I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8491 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain improvements in the 

laws relating to coal royalties, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2024 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. HUFFMAN, and Mr. MOULTON) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, 

Financial Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain improvements in the laws relating to coal royalties, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Coal Royalty Fairness and Communities Investment Act 

6 of 2024’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—VALUATION OF FEDERAL COAL FOR PURPOSES OF 

ROYALTIES 

Sec. 101. Valuation of coal royalties. 

TITLE II—PROGRAMS TO REINVEST IN COAL-IMPACTED 

COMMUNITIES 

Sec. 201. Establishment of Fund. 

Sec. 202. Federal economic and workforce development assistance programs. 

Sec. 203. Carbon capture and sequestration. 

Sec. 204. Additional Federal agency participation. 

Sec. 205. Definitions. 

3 TITLE I—VALUATION OF FED4 ERAL COAL FOR PURPOSES 

5 OF ROYALTIES 

6 SEC. 101. VALUATION OF COAL ROYALTIES. 

7 Section 7 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 207) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking the fourth sen10 tence; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) ROYALTIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 ‘‘(A) ASSESSMENT VALUE.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘assess16 ment value’, with respect to Federal coal, 

17 means the gross proceeds accruing to the 

18 lessee or the affiliate of the lessee’s first 


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1 arm’s length contract for the sale of Fed2 eral coal. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary 

4 cannot identify any arm’s length contract 

5 for the sale of Federal coal, then the as6 sessment value means a price imputed by 

7 the Secretary based on the coal price 

8 index. 

9 ‘‘(B) ARM’S LENGTH CONTRACT.—The 

10 term ‘arm’s length contract’ means a contract, 

11 agreement, or transaction for the sale of Fed12 eral coal that is between parties that are inde13 pendent of each other and that are not affili14 ates. 

15 ‘‘(C) AFFILIATE.—The term ‘affiliate’, 

16 with respect to a lessee, means a party that 

17 controls, is controlled by, or is under common 

18 control with the lessee, and includes a parent or 

19 subsidiary company. 

20 ‘‘(D) COAL PRICE INDEX.—The term ‘coal 

21 price index’ means the schedule of average mar22 ket prices of Federal coal (in United States dol23 lars) at final sale, based on the quality and type 

24 of the Federal coal, as determined by the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Jul 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8491.IH H8491

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1 retary, in consultation with the Administrator 

2 of the Energy Information Administration. 

3 ‘‘(E) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

4 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

5 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT RATE.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), a lease shall require pay8 ment of a royalty in such amount as the Sec9 retary shall determine, which shall not be less 

10 than 12.5 percent of the assessment value of 

11 Federal coal. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—In the case of Federal 

13 coal recovered by an underground mining oper14 ation, the Secretary may establish such lower 

15 royalty payment rate as the Secretary deter16 mines to be appropriate in lieu of the royalty 

17 payment rate described in subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall en20 sure that any purchaser of Federal coal shall 

21 annually submit to the Secretary a report con22 taining such information as the Secretary deter23 mines to be necessary to carry out this sub24 section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AUDITS.—To carry out this sub2 section, the Secretary may examine the records 

3 of any person engaged in the purchase, sale, 

4 transportation, or marketing of Federal coal. 

5 ‘‘(4) COAL PRICE INDEX.— 

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

7 compile in a coal price index the assessment 

8 values of coal by type and quality of coal. 

9 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—Not less frequently 

10 than quarterly, the Secretary shall publish in 

11 the Federal Register and on a public website 

12 the coal price index, along with a methodo13 logical description, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) the method of calculation; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the data used to calculate the 

16 coal price index in an aggregate manner 

17 that does not reveal proprietary informa18 tion; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) any other information the Sec20 retary considers appropriate to ensure 

21 transparency. 

22 ‘‘(C) OTHER INFORMATION.—If a person 

23 believes that the coal price index does not accu24 rately reflect the assessment value of the coal 

25 produced by the person, the person may petiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Jul 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8491.IH H8491

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1 tion the Secretary to use information supplied 

2 by the person in lieu of the coal price index for 

3 the purpose of determining the assessment 

4 value of the coal produced by such person, in5 cluding all information the Secretary requires 

6 to accurately determine the assessment value 

7 and audit the records of the person. 

