IB 

Union Calendar No. 255 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1731 

[Report No. 115–351, Part I] 

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 

OCTOBER 19, 2017 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. 

BARLETTA, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. DENT, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

BEYER, Mr. ROTHFUS, Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. MARINO, Mr. 

GIBBS, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, Mr. 

POLIS, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New 

Mexico, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. ROE of 

Tennessee, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. RENACCI, Mrs. 

BUSTOS, and Mr. FOSTER


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OCTOBER 19, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

OCTOBER 19, 2017 

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed 

to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 27, 2017] 

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 et 

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

12 ‘‘SEC. 416. ABANDONED MINE LAND ECONOMIC REVITALIZA13 TION. 

14 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro15 mote economic revitalization, diversification, and develop16 ment 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 the 

21 fund under section 401(b) before October 1, 2007, and not 

22 otherwise appropriated to the extent such funds are avail23 able, $200,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary, 

24 without further appropriation, for each of fiscal years 2017 

25 through 2021 for distribution to States and Indian tribes 


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1 in accordance with this section for reclamation and restora2 tion projects at sites identified as priorities under section 

3 403(a): Provided, That if less than $200,000,000 is avail4 able in any fiscal year to the Secretary, such remaining 

5 amount shall be made available to the Secretary, without 

6 further appropriation, and such fiscal year shall end dis7 tributions made available under this section. 

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

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

10 projects classified under the priorities of section 403(a) that 

11 meet the following criteria: 

12 ‘‘(1) CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE ECONOMIC OR

13 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project, upon com15 pletion of reclamation, is intended to create fa16 vorable conditions for the economic development 

17 of the project site or create favorable conditions 

18 that promote the general welfare through eco19 nomic and community development of the area 

20 in which the project is conducted. 

21 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CONDITIONS.— 

22 Such conditions are demonstrated by— 

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

24 project in such area’s economic development 


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1 strategy or other economic and community 

2 development planning process; 

3 ‘‘(ii) any other documentation of the 

4 planned economic and community use of the 

5 project site after the primary reclamation 

6 activities are completed, which may include 

7 contracts, agreements in principle, or other 

8 evidence that, once reclaimed, the site is 

9 reasonably anticipated to be used for one or 

10 more industrial, commercial, residential, 

11 agricultural, or recreational purposes; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) any other documentation agreed 

13 to by the State or Indian tribe that dem14 onstrates the project will meet the criteria 

15 set forth in this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(2) LOCATION IN ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED

17 COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY RECENT DECLINE IN MIN18 ING.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project will be con20 ducted in a community— 

21 ‘‘(i) that has been adversely affected 

22 economically by a recent reduction in coal 

23 mining related activity, as demonstrated by 

24 employment data, per capita income, or 

25 other indicators of economic distress; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii)(I) that has historically relied on 

2 coal mining for a substantial portion of its 

3 economy; and 

4 ‘‘(II) in which the economic contribu5 tion of coal mining has significantly de6 clined. 

7 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION OF

8 EVIDENCE OR ANALYSIS.—Any evidence or anal9 ysis relied upon in selecting the location of a 

10 project under this subparagraph shall be sub11 mitted to the Secretary for publication. The Sec12 retary shall publish such evidence or analysis in 

13 the Federal Register within 30 days after receiv14 ing such submission. 

15 ‘‘(3) STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION.— 

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

17 the subject of project planning under subsection 

18 (g) and has been the focus of collaboration, in19 cluding partnerships, as appropriate, with inter20 ested persons or local organizations. 

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

22 planning— 

23 ‘‘(i) the public has been notified of the 

24 project and has been given an opportunity 

25 to comment at a public meeting convened in 


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1 a community near the proposed project site; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the State or Indian tribe pub4 lished notice of such meetings in local news5 papers of general circulation, on the Inter6 net, and by any other means considered de7 sirable by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(C) ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION.—The 

9 State or Indian tribe established a way for inter10 ested persons to receive electronically all public 

11 notices issued under subparagraph (B) and any 

12 written declarations submitted to the Secretary 

13 under paragraph (5). 

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

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

16 tribal governments, or local organizations, and will be 

17 approved and executed by State or tribal programs, 

18 approved under section 405 or referred to in section 

19 402(g)(8)(B), which may include subcontracting 

20 project-related activities, as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(5) WAIVER.—If the State or Indian tribe— 

22 ‘‘(A) cannot provide documentation de23 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) for a project con24 ducted under a priority stated in paragraph (1) 

25 or (2) of section 403(a), or 


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1 ‘‘(B) is unable to meet the requirements 

2 under paragraph (2), 

3 the State or Indian tribe shall submit a written dec4 laration to the Secretary requesting an exemption 

5 from the requirements of those subparagraphs. The 

6 declaration must explain why achieving favorable 

7 conditions for economic or community development at 

8 the project site is not practicable, or why the require9 ments of paragraph (2) cannot be met, and that suffi10 cient funds distributed annually under section 401 

11 are not available to implement the project. Such re12 quest for an exemption is deemed to be approved, ex13 cept the Secretary shall deny such request if the Sec14 retary determines the declaration to be substantially 

15 inadequate. Any denial of such request shall be re16 solved at the State’s or Indian tribe’s request through 

17 the procedures described in subsection (e). 

18 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) UNCERTIFIED STATES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount made 

21 available in subsection (b), the Secretary shall 

22 distribute $195,000,000 annually for each of fis23 cal years 2017 through 2021 to States and In24 dian tribes that have a State or tribal program 

25 approved under section 405 or are referred to in 


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1 section 402(g)(8)(B), and have not made a cer2 tification under section 411(a) in which the Sec3 retary has concurred, as follows: 

4 ‘‘(i) Four-fifths of such amount shall be 

5 distributed based on the proportion of the 

6 amount of coal historically produced in 

7 each State or from the lands of each Indian 

8 tribe concerned before August 3, 1977. 

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

10 distributed based on the proportion of rec11 lamation fees paid during the period of fis12 cal years 2012 through 2016 for lands in 

13 each State or lands of each Indian tribe 

14 concerned. 

15 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds dis16 tributed under this section— 

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

18 not affect, the amount of funds distrib19 uted— 

20 ‘‘(I) to States and Indian tribes 

21 under section 401(f); and 

22 ‘‘(II) to States and Indian tribes 

23 that have made a certification under 

24 section 411(a) in which the Secretary 


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1 has concurred, subject to the cap de2 scribed in section 402(i)(3); and 

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

6 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CERTAIN STATES

7 AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

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

9 available in subsection (b), the Secretary shall 

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

11 five fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2017 

12 to States and Indian tribes that have a State 

13 program approved under section 405 and have 

14 made a certification under section 411(a) in 

15 which the Secretary has concurred. 

16 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS.—Using the 

17 process in section 405(f), any State or Indian 

18 tribe described in subparagraph (A) may submit 

19 a grant application to the Secretary for funds 

20 under this paragraph. The Secretary shall review 

21 each grant application to confirm that the 

22 projects identified in the application for funding 

23 are eligible under subsection (c). 

24 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 

25 amount of funds distributed to each State or InVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Oct 19, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1731.RH H1731

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1 dian tribe under this paragraph shall be deter2 mined by the Secretary based on the dem3 onstrated need for the funding to accomplish the 

4 purpose of this section. 

5 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED FUNDS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) COMMITTED DEFINED.—For purposes 

7 of this paragraph the term ‘committed’— 

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

9 State or Indian tribe— 

10 ‘‘(I) have been exclusively applied 

11 to or reserved for a specific project and 

12 therefore are not available for any 

13 other purpose; or 

14 ‘‘(II) have been expended or des15 ignated by the State or Indian tribe 

16 for the completion of a project; 

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

18 project planning under subsection (g); and 

19 ‘‘(iii) reflects an acknowledgment by 

20 Congress that, based on the documentation 

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

22 unanticipated delays to commit such funds 

23 that are outside the control of the State or 

24 Indian tribe concerned shall not affect its 

25 allocations under this section. 


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

2 each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021, the Secretary 

3 shall reallocate in accordance with subparagraph 

4 (D) any amount available for distribution under 

5 this subsection that has not been committed to el6 igible projects in the preceding 2 fiscal years, 

7 among the States and Indian tribes that have 

8 committed to eligible projects the full amount of 

9 their annual allocation for the preceding fiscal 

10 year. 

