I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3778

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 

FEBRUARY 4, 2004

Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. SHERWOOD) 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Abandoned Mine Rec5 lamation Program Extension and Reform Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE SURFACE MINING CONTROL 

2 AND RECLAMATION ACT OF 1977. 

3 The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 

4 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) is amended as follows: 

5 (1) Section 401(c) is amended by—

6 (A) striking paragraph (2); 

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

8 occurrence of the word ‘‘subsidence’’ in para9 graph (1) and redesignating the portion of 

10 paragraph (1) following the deleted word as 

11 paragraph (2); and 

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

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

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

15 403(b)(1) of this Act’’. 

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

17 before the semicolon ‘‘, and other audit and collec18 tion activities under sections 402(d) and 414(b) of 

19 this Act’’. 

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

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

22 inserting in its place ‘‘with public and private orga23 nizations conducted for the purposes of this title of 

24 this Act to such extent and in such amounts as are 

25 provided in appropriation Acts;’’. 
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1 (4) Section 401(c)(10) is amended by striking 

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

3 415’’. 

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

5 ‘‘section 402(h)’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘sub6 section (f) of this section’’. 

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

8 amended to read as follows: 

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

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

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

12 or for distribution under paragraph (2) of this sub13 section, only when appropriated therefor. Such ap14 propriations shall be made without fiscal year limita15 tions. 

16 ‘‘(2) DISPOSITION OF UNAPPROPRIATED STATE17 SHARE BALANCE.—This paragraph applies to the 

18 portion of the fund that was allocated to States and 

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

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

21 fiscal year ending September 30, 2004. 

22 ‘‘(A) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES CER23 TIFIED AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2004.—States and 

24 Indian tribes that have been certified under sec25 tion 411 of this Act as of September 30, 2004, 
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1 shall receive, subject to appropriation, the un2 appropriated balance of their allocation in an3 nual payments beginning with fiscal year 2005 

4 and ending with fiscal year 2014. 

5 ‘‘(B) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES NOT

6 CERTIFIED AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2004.—States 

7 and Indian tribes that have not been certified 

8 under section 411 of this Act as of September 

9 30, 2004, shall receive, subject to appropria10 tion, the unappropriated balance of their alloca11 tion as grants awarded in accordance with sec12 tions 403(b) and 405(h) of this Act. 

13 ‘‘(C) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES CERTI14 FYING AFTER SEPTEMBER 30, 2004.—States and 

15 Indian tribes that are certified under section 

16 411 of this Act after September 30, 2004, shall 

17 receive, subject to appropriation, the portion of 

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

19 Act that has not been previously disbursed to 

20 those States and tribes as grants under para21 graph (2)(B) of this subsection. Disbursement 

22 shall be made in annual payments, beginning 

23 with the fiscal year following certification and 

24 ending with fiscal year 2014. These payments 

25 shall be made using funds appropriated for the 
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1 purpose of making grants to States and Indian 

2 tribes under section 405(h). 

3 ‘‘(D) NO EXPENDITURE RESTRICTIONS.—

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

5 (C) of this subsection may be expended without 

6 regard to any other provision of this Act: Pro7 vided, That, whenever a certified State or In8 dian tribe becomes aware of a coal mining-re9 lated problem within its borders, the State or 

10 tribe must first use those monies to promptly 

11 address that problem if the site is eligible for 

12 reclamation under section 404 of this Act and 

13 if the problem meets one of the priorities in 

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

15 Act. 

16 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF OTHER UNAPPROPRI17 ATED BALANCES.—

18 ‘‘(A) RURAL ABANDONED MINE RECLAMA19 TION PROGRAM.—That part of the fund allo20 cated by section 402(g)(2) for the rural aban21 doned mine reclamation program under section 

22 406 of this Act that has not been appropriated 

23 as of September 30, 2004, shall be available for 

24 appropriation for the purposes set forth in sec25 tion 403(b) of this Act. 
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1 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL SHARE.—That part of the 

2 fund allocated by section 402(g)(3) for use by 

3 the Secretary that has not been appropriated as 

4 of September 30, 2004, shall be available for 

5 appropriation for the purposes set forth in sec6 tion 403(b) of this Act. 