8 ‘‘(5) REVIEWS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To ensure a trans10 parent, fair, and efficient administration of the 

11 Federal coal program, and to ensure that citi12 zens of the United States receive a fair return 

13 on Federal coal, not later than 3 years after the 

14 date of the enactment of this subsection and 

15 every 3 years thereafter during the 15-year pe16 riod beginning on such date, the Comptroller 

17 General of the United States shall submit to 

18 Congress a report containing the results of a 

19 review conducted by the Comptroller General of 

20 the Federal coal program, including the admin21 istration of this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—In conducting a re23 view under this paragraph, the Comptroller 

24 General shall consult with— 

25 ‘‘(i) the Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Director of the Bureau of 

2 Land Management; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary of Transportation; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary of Energy. 

6 ‘‘(C) INCLUSIONS.—In conducting a review 

7 under this paragraph, the Comptroller General 

8 shall review— 

9 ‘‘(i) the total volume of coal produc10 tion from Federal land; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the total volume of remaining 

12 coal reserves on Federal land; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the total amount of revenues 

14 generated from the Federal coal program, 

15 itemized by type of revenue, including lease 

16 bonus payments and royalties; 

17 ‘‘(iv) market prices for coal; 

18 ‘‘(v) market prices for transportation 

19 costs and any other deductible costs; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) the appropriateness of royalty 

21 rates. 

22 ‘‘(D) FORMAT.—The Comptroller General 

23 shall report information in a review under this 

24 paragraph— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the aggregate for the United 

2 States; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) categorized by State for at least 

4 the top 10 Federal coal-producing States, 

5 as determined by the Comptroller General. 

6 ‘‘(6) STUDY.—The Secretary shall seek to enter 

7 into an agreement with the National Academy of 

8 Sciences to conduct a study to determine the most 

9 equitable method for valuation of coal produced on 

10 Federal lands for purposes of Federal coal leases. 

11 Not later than 18 months after the date of the en12 actment of this subsection, and every 5 years there13 after, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re14 port containing the findings, of such study.’’. 

15 TITLE II—PROGRAMS TO REIN16 VEST IN COAL-IMPACTED 

17 COMMUNITIES 

18 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

20 Treasury of the United States a separate account, to be 

21 administered by the Secretary (acting through the Eco22 nomic Development Administration), to be known as the 

23 ‘‘Coal Area Economic Revitalization Fund’’. 

24 (b) DEPOSITS.—Of the amount of royalty revenues 

25 collected by the United States for each fiscal year from 


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1 coal leases under section 7 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

2 U.S.C. 207) (as amended by section 101(2)), to the extent 

3 the revenues are available, there shall be deposited in the 

4 Coal Area Economic Revitalization Fund $75,000,000. 

5 (c) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (d) 

7 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 

8 each fiscal year, of the amounts deposited in the 

9 Coal Area Economic Revitalization Fund under sub10 section (b), there shall be made available, without 

11 further appropriation, the following amounts: 

12 (A) $70,000,000 to the Secretary to pro13 vide grant assistance under covered programs 

14 for eligible projects, in accordance with section 

15 202. 

16 (B) $5,000,000 to the Secretary of Energy 

17 to provide funding for large-scale projects to 

18 capture and store carbon dioxide emissions 

19 from industrial sources, in accordance with sec20 tion 203. 

21 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—If, with respect to a fiscal 

22 year, the amounts in the Coal Area Economic Revi23 talization Fund are insufficient to carry out para24 graph (1), there shall be made available, without 

25 further appropriation, the following: 


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1 (A) To the Secretary for the purposes de2 scribed in paragraph (1)(A), 93.333 percent of 

3 the amounts available in the Fund. 

4 (B) To the Secretary of Energy for the 

5 purposes described in paragraph (1)(B), 6.666 

6 percent of the amounts available in the fund. 

