II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3971 

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

make modifications to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2020 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Mr. ENZI) 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 make modifications to the Abandoned Mine 

Reclamation Fund, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Abandoned Mine Land 

5 Reclamation Fee Reauthorization Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RECLAMATION FEE. 

7 (a) AMOUNT.—Section 402(a) of the Surface Mining 

8 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(a)) 

9 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘28 cents’’ and inserting ‘‘18.2 

2 cents’’; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘12 cents’’ and inserting ‘‘7.8 

4 cents’’; and 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘8 cents’’ and inserting ‘‘5.2 

6 cents’’. 

7 (b) DURATION.—Section 402(b) of the Surface Min8 ing Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 

9 1232(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2021’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2028’’. 

11 SEC. 3. INCREASED REVENUE SHARING WITH COAL-PRO12 DUCING STATES. 

13 Section 35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

14 191(a)) is amended, in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘50 

15 per centum thereof’’ and inserting ‘‘50 percent of the 

16 amount received, or in the case of any amount received 

17 from coal leases, 60 percent of the amount received,’’. 

18 SEC. 4. SEQUESTRATION PROVISIONS. 

19 (a) EXEMPTION OF PAYMENTS TO STATES AND IN20 DIAN TRIBES FROM THE ABANDONED MINE RECLAMA21 TION FUND FROM SEQUESTRATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 255(g)(1)(A) of the 

23 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 

24 Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(g)(1)(A)) is amended by 


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1 inserting after ‘‘Payments to Social Security Trust 

2 Funds (28–0404–0–1–651).’’ the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) ‘‘Payments to States and Indian Tribes 

4 from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and 

5 payments to States and Indian Tribes under section 

6 402(i)(2) of the Surface Mining Control and Rec7 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(i)(2)) (12– 

8 50q5–0–2–999).’’. 

9 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

10 paragraph (1) shall apply to any sequestration order 

11 issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

12 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) 

13 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 (b) PAYMENT FROM WITHHELD AMOUNTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts withheld pur16 suant to section 251A of the Balanced Budget and 

17 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 

18 901a) from payments to States and Indian tribes 

19 under section 402(g) of the Surface Mining Control 

20 and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(g)) 

21 during fiscal years 2013 through 2020, the Sec22 retary of the Interior shall distribute for fiscal year 

23 2021 to each State and each Indian tribe from 

24 which the amounts were withheld an amount equal 


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1 to the total amount so withheld from the State or 

2 Indian tribe. 

3 (2) USE.—Amounts distributed under para4 graph (1) may be used by a State or Indian tribe 

5 only for the purposes authorized by section 402(g) 

6 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 

7 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(g)). 

8 SEC. 5. AMOUNTS DISTRIBUTED FROM ABANDONED MINE 

9 RECLAMATION FUND. 

10 Section 401(f)(2) of the Surface Mining Control and 

11 Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231(f)(2)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (A) in the subparagraph heading, by strik15 ing ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2037’’; and 

16 (B) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

17 striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting ‘‘2037’’; and 

18 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

19 (A) in the subparagraph heading, by strik20 ing ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2038’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘2038’’; and 

23 (C) by striking ‘‘2022’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘2037’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN TRANSFER REQUIRE2 MENT TO PAYMENTS TO STATES AND INDIAN 

3 TRIBES. 

4 Section 402(i)(3) of the Surface Mining Control and 

5 Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(i)(3)) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (B) 

8 shall not apply to transfers to the Secretary of 

9 the Interior for distribution to States and In10 dian tribes under paragraph (2).’’. 

11 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL GRANTS FROM ABANDONED MINE 

12 RECLAMATION FUND. 

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

14 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is amended by in15 serting after section 415 (30 U.S.C. 1244) the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 416. ADDITIONAL GRANTS FOR PRIORITY 1 AND PRI17 ORITY 2 SITES. 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE STATE OR INDIAN

19 TRIBE.—In this section, the term ‘eligible State or Indian 

20 tribe’ means a State or Indian tribe— 

21 ‘‘(1) with an approved State Reclamation Plan 

22 under section 405; and 

23 ‘‘(2) that is not certified under section 411(a). 

