraph (1) in the application of the 

17 State or Indian tribe submitted under subsection 

18 (d)(2)(B). 

19 ‘‘(3) CONDITION.—A State or Indian tribe may 

20 retain and use funds under this subsection only if 

21 the State or Indian tribe demonstrates that the an22 nual grant distributed to the State or Indian tribe 

23 pursuant to section 401(f), including any interest 

24 from the acid mine drainage abatement and treat25 ment fund of the State or Indian tribe that is not 


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1 used for the operation or maintenance of preexisting 

2 acid mine drainage treatment systems, is insufficient 

3 to fund the operation and maintenance of any acid 

4 mine drainage treatment system associated with an 

5 individual project funded under this section. 

6 ‘‘(g) PROJECT PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian 

9 tribe may use up to 10 percent of the amounts 

10 distributed to the State or Indian tribe under 

11 this section for project planning and the costs 

12 of administering this section. 

13 ‘‘(B) PLANNING REQUIREMENTS.—Plan14 ning under this paragraph may include— 

15 ‘‘(i) identification of eligible projects; 

16 ‘‘(ii) updating the inventory referred 

17 to in section 403(c); 

18 ‘‘(iii) developing project designs; 

19 ‘‘(iv) preparing cost estimates; or 

20 ‘‘(v) engaging in other similar activi21 ties necessary to facilitate reclamation ac22 tivities under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—In addition to amounts 

24 available for distribution under subsection (b), the 

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1 tion, not more than $3,000,000 for the 5 fiscal years 

2 beginning after the date of enactment of the RE3 CLAIM Act of 2017 for staffing and other adminis4 trative expenses necessary to carry out this section. 

5 ‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Each State and Indian 

6 tribe to which funds are distributed under this section 

7 shall provide to Congress and the Secretary at the end 

8 of each fiscal year for which the funds are distributed a 

9 detailed report on— 

10 ‘‘(1) the various projects that have been under11 taken with the funds; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the community and economic benefits that 

13 are resulting, or are expected to result, from the use 

14 of the funds.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

16 in the first section of the Surface Mining Control and Rec17 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. prec. 1201) is amended 

18 by adding at the end of the items relating to title IV the 

19 following: 

‘‘Sec. 415. Remaining incentives. 

‘‘Sec. 416. Abandoned mine land economic revitalization.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

21 (a) ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND AND

22 PURPOSES.—Section 401(c) of the Surface Mining Con23 trol and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231) is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (c)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

3 at the end; 

4 (B) by redesignating paragraph (11) as 

5 paragraph (12); and 

6 (C) by inserting after paragraph (10) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(11) to implement section 416; and’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (d)(3), by inserting ‘‘and sec10 tion 416(b)’’ before the period at the end. 

11 (b) RECLAMATION FEE.—Section 402(g) of the Sur12 face Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 

13 U.S.C. 1232(g)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

15 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and section 416’’ 

16 after ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(F) For the purpose of section 

20 416(b)(2)(A).’’. 

21 (c) OBJECTIVES OF FUND.—Section 403(c) of the 

22 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 

23 U.S.C. 1233(c)) is amended— 

24 (1) in the first sentence— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘For’’ and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For’’; 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘any of’’ after ‘‘which 

5 meet’’; and 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2) 

7 of’’; 

8 (2) in the second sentence— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘Under’’ and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(2) AMENDMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under’’; and 

13 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

14 (as so designated) the following: 

15 ‘‘(B) ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES.—As 

16 practicable, States and Indian tribes shall offer 

17 amendments described in subparagraph (A) 

18 based on the use of remote sensing, global posi19 tioning systems, and other advanced tech20 nologies.’’; 

21 (3) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall provide’’ 

22 and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall pro24 vide’’; 


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1 (4) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall compile’’ 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) INVENTORY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 compile’’; 

6 (5) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘On’’ and 

7 inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(B) PROJECTS.—On’’; and 

9 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) UPDATES.—The Secretary may per11 form any work necessary to amend any entry in 

12 the inventory that has not been updated by a 

13 State or Indian tribe within the preceding 3 

14 years to ensure that the entry is up-to-date and 

15 accurate.’’. 

Æ 


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