7 ‘‘(C) HISTORIC PRODUCTION ALLOCA8 TION.—That part of the fund allocated by sec9 tion 402(g)(5) for historic production supple10 mental grants to States and Indian tribes that 

11 has not been appropriated as of September 30, 

12 2004, shall be available for appropriation for 

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

14 Act. 

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

16 notify the Secretary of the Treasury as to what portion 

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

18 meet current withdrawals. The Secretary of the Treasury 

19 shall invest such portion of the fund in public debt securi20 ties with maturities determined by the Secretary of the 

21 Interior and suitable for the needs of the fund and achiev22 ing the purposes of the transfers under subsection (f). 

23 Such securities shall bear interest at rates determined by 

24 the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration 

25 current market yields on outstanding marketable obliga-
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1 tions of the United States of comparable maturities. The 

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

3 a part of, the fund.’’. 

4 (7) In Section 401, insert a new subsection (f) 

5 as follows: 

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

7 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

8 law, at the beginning of each fiscal year, the Sec9 retary shall transfer from the fund to the United 

10 Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund 

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

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

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

14 an amount equal to the amount of expenditures that 

15 the trustees of the Combined Fund estimate will be 

16 debited against the unassigned beneficiaries pre17 mium account under section 9704(e) of the Internal 

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

19 fiscal year of the Combined Fund in which the 

20 transfer is made: Provided, That the amount trans21 ferred shall not exceed the amount available under 

22 paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(2) In making the transfers, the Secretary 

24 shall first use the interest that has been earned by 

25 and paid to the fund during the preceding year, fol-
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1 lowed by any interest earned in prior years and not 

2 previously transferred. 

3 ‘‘(3) If, for any fiscal year, the amount trans4 ferred is more or less than the actual expenditures 

5 for the unassigned beneficiaries premium account in 

6 that year, the Secretary shall appropriately adjust 

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

8 (8) Section 402(a) is amended to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT; RATE.—All operators of coal mining 

11 operations subject to the provisions of this Act shall pay 

12 to the Secretary of the Interior, for deposit in the fund, 

13 a reclamation fee according to the following schedule: 

14 ‘‘(1) From October 1, 2004, through September 

15 30, 2009—

16 ‘‘(A) 29.75 cents per ton of coal (except 

17 lignite) produced by surface mining; 

18 ‘‘(B) 12.75 cents per ton of coal produced 

19 by underground mining; and 

20 ‘‘(C) 8.5 cents per ton of lignite coal pro21 duced. 

22 ‘‘(2) From October 1, 2009, through September 

23 30, 2014—

24 ‘‘(A) 28 cents per ton of coal (except lig25 nite) produced by surface mining; 
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1 ‘‘(B) 12 cents per ton of coal produced by 

2 underground mining; and 

3 ‘‘(C) 8 cents per ton of lignite coal pro4 duced. 

5 ‘‘(3) From October 1, 2014, through September 

6 30, 2018—

7 ‘‘(A) 26.25 cents per ton of coal (except 

8 lignite) produced by surface mining; 

9 ‘‘(B) 11.25 cents per ton of coal produced 

10 by underground mining; and 

11 ‘‘(C) 7.5 cents per ton of lignite coal pro12 duced. 

13 ‘‘(4) In lieu of the rates in paragraphs (1) 

14 through (3) above, the operator may pay a fee of 10 

15 per cent of the value of the coal at the mine, as de16 termined by the Secretary, for each ton of coal pro17 duced by surface or underground mining: Provided, 

18 That the alternate fee for lignite coal shall be 2 per19 cent of the value of the coal at the mine, as deter20 mined by the Secretary.’’. 

