I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1731 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2017 

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky (for himself, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. JENKINS of West 

Virginia, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, and Mr. CARTWRIGHT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 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 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. 


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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 ‘‘Revitalizing the Econ5 omy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities 

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

7 of 2017’’. 

8 SEC. 2. ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION FOR COAL COUNTRY. 

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

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

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

12 ‘‘SEC. 416. ABANDONED MINE LAND ECONOMIC REVITAL13 IZATION. 

14 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 

15 promote economic revitalization, diversification, and devel16 opment in economically distressed mining communities 

17 through the reclamation and restoration of land and water 

18 resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out be19 fore August 3, 1977. 

20 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—From amounts deposited into 

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

22 not otherwise appropriated to the extent such funds are 

23 available, $200,000,000 shall be made available to the 

24 Secretary, without further appropriation, for each of fiscal 

25 years 2017 through 2021 for distribution to States and 


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1 Indian tribes in accordance with this section for reclama2 tion and restoration projects at sites identified as prior3 ities under section 403(a): Provided, That if less than 

4 $200,000,000 is available in any fiscal year to the Sec5 retary, such remaining amount shall be made available to 

6 the Secretary, without further appropriation, and such fis7 cal year shall end distributions made available under this 

8 section. 

9 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS FOR PRIORITY SITES.—Funds 

10 distributed to a State or Indian tribe under subsection (d) 

11 shall be used only for projects classified under the prior12 ities of section 403(a). In addition, if the project is classi13 fied under paragraph (3) of such section, the project also 

14 must meet the following criteria: 

15 ‘‘(1) CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE ECONOMIC OR

16 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project, upon 

18 completion of reclamation, is intended to create 

19 favorable conditions for the economic develop20 ment of the project site or create favorable con21 ditions that promote the general welfare 

22 through economic and community development 

23 of the area in which the project is conducted. 

24 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CONDITIONS.— 

25 Such conditions are demonstrated by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) documentation of the role of the 

2 project in such area’s economic develop3 ment strategy or other economic and com4 munity development planning process; 

5 ‘‘(ii) any other documentation of the 

6 planned economic and community use of 

7 the project site after the primary reclama8 tion activities are completed, which may in9 clude contracts, agreements in principle, or 

10 other evidence that, once reclaimed, the 

11 site is reasonably anticipated to be used 

12 for one or more industrial, commercial, 

13 residential, agricultural, or recreational 

14 purposes; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) any other documentation agreed 

16 to by the State or Indian tribe that dem17 onstrates the project will meet the criteria 

18 set forth in this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(2) LOCATION IN COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY

20 RECENT DECLINE IN MINING.—The project will be 

21 conducted in a community— 

22 ‘‘(A) that has been adversely affected eco23 nomically by a recent reduction in coal mining24 related activity, as demonstrated by employ25 ment data, per capita income, or other indicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Mar 30, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1731.IH H1731

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1 tors of reduced economic activity attributable to 

2 such reduction; or 

3 ‘‘(B)(i) that has historically relied on coal 

4 mining for a substantial portion of its economy; 

5 and 

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

7 coal mining has significantly declined. 

8 ‘‘(3) STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project has been 

10 the subject of project planning under subsection 

11 (g) and has been the focus of collaboration, in12 cluding partnerships, as appropriate, with inter13 ested persons or local organizations. 

14 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—As part of project 

15 planning, the public has been notified and has 

16 been given an opportunity to comment at a 

17 public meeting convened in a community near 

18 the proposed site. 

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

20 been proposed by entities of State, local, county, or 

21 tribal governments, or local organizations, and will 

22 be approved and executed by State or tribal pro23 grams, approved under section 405 or referred to in 

24 section 402(g)(8)(B), which may include subcon25 tracting project-related activities, as appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) UNCERTIFIED STATES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount 

4 made available in subsection (b), the Secretary 

5 shall distribute $195,000,000 annually for each 

6 of fiscal years 2017 through 2021 to States and 

7 Indian tribes that have a State or tribal pro8 gram approved under section 405 or are re9 ferred to in section 402(g)(8)(B), and have not 

10 made a certification under section 411(a) in 

11 which the Secretary has concurred, as follows: 

12 ‘‘(i) Four-fifths of such amount shall 

13 be distributed based on the proportion of 

14 the amount of coal historically produced in 

15 each State or from the lands of each In16 dian tribe concerned before August 3, 

17 1977. 