7 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A participating 

8 agency that receives funds under subsection (c) may not 

9 use not more than 2 percent of the amount the agency 

10 receives for each fiscal year to cover the administrative 

11 expenses of the participating agency in carrying out the 

12 covered program. 

13 (e) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The amounts depos14 ited in the Coal Area Economic Revitalization Fund shall 

15 remain available without fiscal year limitation until ex16 pended. 

17 SEC. 202. FEDERAL ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOP18 MENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

20 Economic Development Administration, shall use the 

21 amounts made available under section 201(c)(1) to pro22 vide grant assistance under covered programs described 

23 in subsection (c) for eligible projects described in sub24 section (d). 


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1 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR COVERED PRO2 GRAMS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

4 (A) allocate amounts made available to 

5 carry out this section among the covered pro6 grams in accordance with the criteria described 

7 in paragraph (2); and 

8 (B) not later than 30 days after allocations 

9 are determined under subparagraph (A), pro10 vide public notice of the availability of grant as11 sistance under this section through a Federal 

12 Funding Opportunity announcement. 

13 (2) ALLOCATION CRITERIA.—Not later than 

14 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

15 Secretary shall establish and publish criteria for the 

16 allocation of amounts made available to carry out 

17 this section among the covered programs. 

18 (c) COVERED PROGRAMS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—On allocation by the Sec20 retary of amounts from the Coal Area Economic Re21 vitalization Fund for a covered program under this 

22 section, the head of the applicable participating 

23 agency shall manage grant selection (including eligi24 bility requirements in addition to the eligibility reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Jul 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8491.IH H8491

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1 quirements listed in subsection (d)), awards, and 

2 execution of projects with respect to such amounts. 

3 (2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Except as other4 wise provided in this section, projects that receive 

5 grant assistance under this section shall be subject 

6 to the eligibility rules, permitted activities, and re7 porting requirements of the covered program under 

8 which the grant is made. 

9 (d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

10 (1) PROJECT PURPOSES.—A project shall be el11 igible for assistance under this section if the purpose 

12 of the project is to assist impacted communities— 

13 (A) to organize community stakeholders, 

14 analyze and inventory community assets, evalu15 ate needs and resources, or develop comprehen16 sive economic development strategic plans; 

17 (B) to undergo in-depth labor market anal18 ysis and workforce development and dislocated 

19 worker planning associated with the provision 

20 of training and employment services; 

21 (C) to implement linked economic and 

22 workforce development strategies to promote 

23 local and regional economic growth; 

24 (D) to accelerate job creation by leveraging 

25 local assets; 


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1 (E) to train and place workers in family2 supporting, high-demand jobs (including reg3 istered apprenticeship and other on-the-job 

4 training models); 

5 (F) to create linkages between community 

6 stakeholders, economic development organiza7 tion, public and private entities, and the labor 

8 force that drive local and regional economic 

9 growth; or 

10 (G) to carry out other purposes approved 

11 by the Secretary. 

12 (2) PRIORITY.—In selecting projects to receive 

13 assistance under this section, the head of a partici14 pating agency shall— 

15 (A) give priority to project applications 

16 that establish a clear linkage between the pro17 posed project and the means by which the 

18 project will result in local and regional economic 

19 growth and diversification, job creation, or job 

20 training and reemployment for dislocated work21 ers, without regard to any formula used by a 

22 participating agency to disburse other funds; 

23 and 

24 (B) consult directly with impacted commu25 nities to determine the greatest needs of the imVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Jul 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8491.IH H8491

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1 pacted communities and give priority to projects 

2 that address those needs. 

3 (3) SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES AND COSTS TO BE

4 CONSIDERED.—In providing assistance under this 

5 section for projects for economic diversification, the 

6 head of a participating agency shall give consider7 ation for priority, at a minimum, to the following ac8 tivities and costs: 

9 (A) Analysis activities that build from stra10 tegic economic development plans, including— 

11 (i) economic and workforce data col12 lection; and 

13 (ii) supply chain and industry cluster 

14 analysis. 

