I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2156 

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 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. BEYER, and 

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Revitalizing the Econ3 omy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities 

4 and Investing More Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘RECLAIM Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION FOR COAL COUNTRY. 

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

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

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

10 ‘‘SEC. 416. ABANDONED MINE LAND ECONOMIC REVITAL11 IZATION. 

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

13 promote economic revitalization, diversification, and devel14 opment in economically distressed mining communities 

15 through the reclamation and restoration of land and water 

16 resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out be17 fore August 3, 1977. 

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

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

20 not otherwise appropriated to the extent such funds are 

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

22 Secretary, without further appropriation, for each of fiscal 

23 years 2020 through 2024 for distribution to States and 

24 Indian tribes in accordance with this section for reclama25 tion and restoration projects at sites identified as prior26 ities under section 403(a): Provided, That if less than 


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1 $200,000,000 is available in any fiscal year to the Sec2 retary, such remaining amount shall be made available to 

3 the Secretary, without further appropriation, and such fis4 cal year shall end distributions made available under this 

5 section. 

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

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

8 for projects classified under the priorities of section 403(a) 

9 that meet the following criteria: 

10 ‘‘(1) CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE ECONOMIC OR

11 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.— 

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

13 completion of reclamation, is intended to create 

14 favorable conditions for the economic develop15 ment of the project site or create favorable con16 ditions that promote the general welfare 

17 through economic and community development 

18 of the area in which the project is conducted. 

19 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CONDITIONS.— 

20 Such conditions are demonstrated by— 

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

22 project in such area’s economic develop23 ment strategy or other economic and com24 munity development planning process; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any other documentation of the 

2 planned economic and community use of 

3 the project site after the primary reclama4 tion activities are completed, which may in5 clude contracts, agreements in principle, or 

6 other evidence that, once reclaimed, the 

7 site is reasonably anticipated to be used 

8 for one or more industrial, commercial, 

9 residential, agricultural, or recreational 

10 purposes; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) any other documentation agreed 

12 to by the State or Indian tribe that dem13 onstrates the project will meet the criteria 

14 set forth in this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(2) LOCATION IN ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED

16 COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY RECENT DECLINE IN

17 MINING.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project will be 

19 conducted in a community— 

20 ‘‘(i) that has been adversely affected 

21 economically by a recent reduction in coal 

22 mining related activity, as demonstrated by 

23 employment data, per capita income, or 

24 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 

9 analysis relied upon in selecting the location of 

10 a project under this subparagraph shall be sub11 mitted to the Secretary for publication. The 

12 Secretary shall publish such evidence or anal13 ysis in the Federal Register within 30 days 

14 after receiving 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 


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1 in a community near the proposed project 

2 site; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the State or Indian tribe pub4 lished notice of such meetings in local 

5 newspapers of general circulation, on the 

6 Internet, and by any other means consid7 ered desirable by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(C) ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION.—The 

9 State or Indian tribe established a way for in10 terested persons to receive electronically all 

11 public notices issued under subparagraph (B) 

12 and any written declarations submitted to the 

13 Secretary 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 

17 be approved and executed by State or tribal pro18 grams, approved under section 405 or referred to in 

19 section 402(g)(8)(B), which may include subcon20 tracting 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 

8 at the project site is not practicable, or why the re9 quirements of paragraph (2) cannot be met, and 

10 that sufficient funds distributed annually under sec11 tion 401 are not available to implement the project. 

12 Such request for an exemption is deemed to be ap13 proved, except the Secretary shall deny such request 

14 if the Secretary determines the declaration to be 

15 substantially inadequate. Any denial of such request 

16 shall be resolved at the State’s or Indian tribe’s re17 quest through the procedures described in subsection 

18 (e). 

19 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) UNCERTIFIED STATES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount 

22 made available in subsection (b), the Secretary 

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

24 of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 to States and 

25 Indian tribes that have a State or tribal proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2156.IH H2156

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1 gram approved under section 405 or are re2 ferred to in section 402(g)(8)(B), and have not 

3 made a certification under section 411(a) in 

4 which the Secretary has concurred, as follows: 

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

6 be distributed based on the proportion of 

7 the amount of coal historically produced in 

8 each State or from the lands of each In9 dian tribe concerned before August 3, 

10 1977. 