18 ‘‘(ii) One-fifth of such amount shall be 

19 distributed based on the proportion of rec20 lamation fees paid during the period of fis21 cal years 2012 through 2016 for lands in 

22 each State or lands of each Indian tribe 

23 concerned. 

24 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds dis25 tributed under this section— 


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

2 not affect, the amount of funds distrib3 uted— 

4 ‘‘(I) to States and Indian tribes 

5 under section 401(f); and 

6 ‘‘(II) to States and Indian tribes 

7 that have made a certification under 

8 section 411(a) in which the Secretary 

9 has concurred, subject to the cap de10 scribed in section 402(i)(3); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall not reduce any funds dis12 tributed to a State or Indian tribe by rea13 son of the application of section 402(g)(8). 

14 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CERTAIN

15 STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—From the amount 

17 made available in subsection (b), the Secretary 

18 shall distribute $5,000,000 annually for each of 

19 the five fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 

20 2017 to States and Indian tribes that have a 

21 State program approved under section 405 and 

22 have made a certification under section 411(a) 

23 in which the Secretary has concurred. 

24 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS.—Using 

25 the process in section 405(f), any State or InVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Mar 30, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1731.IH H1731

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1 dian tribe described in subparagraph (A) may 

2 submit a grant application to the Secretary for 

3 funds under this paragraph. The Secretary 

4 shall review each grant application to confirm 

5 that the projects identified in the application 

6 for funding are eligible under subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 

8 amount of funds distributed to each State or 

9 Indian tribe under this paragraph shall be de10 termined by the Secretary based on the dem11 onstrated need for the funding to accomplish 

12 the purpose of this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED

14 FUNDS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) COMMITTED DEFINED.—For pur16 poses of this paragraph the term ‘committed’— 

17 ‘‘(i) means that funds received by the 

18 State or Indian tribe— 

19 ‘‘(I) have been exclusively applied 

20 to or reserved for a specific project 

21 and therefore are not available for any 

22 other purpose; or 

23 ‘‘(II) have been expended or des24 ignated by the State or Indian tribe 

25 for the completion of a project; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) includes use of any amount for 

2 project planning under subsection (g); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) reflects an acknowledgment by 

4 Congress that, based on the documentation 

5 required under subsection (c)(2)(B), any 

6 unanticipated delays to commit such funds 

7 that are outside the control of the State or 

8 Indian tribe concerned shall not affect its 

9 allocations under this section. 

10 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEARS 2020 AND 2021.—For 

11 each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021, the Sec12 retary shall reallocate in accordance with sub13 paragraph (D) any amount available for dis14 tribution under this subsection that has not 

15 been committed to eligible projects in the pre16 ceding 2 fiscal years, among the States and In17 dian tribes that have committed to eligible 

18 projects the full amount of their annual alloca19 tion for the preceding fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(C) FISCAL YEAR 2022.—For fiscal year 

21 2022, the Secretary shall reallocate in accord22 ance with subparagraph (D) any amount avail23 able for distribution under this subsection that 

24 has not been committed to eligible projects or 

25 distributed under paragraph (1)(A), among the 


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1 States and Indian tribes that have committed to 

2 eligible projects the full amount of their annual 

3 allocation for the preceding fiscal years. 

4 ‘‘(D) AMOUNT OF REALLOCATION.—The 

5 amount reallocated to each State or Indian 

6 tribe under each of subparagraphs (B) and (C) 

7 shall be determined by the Secretary to reflect, 

8 to the extent practicable— 

9 ‘‘(i) the proportion of unreclaimed eli10 gible lands and waters the State or Indian 

11 tribe has in the inventory maintained 

12 under section 403(c); 

13 ‘‘(ii) the average of the proportion of 

14 reclamation fees paid for lands in each 

15 State or lands of each Indian tribe con16 cerned; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the proportion of coal mining 

18 employment loss incurred in the State or 

19 on lands of the Indian tribe, respectively, 

20 as determined by the Mine Safety and 

21 Health Administration, over the 5-year pe22 riod preceding the fiscal year for which the 

23 reallocation is made. 