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

12 2022, the Secretary shall reallocate in accordance 

13 with subparagraph (D) any amount available 

14 for distribution under this subsection that has 

15 not been committed to eligible projects or distrib16 uted under paragraph (1)(A), among the States 

17 and Indian tribes that have committed to eligible 

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

20 ‘‘(D) AMOUNT OF REALLOCATION.—The 

21 amount reallocated to each State or Indian tribe 

22 under each of subparagraphs (B) and (C) shall 

23 be determined by the Secretary to reflect, to the 

24 extent practicable— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the proportion of unreclaimed eli2 gible lands and waters the State or Indian 

3 tribe has in the inventory maintained 

4 under section 403(c); 

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

6 reclamation fees paid for lands in each 

7 State or lands of each Indian tribe con8 cerned; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the proportion of coal mining 

10 employment loss incurred in the State or on 

11 lands of the Indian tribe, respectively, as 

12 determined by the Mine Safety and Health 

13 Administration, over the 5-year period pre14 ceding the fiscal year for which the realloca15 tion is made. 

16 ‘‘(e) RESOLUTION OF SECRETARY’S CONCERNS; CON17 GRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary does not 

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

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

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

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

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

23 such period may be shortened by the Secretary if the 

24 Secretary’s concerns are resolved; 


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1 ‘‘(2) during that period, at the State’s or Indian 

2 tribe’s request, the Secretary may consult with any 

3 appropriate Federal agency; and 

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

5 concerns are not resolved the Secretary shall provide 

6 to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

7 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

8 Natural Resources of the Senate an explanation of the 

9 concerns and such project proposal shall not be eligi10 ble for funds distributed under this section. 

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

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

13 State or Indian tribe that receives funds under this 

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

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

16 mine drainage abatement and treatment fund estab17 lished under section 402(g)(6)(A), for future operation 

18 and maintenance costs for the treatment of acid mine 

19 drainage associated with the individual projects fund20 ed under this section. A State or Indian tribe shall 

21 specify the total funds allotted for such costs in its 

22 application submitted under subsection (d)(2)(B). 

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

24 use funds under this subsection only if the State or 

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1 uted to the State or tribe pursuant to section 401(f), 

2 including any interest from the State’s or tribe’s acid 

3 mine drainage abatement and treatment fund that is 

4 not used for the operation or maintenance of pre5 existing acid mine drainage treatment systems, is in6 sufficient to fund the operation and maintenance of 

7 any acid mine drainage treatment system associated 

8 with an individual project funded under this section. 

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

10 ‘‘(1) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe 

12 may use up to 10 percent of its annual distribu13 tion under this section for project planning and 

14 the costs of administering this section. 

15 ‘‘(B) PLANNING REQUIREMENTS.—Planning 

16 under this paragraph may include— 

17 ‘‘(i) identifying eligible projects; 

18 ‘‘(ii) updating the inventory referred to 

19 in section 403(c); 

20 ‘‘(iii) developing project designs; 

21 ‘‘(iv) collaborating with stakeholders, 

22 including public meetings; 

23 ‘‘(v) preparing cost estimates; or 


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1 ‘‘(vi) engaging in other similar activi2 ties necessary to facilitate reclamation ac3 tivities under this section. 

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

5 from amounts made available to the Secretary under 

6 section 402(g)(3)(D), not more than $3,000,000 dur7 ing the fiscal years for which distributions occur 

8 under subsection (b) for staffing and other adminis9 trative expenses necessary to carry out this section. 

10 ‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall pro11 vide to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

12 of Representatives, the Committees on Appropriations of the 

13 House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Com14 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate at 

15 the end of each fiscal year for which such funds are distrib16 uted a detailed report— 

17 ‘‘(1) on the various projects that have been un18 dertaken with such funds; 

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

20 such funds that achieved the priorities described in 

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

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

23 are resulting from, or are expected to result from, the 

24 use of the funds that achieved the priorities described 

25 in paragraph (3) of section 403(a); and 


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

2 the inventory referred to in section 403(c). 

3 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USE OF FUNDS.—Any 

4 State or Indian tribe that uses the funds distributed under 

5 this section for purposes other than reclamation or drainage 

6 abatement expenditures, as made eligible by section 404, 

7 and for the purposes authorized under subsections (f) and 

8 (g), shall be barred from receiving any subsequent funding 

9 under this section.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

11 the first section of the Surface Mining Control and Rec12 lamation Act of 1977 is amended by adding at the end of 

13 the items relating to title IV the following: 

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

14 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

15 The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 

16 1977 is amended— 

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

18 striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of para19 graph (10), by redesignating paragraph (11) as para20 graph (12), and by inserting after paragraph (10) the 

21 following: 

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

23 (2) in section 401(d)(3) (30 U.S.C. 1231(d)(3)), 

24 by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

25 (f) and section 416(a)’’; 


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

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

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

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

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(F) For the purpose of section 

7 416(d)(2)(A).’’; and 

8 (4) in section 403(c) (30 U.S.C. 1233(c)), by in9 serting after the second sentence the following: ‘‘As 

10 practicable, States and Indian tribes shall offer such 

11 amendments based on the use of remote sensing, global 

12 positioning systems, and other advanced tech13 nologies.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. MINIMUM STATE PAYMENTS. 

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

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

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

18 ‘‘$5,000,000’’. 

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

20 Not later than two years after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

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

23 funds authorized by this Act, including regarding— 

24 (1) the solvency of the Abandoned Mine Rec25 lamation Fund; and 


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

2 transfers under the Surface Mining Control and Rec3 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201) to— 

4 (A) States for which a certification has been 

5 made under section 411 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 

6 1241); 

7 (B) States for which such a certification has 

8 not been made; and 

9 (C) transfers to United Mine Workers of 

10 America Combined Benefit Fund. 

11 SEC. 6. ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION AND RES12 TORATION INITIATIVE. 

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

14 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 14510. Abandoned mine land reclamation and res17 toration initiative 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Appalachian Regional Com19 mission may provide technical assistance, make grants, 

20 enter into contracts, or otherwise provide amounts to indi21 viduals or entities in the Appalachian region for projects 

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

23 reclaimed or restored with amounts provided under title IV 

24 of the Surface Mining Control or Reclamation Act of 1977 


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1 (30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.) or that are eligible for such rec2 lamation or restoration. 

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

4 cost of any activity eligible for a grant under this section— 

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

6 from amounts appropriated to carry out this section; 

7 and 

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

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

10 out in a county for which a distressed county 

11 designation is in effect under section 14526, not 

12 more than 80 percent may be provided from 

13 amounts appropriated to carry out this section; 

14 and 

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

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

17 is in effect under section 14526, not more than 

18 70 percent may be provided from amounts ap19 propriated to carry out this section. 

20 ‘‘(c) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—Subject to subsection 

21 (b), a grant provided under this section may be provided 

22 from amounts made available to carry out this section in 

23 combination with amounts made available— 

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

25 ‘‘(2) from any other source. 


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1 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any provi2 sion of law limiting the Federal share under any other Fed3 eral program, amounts made available to carry out this sec4 tion may be used to increase that Federal share, as the Ap5 palachian Regional Commission determines to be appro6 priate.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 

8 145 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

9 after the item relating to section 14509 the following: 

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

10 SEC. 7. HEADQUARTERS OF APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COM11 MISSION. 

12 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that— 

13 (1) the Delta Regional Commission, the Denali 

14 Commission, and the Northern Border Regional Com15 mission are each headquartered in their respective re16 gion; and 

17 (2) the headquarters of the Appalachian Re18 gional Commission should be relocated from the Dis19 trict of Columbia to a more affordable location in the 

20 Appalachian Region. 

21 (b) LOCATION OF HEADQUARTERS.— 

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

23 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(g) HEADQUARTERS.—The headquarters of the Com2 mission shall be located in the Appalachian Region.’’. 

3 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Federal Cochairman 

4 of the Appalachian Regional Commission shall take 

5 such actions as may be necessary to carry out the 

6 amendment made by paragraph (1). 

7 SEC. 8. PAYMENTS TO CERTIFIED STATES NOT AFFECTED. 

8 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to reduce or oth9 erwise affect payments under section 402(g) of the Surface 

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

11 1232(g)) to States that have made a certification under sec12 tion 411(a) of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1240a(a)) in which the 

13 Secretary of the Interior has concurred. 


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Union Calendar No. 255 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1731 

[Report No. 115–351, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Recfor other purposes. mining carried out before August 3, 1977, and and water resources adversely affected by coal through the reclamation and restoration of land opment in economically distressed communities economic revitalization, diversification, and devel- and Indian tribes for the purpose of promoting lamation Act of 1977 to provide funds to States 

OCTOBER 19, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

an amendment 

OCTOBER 19, 2017 

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

printed House on the State of the Union and ordered to be discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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