24 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL GRANTS.—Of amounts in the fund 

25 that are not otherwise appropriated, $140,000,000 shall 

26 be made available to the Secretary, without further approVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3971.IS S3971

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1 priation, for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2036, to 

2 make grants to eligible States and Indian tribes for the 

3 conduct of reclamation projects designed to achieve the 

4 priorities described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 

5 403(a). 

6 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT.—In making grants under sub7 section (b) to eligible States and Indian tribes, the Sec8 retary shall allocate the grants to those States and Indian 

9 tribes based on the amount of coal historically produced 

10 in the State or from the Indian lands concerned before 

11 August 3, 1977, in the same manner as under section 

12 402(g)(5).’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 401 of the Surface Mining Control 

15 and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231) is 

16 amended— 

17 (A) in subsection (c)— 

18 (i) in paragraph (10), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (11) 

21 as paragraph (12); and 

22 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (10) 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(11) to make additional grants under section 

25 416; and’’; and 


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1 (B) in subsection (d)(3), by inserting ‘‘and 

2 section 416’’ before the period at the end. 

3 (2) Section 402(g) of the Surface Mining Con4 trol and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 

5 1232(g)) is amended— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre7 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and sec8 tion 416’’ after ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(F) For the purpose of section 416.’’. 

12 SEC. 8. STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR RE13 MEDIATION OF MINE DRAINAGE; COMMUNITY 

14 RECLAIMER PARTNERSHIPS. 

15 (a) STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR

16 CERTAIN REMEDIATION OF MINE DRAINAGE.—Section 

17 405 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 

18 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1235) is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(m) STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR

21 REMEDIATION OF MINE DRAINAGE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the ap24 proval of the Secretary and the Administrator 

25 of the Environmental Protection Agency (reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3971.IS S3971

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1 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘Adminis2 trator’) under paragraph (4), a State with an 

3 approved State Reclamation Plan may enter 

4 into a memorandum of understanding with rel5 evant Federal or State agencies to remediate 

6 mine drainage on abandoned mine land and 

7 water impacted by abandoned mines within the 

8 State. 

9 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—A memorandum of un10 derstanding entered into under subparagraph 

11 (A) may be updated as necessary and resub12 mitted for approval under paragraph (4). 

13 ‘‘(2) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING RE14 QUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A memorandum of 

16 understanding entered into under paragraph 

17 (1)(A) shall establish a strategy to address 

18 water pollution resulting from mine drainage at 

19 sites eligible for reclamation and mine drainage 

20 abatement expenditures under section 404, in21 cluding specific procedures for— 

22 ‘‘(i) ensuring that activities carried 

23 out to address mine drainage will result in 

24 improved water quality; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) monitoring, sampling, and re2 porting of collected information as nec3 essary to achieve the condition required 

4 under clause (i); 

5 ‘‘(iii) operation and maintenance of 

6 treatment systems as necessary to achieve 

7 the condition required under clause (i); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(iv) other purposes, as considered 

10 necessary by the State or Federal agencies 

11 that are parties to the memorandum of un12 derstanding, to achieve the condition re13 quired under clause (i). 

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The strategy estab15 lished under subparagraph (A) shall be satisfac16 tory to the State and Federal agencies that are 

17 parties to the memorandum of understanding. 

18 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before submitting a 

20 memorandum of understanding to the Secretary 

21 and the Administrator for approval under para22 graph (4), a State shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) invite interested members of the 

24 public to comment on the memorandum of 

25 understanding; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) hold not less than 1 public meet2 ing concerning the memorandum of under3 standing in a location reasonably accessible 

4 to persons who may be affected by imple5 mentation of the memorandum of under6 standing. 

7 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF MEETING.—Not later 

8 than 15 days before the date of a meeting 

9 under subparagraph (A), the State shall publish 

10 notice of the meeting in local newspapers of 

11 general circulation, on the internet, and by any 

12 other means considered necessary or desirable 

13 by the Secretary and the Administrator. 

14 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before entering into a 

16 memorandum of understanding under para17 graph (1)(A), a State shall submit the memo18 randum of understanding to the Secretary and 

19 the Administrator for approval. 

20 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—Not later than 120 days 

21 after the date on which a State submits the 

22 memorandum of understanding for approval 

23 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary and the 

24 Administrator shall approve or disapprove the 

25 memorandum of understanding. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary and 

2 the Administrator shall approve a memorandum 

3 of understanding under this paragraph if the 

4 Secretary and Administrator find that the 

5 memorandum of understanding will facilitate 

6 additional activities to improve water quality 

7 under the approved State Reclamation Plan of 

8 the State. 

9 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT AS PART OF STATE PLAN.— 

10 A memorandum of understanding that is approved 

11 by the Secretary and the Administrator under this 

12 subsection shall be considered to be part of the ap13 proved State Reclamation Plan of the State.’’. 

14 (b) COMMUNITY RECLAIMER PARTNERSHIPS.—Sec15 tion 405 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation 

16 Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1235) (as amended by subsection 

17 (a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(n) COMMUNITY RECLAIMER PARTNERSHIPS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY RE20 CLAIMER.—In this subsection, the term ‘community 

21 reclaimer’ means any person who— 

22 ‘‘(A) seeks to voluntarily assist a State 

23 with a reclamation project under this section; 

24 ‘‘(B) did not participate in any way in— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the creation of site conditions at 

2 the project site; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) activities that caused any land or 

4 waters at the project site to become eligible 

5 for reclamation or drainage abatement ex6 penditures under section 404; 

7 ‘‘(C) is not a past or current owner or op8 erator of any site with ongoing reclamation obli9 gations; and 

10 ‘‘(D) is not subject to outstanding viola11 tions listed pursuant to section 510(c). 

12 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF COMMUNITY RE13 CLAIMER PROJECTS.—The Secretary may authorize 

14 a community reclaimer to carry out a reclamation 

15 project under this section for which a request for ap16 proval submitted by the State under paragraph (3) 

17 has been approved by the Secretary in accordance 

18 with paragraph (4). 

19 ‘‘(3) PROJECT SUBMISSION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may submit 

21 to the Secretary a request to authorize a com22 munity reclaimer to carry out a reclamation 

23 project under this section in the State. 

24 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—A request sub25 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a description of the project, in2 cluding any engineering plans that include 

3 the seal of a professional engineer; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a description of the 1 or more 

5 project sites, including, if relevant, the na6 ture and extent of pollution resulting from 

7 mine drainage; 

8 ‘‘(iii) identification of the past and 

9 current owners and operators of any 

10 project sites; 

11 ‘‘(iv) the agreement or contract be12 tween the State and the community re13 claimer to carry out the project; 

14 ‘‘(v) a determination by the State that 

15 the project will facilitate the activities of 

16 the State Reclamation Plan under sub17 section (e); 

18 ‘‘(vi) sufficient information to deter19 mine whether the community reclaimer has 

20 the technical capability and expertise to 

21 successfully conduct the project; 

22 ‘‘(vii) a cost estimate for the project; 

23 ‘‘(viii) evidence that the community 

24 reclaimer has sufficient financial resources 

25 to ensure the successful completion of the 


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1 project (including any operation or mainte2 nance costs); 

3 ‘‘(ix) a schedule for completion of the 

4 project; 

5 ‘‘(x) an agreement between the com6 munity reclaimer and the owner of the 

7 project site governing access to the project 

8 site; 

9 ‘‘(xi) sufficient information to ensure 

10 that the community reclaimer meets the 

11 requirements of paragraph (1); 

12 ‘‘(xii) a contingency plan designed to 

13 be used in response to unplanned adverse 

14 events that includes emergency actions, re15 sponse, and notifications; and 

16 ‘‘(xiii) an agreement by the State 

17 that, before the initiation of the project, 

18 the State shall— 

19 ‘‘(I) provide notice to adjacent 

20 and downstream landowners and the 

21 public; and 

22 ‘‘(II) hold a public meeting near 

23 the project site. 