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

12 distributed based on the proportion of rec13 lamation fees paid during the period of fis14 cal years 2012 through 2016 for lands in 

15 each State or lands of each Indian tribe 

16 concerned. 

17 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds dis18 tributed under this section— 

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

20 not affect, the amount of funds distrib21 uted— 

22 ‘‘(I) to States and Indian tribes 

23 under section 401(f); and 

24 ‘‘(II) to States and Indian tribes 

25 that have made a certification under 


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1 section 411(a) in which the Secretary 

2 has concurred, subject to the cap de3 scribed in section 402(i)(3); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) shall not reduce any funds dis5 tributed to a State or Indian tribe by rea6 son of the application of section 402(g)(8). 

7 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CERTAIN

8 STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

9 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—From the amount 

10 made available in subsection (b), the Secretary 

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

12 the five fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 

13 2020 to States and Indian tribes that have a 

14 State program approved under section 405 and 

15 have made a certification under section 411(a) 

16 in which the Secretary has concurred. 

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

18 the process in section 405(f), any State or In19 dian tribe described in subparagraph (A) may 

20 submit a grant application to the Secretary for 

21 funds under this paragraph. The Secretary 

22 shall review each grant application to confirm 

23 that the projects identified in the application 

24 for funding are eligible under subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 

2 amount of funds distributed to each State or 

3 Indian tribe under this paragraph shall be de4 termined by the Secretary based on the dem5 onstrated need for the funding to accomplish 

6 the purpose of this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED

8 FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) COMMITTED DEFINED.—For pur10 poses of this paragraph the term ‘committed’— 

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

12 State or Indian tribe— 

13 ‘‘(I) have been exclusively applied 

14 to or reserved for a specific project 

15 and therefore are not available for any 

16 other purpose; or 

17 ‘‘(II) have been expended or des18 ignated by the State or Indian tribe 

19 for the completion of a project; 

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

21 project planning under subsection (g); and 

22 ‘‘(iii) reflects an acknowledgment by 

23 Congress that, based on the documentation 

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

25 unanticipated delays to commit such funds 


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1 that are outside the control of the State or 

2 Indian tribe concerned shall not affect its 

3 allocations under this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEARS 2023 AND 2024.—For 

5 each of fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the Sec6 retary shall reallocate in accordance with sub7 paragraph (D) any amount available for dis8 tribution under this subsection that has not 

9 been committed to eligible projects in the pre10 ceding 2 fiscal years, among the States and In11 dian tribes that have committed to eligible 

12 projects the full amount of their annual alloca13 tion for the preceding fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘(C) FISCAL YEAR 2025.—For fiscal year 

15 2025, the Secretary shall reallocate in accord16 ance with subparagraph (D) any amount avail17 able for distribution under this subsection that 

18 has not been committed to eligible projects or 

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

20 States and Indian tribes that have committed to 

21 eligible projects the full amount of their annual 

22 allocation for the preceding fiscal years. 

23 ‘‘(D) AMOUNT OF REALLOCATION.—The 

24 amount reallocated to each State or Indian 

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


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1 shall be determined by the Secretary to reflect, 

2 to the extent practicable— 

3 ‘‘(i) the proportion of unreclaimed eli4 gible lands and waters the State or Indian 

5 tribe has in the inventory maintained 

6 under section 403(c); 

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

8 reclamation fees paid for lands in each 

9 State or lands of each Indian tribe con10 cerned; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the proportion of coal mining 

12 employment loss incurred in the State or 

13 on lands of the Indian tribe, respectively, 

14 as determined by the Mine Safety and 

15 Health Administration, over the 5-year pe16 riod preceding the fiscal year for which the 

17 reallocation is made. 