21 (9) Section 402(b) is amended by—

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

23 its place ‘‘Reclamation fees’’; and 

24 (B) striking ‘‘2004’’ and all that follows 

25 and inserting in its place ‘‘2018’’. 
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1 (10) Section 402(c) is amended to read as fol2 lows: 

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

4 ‘‘(1) All operators of surface coal mining oper5 ations shall submit a report no later than thirty days 

6 after the end of each calendar quarter. The report 

7 shall include— 

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

9 produced during the calendar quarter, the 

10 method of coal removal and the type of coal; 

11 ‘‘(B) an identification of the permittee and 

12 the operator of the surface coal mining oper13 ation, the owner of the coal, the preparation 

14 plant or tipple receiving the coal or the loading 

15 point for the coal, and the person purchasing 

16 the coal from the operator or permittee; 

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

18 under section 506 of this Act; and 

19 ‘‘(D) the identification number issued by 

20 the Mine Safety and Health Administration for 

21 the operation. 

22 ‘‘(2) Each quarterly report shall contain a noti23 fication of any changes in the information required 

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

25 the preceding quarterly report. 
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1 ‘‘(3) The operator must certify, under penalty 

2 of perjury, that the information in each report is 

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

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

5 mine operator, knowingly makes any false statement, 

6 representation or certification or knowingly fails to 

7 make any statement, representation or certification 

8 required in this section shall, upon conviction, be 

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

10 imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. 

11 ‘‘(4) The information contained in the quarterly 

12 reports submitted under this subsection shall be 

13 maintained by the Secretary in a computerized data14 base.’’. 

15 (11) Section 402(d) is amended by—

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

17 title and inserting in its place the word ‘‘AU18 DITS’’ ; 

19 (B) striking paragraph (1); 

20 (C) redesignating paragraph (2) as para21 graph (1); and 

22 (D) inserting paragraph (2) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(2) The Secretary is authorized to audit com25 pliance with the excise tax payment requirements of 
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1 section 4121 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

2 (26 U.S.C. 4121) when conducting audits under this 

3 subsection.’’. 

4 (12) Section 402(f) is amended to read as fol5 lows: 

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

7 Federal and State agencies shall fully cooperate with the 

8 Secretary of the Interior in the enforcement of this sec9 tion. Whenever the Secretary of the Interior believes that 

10 any person has not paid the full amount of the fee payable 

11 under section 402(a) of this Act or the excise tax payable 

12 under section 4121 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

13 (26 U.S.C. 4121), he or she shall notify the Federal agen14 cy responsible for enforcing the provisions of section 4121 

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

16 (13) Section 402(g) is amended by—

17 (A) amending the subsection heading to 

18 read ‘‘ALLOCATION OF FEE RECEIPTS AND

19 OTHER MONIES PRIOR TO SEPTEMBER 30, 

20 2004.—’’

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

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

23 place ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this 

24 Act’’; 
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1 (C) amending paragraphs (1)(A)(ii) and 

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

3 ‘‘(ii) Lands and waters which are eli4 gible pursuant to section 404 (in the case 

5 of a State not certified under section 411). 

6 In the case of a State certified under sec7 tion 411, eligible lands and waters shall be 

8 those which were mined or processed for 

9 minerals or which were affected by such 

10 mining or processing, and abandoned or 

11 left in an inadequate reclamation status 

12 prior to August 3, 1977; and for which 

13 there is no continuing reclamation respon14 sibility under State or other Federal 

15 laws.’’; 

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

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

18 the purposes of section 406’’; 

19 (E) striking everything in paragraph (4) 

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

21 and inserting in its place ‘‘if the requirements 

22 of section 404(b) are met.’’; 

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

24 and inserting in its place ‘‘This subsection ap25 plies only to fees and other monies payable to 
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1 the fund as of September 30, 2004, and to 

2 monies appropriated from the fund as of that 

3 date. Sections 401(d) and 403(b) of this Act 

4 govern allocations and disbursements after that 

5 date.’’; 

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

7 their entirety; and 

8 (H) striking subsection (h) paragraph (h) 

9 in its entirety. 