24 ‘‘(e) RESOLUTION OF SECRETARY’S CONCERNS; CON25 GRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary does not 


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1 agree with a State or Indian tribe that a proposed project 

2 meets the criteria set forth in subsection (c)— 

3 ‘‘(1) the Secretary and the State or tribe shall 

4 meet and confer for a period of not more than 45 

5 days to resolve the Secretary’s concerns, except that 

6 such period may be shortened by the Secretary if the 

7 Secretary’s concerns are resolved; 

8 ‘‘(2) during that period, at the State’s or In9 dian tribe’s request, the Secretary may consult with 

10 any appropriate Federal agency; and 

11 ‘‘(3) at the end of that period, if the Secretary’s 

12 concerns are not resolved the Secretary shall provide 

13 to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on En15 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate an expla16 nation of the concerns and such project proposal 

17 shall not be eligible for funds distributed under this 

18 section. 

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

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

21 State or Indian tribe that receives funds under this 

22 section may use up to 30 percent of such funds as 

23 necessary to supplement the State’s or tribe’s acid 

24 mine drainage abatement and treatment fund estab25 lished under section 402(g)(6)(A), for future operVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Mar 30, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1731.IH H1731

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1 ation and maintenance costs for the treatment of 

2 acid mine drainage associated with the individual 

3 projects funded under this section. A State or Indian 

4 tribe shall specify the total funds allotted for such 

5 costs in its application submitted under subsection 

6 (d)(2)(B). 

7 ‘‘(2) CONDITION.—A State or Indian tribe may 

8 use funds under this subsection only if the State or 

9 tribe can demonstrate that the annual grant distrib10 uted to the State or tribe pursuant to section 401(f), 

11 including any interest from the State’s or tribe’s 

12 acid mine drainage abatement and treatment fund 

13 that is not used for the operation or maintenance of 

14 preexisting acid mine drainage treatment systems, is 

15 insufficient to fund the operation and maintenance 

16 of any acid mine drainage treatment system associ17 ated with an individual project funded under this 

18 section. 

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

20 ‘‘(1) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

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

22 tribe may use up to 10 percent of its annual 

23 distribution under this section for project plan24 ning and the costs of administering this section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PLANNING REQUIREMENTS.—Plan2 ning under this paragraph may include— 

3 ‘‘(i) identifying eligible projects; 

4 ‘‘(ii) updating the inventory referred 

5 to in section 403(c); 

6 ‘‘(iii) developing project designs; 

7 ‘‘(iv) collaborating with stakeholders, 

8 including public meetings; 

9 ‘‘(v) preparing cost estimates; or 

10 ‘‘(vi) engaging in other similar activi11 ties necessary to facilitate reclamation ac12 tivities under this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The Secretary may expend, 

14 from amounts made available to the Secretary under 

15 section 402(g)(3)(D), not more than $3,000,000 

16 during the fiscal years for which distributions occur 

17 under subsection (b) for staffing and other adminis18 trative expenses necessary to carry out this section. 

19 ‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

20 provide to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

21 House of Representatives, the Committees on Appropria22 tions of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and 

23 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

24 Senate at the end of each fiscal year for which such funds 

25 are distributed a detailed report— 


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1 ‘‘(1) on the various projects that have been un2 dertaken with such funds; 

3 ‘‘(2) the extent and degree of reclamation using 

4 such funds that achieved the priorities described in 

5 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 403(a); 

6 ‘‘(3) the community and economic benefits that 

7 are resulting from, or are expected to result from, 

8 the use of the funds that achieved the priorities de9 scribed in paragraph (3) of section 403(a); and 

10 ‘‘(4) the reduction since the previous report in 

11 the inventory referred to in section 403(c).’’. 

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

13 in the first section of the Surface Mining Control and Rec14 lamation Act of 1977 is amended by adding at the end 

15 of the items relating to title IV the following: 

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

16 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

17 The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 

18 1977 is amended— 

19 (1) in section 401(c) (30 U.S.C. 1231(c)), by 

20 striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of 

21 paragraph (10), by redesignating paragraph (11) as 

22 paragraph (12), and by inserting after paragraph 

23 (10) the following: 

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


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1 (2) in section 401(d)(3) (30 U.S.C. 

2 1231(d)(3)), by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘subsection (f) and section 416(a)’’; 

4 (3) in section 402(g) (30 U.S.C. 1232(g))— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 

6 section 416’’ after ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end of paragraph (3) 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(F) For the purpose of section 

10 416(d)(2)(A).’’; and 

11 (4) in section 403(c) (30 U.S.C. 1233(c)), by 

12 inserting after the second sentence the following: 

13 ‘‘As practicable, States and Indian tribes shall offer 

14 such amendments based on the use of remote sens15 ing, global positioning systems, and other advanced 

16 technologies.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. MINIMUM STATE PAYMENTS. 

18 Section 402(g)(8)(A) of the Surface Mining Control 

19 and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(g)(8)) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘$3,000,000’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘$5,000,000’’. 

22 SEC. 5. GAO STUDY OF USE OF FUNDS. 

23 Not later than two years after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 


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1 States shall study and report to the Congress on uses of 

2 funds authorized by this Act, including regarding— 

3 (1) the solvency of the Abandoned Mine Rec4 lamation Fund; and 

5 (2) the impact of such use on payments and 

6 transfers under the Surface Mining Control and 

7 Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201) to— 

8 (A) States for which a certification has 

9 been made under section 411 of such Act (30 

10 U.S.C. 1241); 

11 (B) States for which such a certification 

12 has not been made; and 

13 (C) transfers to United Mine Workers of 

14 America Combined Benefit Fund. 

15 SEC. 6. ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION AND RES16 TORATION INITIATIVE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 145 of 

18 title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 14510. Abandoned mine land reclamation and res21 toration initiative 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Appalachian Regional Com23 mission may provide technical assistance, make grants, 

24 enter into contracts, or otherwise provide amounts to indi25 viduals or entities in the Appalachian region for projects 


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1 and activities on lands, or on or in waters, that have been 

2 reclaimed or restored with amounts provided under title 

3 IV of the Surface Mining Control or Reclamation Act of 

4 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.) or that are eligible for such 

5 reclamation or restoration. 

6 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—Of the 

7 cost of any activity eligible for a grant under this sec8 tion— 

9 ‘‘(1) not more than 50 percent may be provided 

10 from amounts appropriated to carry out this section; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(2) notwithstanding paragraph (1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) in the case of a project to be carried 

14 out in a county for which a distressed county 

15 designation is in effect under section 14526, 

16 not more than 80 percent may be provided from 

17 amounts appropriated to carry out this section; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a project to be carried 

20 out in a county for which an at-risk designation 

21 is in effect under section 14526, not more than 

22 70 percent may be provided from amounts ap23 propriated to carry out this section. 

24 ‘‘(c) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—Subject to sub25 section (b), a grant provided under this section may be 


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1 provided from amounts made available to carry out this 

2 section in combination with amounts made available— 

3 ‘‘(1) under any other Federal program; or 

4 ‘‘(2) from any other source. 

5 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any provi6 sion of law limiting the Federal share under any other 

7 Federal program, amounts made available to carry out 

8 this section may be used to increase that Federal share, 

9 as the Appalachian Regional Commission determines to be 

10 appropriate.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap12 ter 145 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by 

13 inserting after the item relating to section 14509 the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘14510. Abandoned mine land reclamation and restoration initiative.’’. 

15 SEC. 7. HEADQUARTERS OF APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COM16 MISSION. 

17 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that— 

18 (1) the Delta Regional Commission, the Denali 

19 Commission, and the Northern Border Regional 

20 Commission are each headquartered in their respec21 tive region; and 

22 (2) the headquarters of the Appalachian Re23 gional Commission should be relocated from the Dis24 trict of Columbia to a more affordable location in 

25 the Appalachian Region. 


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1 (b) LOCATION OF HEADQUARTERS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 14301 of title 40, 

3 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following: 

5 ‘‘(g) HEADQUARTERS.—The headquarters of the 

6 Commission shall be located in the Appalachian Region.’’. 

7 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Federal Cochair8 man of the Appalachian Regional Commission shall 

9 take such actions as may be necessary to carry out 

10 the amendment made by paragraph (1). 

Æ 


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