15 (B) Outreach and targeted assistance to 

16 economic development organizations, unions, 

17 workers, and other stakeholders. 

18 (C) Remediation and redevelopment of coal 

19 economy sites, as appropriate. 

20 (D) Provision of business planning and 

21 market exploration services. 

22 (E) Development of business incubator 

23 programs. 


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1 (F) Facilitation of access to private capital 

2 investment and capacity building to effectively 

3 use capital investment. 

4 (G) Promotion of exports from entities in 

5 the impacted area. 

6 (H) Workforce training and dislocated 

7 worker services and supports for impacted 

8 workers. 

9 (I) Costs associated with registered ap10 prenticeship and on-the-job training models. 

11 (J) Temporary or short-term relocation or 

12 commuting costs for available jobs in other 

13 parts of the applicable State or region. 

14 (K) Staffing, operating, and administrative 

15 costs for the recipient organization. 

16 (L) Comprehensive strategies that— 

17 (i) integrate all of the activities and 

18 costs described in subparagraphs (A) 

19 through (K); and 

20 (ii) leverage other investments from 

21 the applicable participating agency and 

22 other Federal departments and agencies. 

23 (e) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) provide a single staff point of Federal con2 tact (with staffing assistance from other partici3 pating agencies, as needed) for grants awarded 

4 under this section; and 

5 (2) coordinate cross-agency activities at the re6 gional level that direct additional Federal resources 

7 to impacted communities. 

8 SEC. 203. CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION. 

9 The Secretary of Energy shall use the amounts made 

10 available under section 201(c)(1)(B) to provide financial 

11 assistance for the design, construction, and operation of 

12 large-scale projects to capture and store carbon dioxide 

13 emissions from industrial sources. 

14 SEC. 204. ADDITIONAL FEDERAL AGENCY PARTICIPATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal departments and 

16 agencies described in subsection (b) shall provide to im17 pacted communities technical assistance and educational 

18 outreach to fund partnerships, in coordination with avail19 able resources. 

20 (b) DESCRIPTION OF DEPARTMENTS AND AGEN21 CIES.—The Federal departments and agencies referred to 

22 in subsection (a) are— 

23 (1) the Rural Business-Cooperative Service of 

24 the Department of Agriculture; 


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1 (2) the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 

2 Response of the Environmental Protection Agency; 

3 (3) the Department of Energy; 

4 (4) the Community Development Financial In5 stitutions Fund of the Department of the Treasury; 

6 (5) SelectUSA and the National Institute of 

7 Standards and Technology—Manufacturing Exten8 sion Partnerships of the Department of Commerce; 

9 (6) the Corporation for National and Commu10 nity Service; and 

11 (7) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

12 and Enforcement of the Department of the Interior. 

13 SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this title: 

15 (1) COAL ECONOMY.—The term ‘‘coal econ16 omy’’ means the complete supply chain of coal reli17 ant industries, including coal mining, coal-fired 

18 power plants, and related transportation, logistics, 

19 and manufacturing. 

20 (2) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

21 program’’ means any of the following: 

22 (A) The Assistance to Coal Communities, 

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1 opment Administration of the Department of 

2 Commerce. 

3 (B) The Dislocated Worker National 

4 Emergency Grants program of the Employment 

5 and Training Administration of the Department 

6 of Labor. 

7 (C) The Regional Innovation Clusters and 

8 Growth Accelerators program of the Small 

9 Business Administration. 

10 (D) The Technical Assistance and Dem11 onstration Projects program of the Appalachian 

12 Regional Commission. 

13 (3) IMPACTED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘im14 pacted community’’ means a community or Indian 

15 tribe (as such term is defined in section 4 of the In16 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

17 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) in the United States that has 

18 been negatively impacted as a result of changes in 

19 the coal economy, including a negative impact on its 

20 economy, environment, employment, retirement ben21 efits, infrastructure, public health, or education. 

22 (4) PARTICIPATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘par23 ticipating agency’’ means a Federal agency that has 

24 primary authority over a covered program. 


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1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Commerce. 

Æ 


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