10 (14) Section 403 is amended by—

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

12 OBJECTIVES AND EXPENDITURES.’’; 

13 (B) striking the phrase ‘‘except as pro14 vided for under section 411’’ in subsection (a) 

15 and inserting in its place ‘‘except as otherwise 

16 provided in this section, section 401(c), or sec17 tion 411’’; 

18 (C) striking the period at the end of sub19 section (a)(3) and inserting a semicolon in its 

20 place; 

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

22 follows: 

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

24 2004.—

25 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES AND TRIBES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) At the beginning of each fiscal year, 

2 or as soon thereafter as practicable, the Sec3 retary shall allocate the monies appropriated 

4 from the fund for that year for grants to States 

5 and Indian tribes under section 405(h) of this 

6 Act. An allocation shall be made to each State 

7 and tribe that is eligible to receive a payment 

8 under section 401(d)(2)(C) of this Act and to 

9 each State and tribe that—

10 ‘‘(i) has an approved abandoned mine 

11 reclamation program under section 405 of 

12 this Act that is not subject to the prohibi13 tion in paragraph (c) of that section; 

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

15 of this Act; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) has within its jurisdiction 

17 unreclaimed lands or waters that are eligi18 ble pursuant to section 404 and that meet 

19 one of the priorities stated in paragraphs 

20 (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this sec21 tion: Provided, That, when all States and 

22 Indian tribes have completed or provided 

23 for completion of reclamation of all lands 

24 and waters meeting the priorities in para-
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1 graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this 

2 section, this criterion will no longer apply. 

3 ‘‘(B) In making these allocations, the Sec4 retary shall use a formula based on historical 

5 coal production prior to August 3, 1977, in 

6 those States and tribes: Provided, That—

7 ‘‘(i) donations received under section 

8 401(b)(3) shall be allocated in accordance 

9 with any stipulations by the donor; 

10 ‘‘(ii) no State or Indian tribe shall re11 ceive an allocation of less than $2,000,000 

12 under this paragraph; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) no State or Indian tribe shall re14 ceive an allocation of more than 25 percent 

15 of the total monies appropriated for grants 

16 under section 405(h): Provided further, 

17 That this restriction shall expire when 

18 fewer than eight States are eligible to re19 ceive an allocation under paragraph (1) of 

20 this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(C) The amount dedicated by section 

22 401(d)(2)(B) of this Act to each State or In23 dian tribe that is not certified under section 

24 411 of this Act shall be reduced by the amount 
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1 allocated to that State or tribe under this para2 graph. 

3 ‘‘(D) Amounts allocated to States and In4 dian tribes under this paragraph may be used 

5 to fund projects that protect, repair, replace, 

6 construct, or enhance facilities relating to water 

7 supply, including water distribution facilities 

8 and treatment plants, to replace water supplies 

9 adversely affected by coal mining practices. In 

10 making funding decisions on these projects, the 

11 State or tribe need not consider the priorities in 

12 subsection (a) of this section. If the adverse ef13 fect on water supplies occurred both prior to 

14 and after August 3, 1977 (or other applicable 

15 date under section 404), section 404 shall not 

16 be construed to prohibit a State or Indian tribe 

17 from using funds under this paragraph if the 

18 State or Indian tribe determines that such ad19 verse effects occurred predominantly prior to 

20 August 3, 1977 (or other applicable date under 

21 section 404). 

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

23 authorized by annual appropriations, the Secretary 

24 may expend monies from the fund for any of the fol25 lowing purposes—
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1 ‘‘(A) providing assistance to small opera2 tors under section 507(c) of this Act, either di3 rectly or through grants to the States, subject 

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

5 of this Act; 

6 ‘‘(B) conducting emergency reclamation 

7 activities and projects under section 410 of this 

8 Act, either directly or through grants to the 

9 States and Indian tribes; 

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

11 forth in paragraph (a) of this section for eligi12 ble lands and waters pursuant to section 404 of 

13 this Act in States and on Indian lands where 

14 the State or Indian tribe does not have an ap15 proved abandoned mine reclamation program 

16 pursuant to section 405 of this Act; 