24 ‘‘(4) PROJECT APPROVAL.—Not later than 120 

25 days after the date on which the Secretary receives 


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1 a request submitted under paragraph (3)(A), the 

2 Secretary shall approve the request for the commu3 nity reclaimer to carry out the project, if the Sec4 retary determines that— 

5 ‘‘(A) the project— 

6 ‘‘(i) complies with the submission re7 quirements under paragraph (3)(B); 

8 ‘‘(ii) will be conducted by a commu9 nity reclaimer or 1 or more approved sub10 contractors of the community reclaimer; 

11 ‘‘(iii) will be conducted on 1 or more 

12 sites inventoried under section 403(c); 

13 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a project that re14 mediates mine drainage, is consistent with 

15 an approved State memorandum of under16 standing under subsection (m); and 

17 ‘‘(v) is not in a category of projects 

18 that would require a permit under title V; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) the State that submitted the re21 quest— 

22 ‘‘(i) has entered into an agreement 

23 with the community reclaimer under which 

24 the State shall assume all responsibility 

25 with respect to the project for any costs or 


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1 damages resulting from any action or inac2 tion on the part of the community re3 claimer in carrying out the project, except 

4 for costs or damages resulting from gross 

5 negligence or intentional misconduct by the 

6 community reclaimer, on behalf of the 

7 community reclaimer and the owner of the 

8 project site, if the community reclaimer or 

9 owner, respectively, did not participate in 

10 any way in the creation of site conditions 

11 at the project site or activities that caused 

12 any land or water to become eligible for 

13 reclamation or drainage abatement expend14 itures under section 404; 

15 ‘‘(ii)(I) has the necessary legal au16 thority to carry out the project; and 

17 ‘‘(II) will obtain all authorizations, 

18 permits, licenses, and other approvals re19 quired by law to ensure completion of the 

20 project; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) has sufficient financial resources 

22 to ensure completion of the project, includ23 ing any necessary operation and mainte24 nance costs (including costs associated 

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1 tingency plan under paragraph 

2 (3)(B)(xii)).’’. 

3 (c) CLARIFYING STATE LIABILITY FOR MINE DRAIN4 AGE PROJECTS.—Section 413(d) of the Surface Mining 

5 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1242(d)) 

6 is amended, in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Act.’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘Act, unless that control or treatment will be 

8 conducted in accordance with a State memorandum of un9 derstanding approved under section 405(m).’’. 

10 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 405(f) of 

11 the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 

12 (30 U.S.C. 1235(f)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

14 the semicolon; 

15 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(8) a list of projects proposed under sub19 section (n).’’. 

20 SEC. 9. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STUDY AND RE21 PORT ON TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS 

22 FOR USE IN THE ABANDONED MINE LAND 

23 RECLAMATION PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 


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1 shall complete a study of technologies for use in the aban2 doned mine land reclamation program established under 

3 title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation 

4 Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.) that would improve 

5 reclamation and reduce costs under the program, includ6 ing the application of technical innovations in the tech7 nology development and transfer program of the Office of 

8 Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, includ9 ing— 

10 (1) geomorphic reclamation; 

11 (2) drone technology; and 

12 (3) other technologies that would— 

13 (A) improve overall reclamation; 

14 (B) reduce costs of reclamation; and 

15 (C) improve safety. 

16 (b) REPORT.—As soon as practicable after com17 pleting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary of 

18 the Interior shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

19 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a re21 port describing the results of the study that includes rec22 ommendations for areas of improvement identified under 

23 the study. 


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1 SEC. 10. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STUDY AND RE2 PORT TO STRENGTHEN OVERSIGHT OF THE 

3 ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

7 shall complete a study— 

8 (1) to identify areas throughout the abandoned 

9 mine land reclamation program established under 

10 title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclama11 tion Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.) in which 

12 costs could be reduced; and 

13 (2) to determine the ratio of overhead spending 

14 in the administration of the abandoned mine land 

15 reclamation program described in paragraph (1) to 

16 spending on the clean up of abandoned mine land 

17 sites. 

18 (b) REPORT.—As soon as practicable after com19 pleting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary of 

20 the Interior shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

21 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

22 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a re23 port describing the results of the study that includes rec24 ommendations for areas of improvement identified under 

25 the study. 

Æ 


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