18 ‘‘(e) RESOLUTION OF SECRETARY’S CONCERNS; CON19 GRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary does not 

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

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

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

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

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


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1 such period may be shortened by the Secretary if the 

2 Secretary’s concerns are resolved; 

3 ‘‘(2) during that period, at the State’s or In4 dian tribe’s request, the Secretary may consult with 

5 any appropriate Federal agency; and 

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

7 concerns are not resolved the Secretary shall provide 

8 to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

9 House of Representatives and the Committee on En10 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate an expla11 nation of the concerns and such project proposal 

12 shall not be eligible for funds distributed under this 

13 section. 

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

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

16 State or Indian tribe that receives funds under this 

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

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

19 mine drainage abatement and treatment fund estab20 lished under section 402(g)(6)(A), for future oper21 ation and maintenance costs for the treatment of 

22 acid mine drainage associated with the individual 

23 projects funded under this section. A State or Indian 

24 tribe shall specify the total funds allotted for such 


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1 costs in its application submitted under subsection 

2 (d)(2)(B). 

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

4 use funds under this subsection only if the State or 

5 tribe can demonstrate that the annual grant distrib6 uted to the State or tribe pursuant to section 401(f), 

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

8 acid mine drainage abatement and treatment fund 

9 that is not used for the operation or maintenance of 

10 preexisting acid mine drainage treatment systems, is 

11 insufficient to fund the operation and maintenance 

12 of any acid mine drainage treatment system associ13 ated with an individual project funded under this 

14 section. 

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

16 ‘‘(1) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

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

18 tribe may use up to 10 percent of its annual 

19 distribution under this section for project plan20 ning and the costs of administering this section. 

21 ‘‘(B) PLANNING REQUIREMENTS.—Plan22 ning under this paragraph may include— 

23 ‘‘(i) identifying eligible projects; 

24 ‘‘(ii) updating the inventory referred 

25 to in section 403(c); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) developing project designs; 

2 ‘‘(iv) collaborating with stakeholders, 

3 including public meetings; 

4 ‘‘(v) preparing cost estimates; or 

5 ‘‘(vi) engaging in other similar activi6 ties necessary to facilitate reclamation ac7 tivities under this section. 

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

9 from amounts made available to the Secretary under 

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

11 during the fiscal years for which distributions occur 

12 under subsection (b) for staffing and other adminis13 trative expenses necessary to carry out this section. 

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

15 provide to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

16 House of Representatives, the Committees on Appropria17 tions of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and 

18 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

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

20 are distributed a detailed report— 

21 ‘‘(1) on the various projects that have been un22 dertaken with such funds; 

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

24 such funds that achieved the priorities described in 

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


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

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

3 the use of the funds that achieved the priorities de4 scribed in paragraph (3) of section 403(a); and 

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

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

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

8 Any State or Indian tribe that uses the funds distributed 

9 under this section for purposes other than reclamation or 

10 drainage abatement expenditures, as made eligible by sec11 tion 404, and for the purposes authorized under sub12 sections (f) and (g), shall be barred from receiving any 

13 subsequent funding under this section.’’. 

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

15 in the first section of the Surface Mining Control and Rec16 lamation Act of 1977 is amended by adding at the end 

17 of the items relating to title IV the following: 

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

18 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

19 The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 

20 1977 is amended— 

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

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

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

24 paragraph (12), and by inserting after paragraph 

25 (10) the following: 


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

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

3 1231(d)(3)), by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘subsection (f) and section 416(a)’’; 

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

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

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

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

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(F) For the purpose of section 

11 416(d)(2)(A).’’; and 

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

13 inserting after the second sentence the following: 

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

15 such amendments based on the use of remote sens16 ing, global positioning systems, and other advanced 

17 technologies.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. MINIMUM STATE PAYMENTS. 

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

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

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

22 ‘‘$5,000,000’’. 

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

24 Not later than two years after the date of the enact25 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. PAYMENTS TO CERTIFIED STATES NOT AFFECTED. 

16 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to reduce or 

17 otherwise affect payments under section 402(g) of the 

18 Surface Mining Reclamation and Control Act of 1977 (30 

19 U.S.C. 1232(g)) to States that have made a certification 

20 under section 411(a) of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1240a(a)) 

21 in which the Secretary of the Interior has concurred. 

Æ 


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