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

18 Act by the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(E) making supplemental grants to 

20 States and Indian tribes for the purposes of 

21 this title of this Act; 

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

23 of this Act; and 

24 ‘‘(G) conducting other activities consistent 

25 with this title of this Act.’’; 
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1 (E) in subsection (c), redesignating the 

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

3 third sentences as paragraph (2), the fourth 

4 sentence as paragraph (3), and the last sen5 tence as paragraph (4); and 

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

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

8 (15) Section 404 is amended to read as follows: 

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

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

11 ‘‘(1) Lands and waters eligible for reclamation 

12 or drainage abatement expenditures under this title 

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

14 which were affected by such mining, waste banks, 

15 coal processing, or other coal mining processes, and 

16 abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation sta17 tus prior to August 3, 1977, and for which there is 

18 no continuing reclamation responsibility under State 

19 or other Federal laws. For other provisions relating 

20 to lands and waters eligible for such expenditures, 

21 see subsections (b) and (c) of this section and sec22 tions 402(g)(1), 403(b)(1), and 409 of this Act. 

23 ‘‘(2) Surface coal mining operations on lands el24 igible for remining shall not affect the eligibility of 

25 such lands for reclamation and restoration under 
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1 this title of this Act after the release of the bond or 

2 deposit for any such operation as provided under 

3 section 519 of this Act. In the event the bond or de4 posit for a surface coal mining operation on lands el5 igible for remining is forfeited, funds available under 

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

7 such bond or deposit is not sufficient to provide for 

8 adequate reclamation or abatement. If conditions 

9 warrant, the Secretary, State, or Indian tribe shall 

10 immediately exercise the appropriate authority under 

11 section 410 of this Act. 

12 ‘‘(b) INITIAL PROGRAM SITES AND BOND FOR13 FEITURE SITES WITH INSOLVENT SURETIES.—

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

15 conducted after August 3, 1977, and lands and wa16 ters affected by such operations are also eligible for 

17 reclamation or drainage abatement expenditures 

18 under this title of this Act if they were left in an in19 adequate reclamation status and if the Secretary or 

20 the State, with the concurrence of the Secretary, 

21 makes either of the following findings: 

22 ‘‘(A) A finding that the surface coal min23 ing operation occurred during the period begin24 ning on August 3, 1977, and ending on or be25 fore the effective date of the State regulatory 
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1 program approved by the Secretary pursuant to 

2 section 503 of this Act for the State in which 

3 the site is located, and that any funds for rec4 lamation or abatement which are available pur5 suant to a bond or other form of financial guar6 antee or from any other source are not suffi7 cient to provide for adequate reclamation or 

8 abatement at the site. 

9 ‘‘(B) A finding that the surface coal min10 ing operation occurred during the period begin11 ning on August 3, 1977, and ending on or be12 fore November 5, 1990, and that the surety for 

13 the mining operation became insolvent during 

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

15 funds immediately available from proceedings 

16 relating to that insolvency, or from any finan17 cial guarantee or other source, are not suffi18 cient to provide for adequate reclamation or 

19 abatement at the site. 

20 ‘‘(2) All sites referred to in paragraph (1) with21 in any State shall be reclaimed before the State or 

22 the Secretary may make the certification referred to 

23 in section 411 of this Act. 

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

25 penalties under section 518 of this Act are author-
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1 ized to be appropriated for the purposes of this sub2 section.’’. 

3 (16) Section 405 is amended by—

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

5 402 and 410’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘sec6 tions 402, 414, and 415’’; 

7 (B) in subsection (f), striking paragraph 

8 (5) in its entirety and redesignating paragraphs 

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

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

11 after ‘‘grant’’ and inserting ‘‘and’’ before 

12 ‘‘type’’; 

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

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

15 of’’ before ‘‘this section’’; and 

16 (E) amending subsection (h) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(h) GRANT OF FUNDS.—

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

20 Reclamation Plan under this section and of the sur21 face coal mining regulatory program pursuant to 

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

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

24 State reclamation program as approved by the Sec25 retary. 
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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION PROCESSING DEADLINE.—

2 Within 60 days of receipt of a complete abandoned 

3 mine reclamation fund grant application from any 

4 eligible State, the Secretary shall grant to that State 

5 any and all funds available for such purposes in the 

6 applicable appropriations Act. 

7 ‘‘(3) DISPOSITION OF UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—

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

9 expended within 3 years after the date of any grant 

10 award shall be available for reallocation or expendi11 ture by the Secretary for any purpose under section 

12 403(b) of this Act. 

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

14 to States and Indian tribes that were not certified 

15 under section 411 as of September 30, 2004, the 

16 Secretary shall exhaust the funds dedicated to those 

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

18 awarding any funds allocated to those States and 

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

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

21 abandoned mine reclamation program approved 

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

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

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

25 awarded annually to the State under paragraph (1), 
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1 excluding grants made under the authority of section 

2 403(b)(2), if those amounts are deposited into ei3 ther—

4 ‘‘(A) a special trust fund established under 

5 State law that may earn interest and from 

6 which the State may make expenditures solely 

7 to achieve the priorities stated in section 403(a) 

8 after the State is no longer eligible to receive an 

9 allocation under section 403(b)(1) of this Act; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(B) an acid mine drainage abatement and 

12 treatment fund established under State law and 

13 from which the State may make expenditures 

14 solely for abatement of the causes of acid mine 

15 drainage and treatment of the effects of that 

16 drainage in a comprehensive manner within 

17 qualified hydrologic units affected by coal min18 ing practices. Any interest earned by this fund 

19 shall be expended for the purposes of this para20 graph. For purposes of this paragraph, the 

21 term ‘qualified hydrologic unit’ means a hydro22 logic unit in which water quality has been sig23 nificantly affected by acid mine drainage from 

24 coal mining practices in a manner that ad-
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1 versely impacts biological resources and which 

2 contains lands and waters that—

3 ‘‘(i) meet the eligibility requirements 

4 of section 404 and at least one of the pri5 orities in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of 

6 section 403(a); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) either are or are proposed to be 

8 the subject of expenditures by the State 

9 from bond forfeiture proceeds under sec10 tion 509 of this Act, or from other State 

11 sources, to abate or treat acid mine drain12 age.’’. 

13 (17) Section 406 is amended by—

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

15 appears in subsection (h) and inserting in its 

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

17 (B) adding the following new subsection at 

18 the end: 

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

20 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri21 culture, from the general fund of the Treasury, such sums 

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

23 section.’’. 

24 (18) In section 408(a), the last sentence is 

25 amended by striking ‘‘, in accordance with this sub-
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1 section, who owned the surface prior to May 2, 

2 1977, and’’. 

3 (19) Section 409 is amended—

4 (A) in the second sentence of subsection 

5 (a), by striking the second ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘gov6 erning body’’; 

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

8 by striking ‘‘State regulatory authorities’’ and 

9 inserting in its place ‘‘States and Indian 

10 tribes’’; 

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

12 403(b)(1)’’ before ‘‘the provisions’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘which have made the certification referred to 

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

16 ‘‘that have been certified under section 411 of 

17 this Act’’. 

18 (20) Section 410 is amended by—

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

20 the beginning of subsection (a); 

21 (B) inserting the title ‘‘RIGHT OF

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

23 and 

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

25 as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(c) STATE ASSUMPTION OF EMERGENCY RECLAMA2 TION PROGRAM.—The Secretary may propose, and, after 

3 opportunity for public comment, adopt, regulations to re4 quire that States assume responsibility for administering 

5 the emergency reclamation program under this section to 

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

7 this Act. The regulations must establish procedures for 

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

9 that States revise their abandoned mine reclamation plans 

10 approved under section 405 of this Act to include provi11 sions that—

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

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

14 ‘‘(2) enable the State to conduct emergency rec15 lamation activities consistent with subsection (b) of 

16 this section.’’. 

17 (21) Section 411 is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 411. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLETION OF COAL REC19 LAMATION. 

