IB 

Union Calendar No. 362 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6233 

[Report No. 118–438] 

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

authorize partnerships between States and nongovernmental entities for 

the purpose of reclaiming and restoring land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining activities before August 3, 1977, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 6, 2023 

Mr. LAHOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

APRIL 5, 2024 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 

of 1977 to authorize partnerships between States and 

nongovernmental entities for the purpose of reclaiming 

and restoring land and water resources adversely affected 

by coal mining activities 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 ‘‘Community Reclama5 tion Partnerships Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REFERENCE. 

7 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

8 this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amend9 ment to a provision, the reference shall be considered to 

10 be made to a provision of the Surface Mining Control and 

11 Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 3. STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR CER13 TAIN REMEDIATION. 

14 Section 405 (30 U.S.C. 1235) is amended by insert15 ing after subsection (l) the following: 

16 ‘‘(m) STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR

17 REMEDIATION OF MINE DRAINAGE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State with a State pro19 gram approved under subsection (d) may enter into 

20 a memorandum of understanding with relevant Fed21 eral or State agencies (or both) to remediate mine 

22 drainage on abandoned mine land and water im23 pacted by abandoned mines within the State. The 

24 memorandum may be updated as necessary and re25 submitted for approval under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMORANDA REQUIREMENTS.—Such 

2 memorandum shall establish a strategy satisfactory 

3 to the State and Federal agencies that are parties 

4 to the memorandum, to address water pollution re5 sulting from mine drainage at sites eligible for rec6 lamation and mine drainage abatement expenditures 

7 under section 404, including specific procedures 

8 for— 

9 ‘‘(A) ensuring that activities carried out to 

10 address mine drainage will result in improved 

11 water quality; 

12 ‘‘(B) monitoring, sampling, and the report13 ing of collected information as necessary to 

14 achieve the condition required under subpara15 graph (A); 

16 ‘‘(C) operation and maintenance of treat17 ment systems as necessary to achieve the condi18 tion required under subparagraph (A); and 

19 ‘‘(D) other purposes, as considered nec20 essary by the State or Federal agencies, to 

21 achieve the condition required under subpara22 graph (A). 

23 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.— 


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

2 memorandum to the Secretary and the Admin3 istrator for approval, a State shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) invite interested members of the 

5 public to comment on the memorandum; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) hold at least one public meeting 

8 concerning the memorandum in a location 

9 or locations reasonably accessible to per10 sons who may be affected by implementa11 tion of the memorandum. 

12 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF MEETING.—The State 

13 shall publish notice of each meeting not less 

14 than 15 days before the date of the meeting, in 

15 local newspapers of general circulation, on the 

16 Internet, and by any other means considered 

17 necessary or desirable by the Secretary and the 

18 Administrator. 

19 ‘‘(C) RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

20 The memorandum shall include responses to 

21 substantive concerns raised by the public in 

22 comments and during public meetings if re23 ceived within 30 days of such meetings and op24 portunity to comment. 


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1 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL.—The State 

2 shall submit the memorandum to the Secretary and 

3 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

4 Agency for approval. The Secretary and the Admin5 istrator shall approve or disapprove the memo6 randum within 120 days after the date of its sub7 mission if the Secretary and Administrator find that 

8 the memorandum will facilitate additional activities 

9 under the State Reclamation Plan under subsection 

10 (e) that improve water quality. 

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

12 A memorandum of a State that is approved by the 

13 Secretary and the Administrator under this sub14 section shall be considered part of the approved 

15 abandoned mine reclamation plan of the State. 

16 ‘‘(n) COMMUNITY RECLAIMER PARTNERSHIPS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PROJECT APPROVAL.—Within 120 days 

18 after receiving such a submission, the Secretary 

19 shall approve a Community Reclaimer project to re20 mediate abandoned mine lands if the Secretary finds 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the proposed project will be con23 ducted by a Community Reclaimer as defined in 

24 this subsection or approved subcontractors of 

25 the Community Reclaimer; 


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1 ‘‘(B) for any proposed project that remedi2 ates mine drainage, the proposed project is con3 sistent with an approved State memorandum of 

4 understanding under subsection (m); 

5 ‘‘(C) the proposed project will be con6 ducted on a site or sites inventoried under sec7 tion 403(c); 

8 ‘‘(D) the proposed project meets all sub9 mission criteria under paragraph (2); 

10 ‘‘(E) the relevant State has entered into an 

11 agreement with the Community Reclaimer 

12 under which the State shall assume all respon13 sibility with respect to the project for any costs 

14 or damages resulting from any action or inac15 tion on the part of the Community Reclaimer in 

16 carrying out the project, except for costs or 

17 damages resulting from gross negligence or in18 tentional misconduct by the Community Re19 claimer, on behalf of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Community Reclaimer; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the owner of the proposed project 

22 site, if such Community Reclaimer or 

23 owner, respectively, did not participate in 

24 any way in the creation of site conditions 

25 at the proposed project site or activities 


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1 that caused any lands or waters to become 

2 eligible for reclamation or drainage abate3 ment expenditures under section 404; 

4 ‘‘(F) the State has the necessary legal au5 thority to conduct the project and will obtain all 

6 legally required authorizations, permits, li7 censes, and other approvals to ensure comple8 tion of the project; 

9 ‘‘(G) the State has sufficient financial re10 sources to ensure completion of the project, in11 cluding any necessary operation and mainte12 nance costs (including costs associated with 

13 emergency actions covered by a contingency 

14 plan under paragraph (2)(K)); and 

15 ‘‘(H) the proposed project is not in a cat16 egory of projects that would require a permit 

17 under title V. 