20 ‘‘(a) The Governor of a State, or the head of a gov21 erning body of an Indian tribe, with an approved aban22 doned mine reclamation program under section 405, may 

23 certify to the Secretary that reclamation of all eligible 

24 lands and waters under section 404 with the priorities 

25 stated in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 403(a) 
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1 has been achieved. The Secretary, after notice in the Fed2 eral Register and opportunity for public comment, shall 

3 concur with such certification if the Secretary determines 

4 that such certification is correct. 

5 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may make the certification re6 ferred to in subsection (a) on behalf of any State or Indian 

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

8 403(c), all reclamation projects relating to the priorities 

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

10 for eligible lands and waters under section 404 in such 

11 State or tribe have been completed. The Secretary shall 

12 only make such certification after notice in the Federal 

13 Register and opportunity for public comment.’’. 

14 (22) Section 413(d) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘(33 U.S.C.A. 1151, et seq. as amended)’’ and in16 serting in its place ‘‘(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.)’’. 

17 (23) Section 413(e) is amended by striking the 

18 comma after the word ‘‘agencies’’. 

19 (24) Section 414 is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 414. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—All departments, boards, com22 missioners, and agencies of the United States of America 

23 shall cooperate with the Secretary by providing technical 

24 expertise, personnel, equipment, materials, and supplies to 
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1 implement and administer the provisions of this title of 

2 this Act. 

3 ‘‘(b) EXCISE TAX COLLECTION.—Notwithstanding 

4 any provision of law to the contrary, the Secretary is au5 thorized to collect the excise tax imposed by section 4121 

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

7 The Secretary of the Treasury shall enter into an agree8 ment with the Secretary providing for reimbursement of 

9 any additional expenses that the Office incurs in connec10 tion with collecting this tax and conducting audits related 

11 thereto.’’. 

12 (25) Section 415 is added to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 415. REMINING INCENTIVES. 

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

15 to the contrary, the Secretary may propose, and, after op16 portunity for public comment, adopt, regulations that 

17 would prescribe conditions under which the fund may be 

18 used to promote remining of eligible lands under section 

19 404 to leverage use of monies available from the fund to 

20 achieve more reclamation of those lands than would other21 wise be likely to occur. Any such regulations shall specify 

22 that these incentives will apply only in situations in which 

23 the agency administering this title of this Act determines, 

24 with the concurrence of the regulatory authority under 

25 title V of this Act, that the site is otherwise not likely 
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1 to be remined and reclaimed under the applicable regu2 latory program. 

3 ‘‘(b) Incentives that may be considered include, but 

4 are not limited to: 

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

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

7 The rebate or waiver shall be limited to operations 

8 that remove or reprocess abandoned coal mine waste 

9 or that remine sites meeting the priorities in para10 graph (1) or (2) of section 403(a). The amount of 

11 the rebate or waiver shall be limited to the estimated 

12 cost of reclaiming those sites under this title of this 

13 Act. 

14 ‘‘(2) Use of the fund to provide financial assur15 ance for remining operations in lieu of all or part of 

16 the performance bond required under section 509 of 

17 this Act.’’. 

18 (26) Section 510 is amended by—

19 (A) inserting a sentence at the end of sub20 section (c) to read as follows: ‘‘In applying the 

21 prohibitions of this subsection after October 24, 

22 1992, the regulatory authority shall not include 

23 any violation resulting from an unanticipated 

24 event or condition at a surface coal mining op25 eration on lands eligible for remining under a 
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1 permit held by the person making the applica2 tion.’’; and 

3 (B) striking subsection (e) in its entirety. 

4 (27) Section 515(b)(22)(B) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

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

7 a bonded permit area or the boundaries of an 

8 abandoned mine land reclamation project ap9 proved under title IV of this Act, and all or10 ganic matter shall be removed immediately 

11 prior to spoil placement;’’. 

12 (28) Section 701 is amended by—

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

14 510(e)’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘section 

15 510(c)’’; and 

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

17 follows: 

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

19 means those lands eligible for expenditures under 

20 section 404 of this Act.’’.

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