18 ‘‘(2) PROJECT SUBMISSION.—The State shall 

19 submit a request for approval to the Secretary that 

20 shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed project, 

22 including any engineering plans that must bear 

23 the seal of a professional engineer; 

24 ‘‘(B) a description of the proposed project 

25 site or sites, including, if relevant, the nature 


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1 and extent of pollution resulting from mine 

2 drainage; 

3 ‘‘(C) identification of the past and current 

4 owners and operators of the proposed project 

5 site; 

6 ‘‘(D) the agreement or contract between 

7 the relevant State and the Community Re8 claimer to carry out the project; 

9 ‘‘(E) a determination that the project will 

10 facilitate the activities of the State reclamation 

11 plan under subsection (e); 

12 ‘‘(F) sufficient information to determine 

13 whether the Community Reclaimer has the 

14 technical capability and expertise to successfully 

15 conduct the proposed project; 

16 ‘‘(G) a cost estimate for the project and 

17 evidence that the Community Reclaimer has 

18 sufficient financial resources to ensure the suc19 cessful completion of the proposed project (in20 cluding any operation or maintenance costs); 

21 ‘‘(H) a schedule for completion of the 

22 project; 

23 ‘‘(I) an agreement between the Community 

24 Reclaimer and the current owner of the site 

25 governing access to the site; 


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1 ‘‘(J) sufficient information to ensure that 

2 the Community Reclaimer meets the definition 

3 under paragraph (3); 

4 ‘‘(K) a contingency plan designed to be 

5 used in response to unplanned adverse events 

6 that includes emergency actions, response, and 

7 notifications; 

8 ‘‘(L) detailed plans for any proposed recy9 cling or reprocessing of historic mine residue to 

10 be conducted by the Community Reclaimer (in11 cluding a description of how all proposed recy12 cling or reprocessing activities contribute to the 

13 remediation of the abandoned mine site); and 

14 ‘‘(M) a requirement that the State provide 

15 notice to adjacent and downstream landowners 

16 and the public and hold a public meeting near 

17 the proposed project site before the project is 

18 initiated. 

19 ‘‘(3) REPROCESSING OF MATERIALS.—A Com20 munity Reclaimer may reprocess materials recovered 

21 during the implementation of a remediation plan 

22 only if— 

23 ‘‘(A) the applicable land management 

24 agency has signed a decision document approvVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Apr 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6233.RH H6233

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1 ing reprocessing as part of the approved aban2 doned mine reclamation plan of the State; 

3 ‘‘(B) the proceeds from the sale or use of 

4 the materials are used— 

5 ‘‘(i) to defray the costs of the remedi6 ation; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) to reimburse the Administrator 

8 or the head of a Federal land management 

9 agency for the purpose of carrying out this 

10 Act; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the materials only include historic 

12 mine residue. 

13 ‘‘(4) COMMUNITY RECLAIMER DEFINED.—For 

14 purposes of this section, the term ‘Community Re15 claimer’ means any person who— 

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

17 with a reclamation project under this section, 

18 which may include companies that currently 

19 hold reclamation liability elsewhere from the 

20 proposed site or active mine sites that require 

21 a performance bond; 

22 ‘‘(B) did not participate in any way in the 

23 creation of site conditions at the proposed 

24 project site or activities that caused any lands 

25 or waters at the proposed project site to become 


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1 eligible for reclamation or drainage abatement 

2 expenditures under section 404; and 

3 ‘‘(C) is not subject to outstanding viola4 tions listed pursuant to section 510(c).’’. 

5 SEC. 4. CLARIFYING STATE LIABILITY FOR MINE DRAINAGE 

6 PROJECTS. 

7 Section 413(d) (30 U.S.C. 1242(d)) is amended by 

8 inserting ‘‘unless such control or treatment will be con9 ducted in accordance with a State memorandum of under10 standing approved under section 405(m) of this Act’’ after 

11 ‘‘under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act’’. 

12 SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

13 Section 405(f) (30 U.S.C. 1235(f)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking the ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

15 paragraph (6); 

16 (2) by striking the period at the end of para17 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(8) a list of projects proposed under sub20 section (n).’’. 

21 SEC. 6. SUNSET PROVISION. 

22 This Act shall be in effect until September 30, 2030. 


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ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 362 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6233 

[Report No. 118–438] 

A BILL 

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Recpurposes. activities before August 3, 1977, and for other water resources adversely affected by coal mining the purpose of reclaiming and restoring land and between States and nongovernmental entities for lamation Act of 1977 to authorize partnerships 

APRIL 5, 2024 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS