II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2086

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

improve the reclamation of abandoned mines. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2004

Mr. THOMAS (for himself and Mr. ENZI) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

A BILL

To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 

of 1977 to improve the reclamation of abandoned mines.

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 ‘‘Abandoned Mine Land 

5 Reclamation Reform Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 401(c) of the Surface 

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

9 1231(c)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking paragraphs (2) and (6); and 
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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

2 (5) and (7) through (13) as paragraphs (2) through 

3 (11), respectively. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 712(b) of 

5 the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 

6 (30 U.S.C. 1302(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

7 401(c)(11)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 401(c)(9)’’. 

8 SEC. 3. RECLAMATION FEE. 

9 Section 402 of the Surface Mining Control and Rec10 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘35’’ and inserting ‘‘25’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘15’’ and inserting ‘‘12’’; 

14 and 

15 (C) by striking ‘‘10 cents’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘8 cents’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2004,’’ and 

18 all that follows through the end and inserting 

19 ‘‘2014.’’; and 

20 (3) in subsection (g)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking ‘‘in 

22 any area under paragraph (2), (3), (4), or (5)’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘under paragraph (5)’’; 

24 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert25 ing the following: 
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1 ‘‘(2) In making grants under paragraph (1)(C) 

2 and (5), the Secretary shall ensure that States and 

3 Indian tribes comply strictly with the priorities spec4 ified in section 403(a) until a certification is made 

5 under section 411(a).’’; 

6 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

7 (i) in the matter preceding subpara8 graph (A), by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2) 

9 and’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph’’; 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

11 ‘‘401(c)(11)’’ and inserting ‘‘401(c)(9)’’; 

12 and 

13 (iii) by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(E) For the purpose of paragraph (8).’’; 

16 (D) in paragraph (5)— 

17 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

18 ‘‘The Secretary shall allocate 40’’ and in19 serting ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall allocate 

20 60’’; 

21 (ii) in the last sentence, by striking 

22 ‘‘Funds allocated or expended by the Sec23 retary under paragraphs (2), (3), or (4) of 

24 this subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘Funds 
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1 made available under paragraph (3) or 

2 (4)’’; and 

3 (iii) by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(B) Any amount that is reallocated and 

6 available under section 411(h)(3) shall be in ad7 dition to amounts that are allocated under sub8 paragraph (A).’’; and 

9 (E) by striking paragraphs (6), (7), and 

10 (8) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(6)(A) In this paragraph, the term ‘qualified 

12 hydrologic unit’ means a hydrologic unit— 

13 ‘‘(i) in which the water quality has been 

14 significantly affected by acid mine drainage 

15 from coal mining practices in a manner that ad16 versely affects biological resources; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) that contains land and water that 

18 is— 

19 ‘‘(I) eligible under section 404 and ap20 propriate for the expenditure of moneys 

21 from the fund for the purposes specified in 

22 section 403(a); and 

23 ‘‘(II) the subject of expenditures by 

24 the State from the forfeiture of a bond 

25 filed under section 509 or from any other
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1 State source to abate and treat acid mine 

2 drainage. 

3 ‘‘(B) Any State with an approved abandoned 

4 mine reclamation program under section 405 may 

5 receive and retain, without regard to the 3-year limi6 tation referred to in paragraph (1)(D), up to 10 per7 cent of the total amount of the grants made annu8 ally to the State under paragraphs (1) and (5) if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the amount retained is deposited in an 

10 acid mine drainage abatement and treatment 

11 fund established under State law; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the amount deposited under clause (i) 

13 (together with all interest earned on the 

14 amount) is expended by the State for the abate15 ment of the causes and the treatment of the ef16 fects of acid mine drainage in a comprehensive 

17 manner within qualified hydrologic units af18 fected by coal mining practices. 

19 ‘‘(7) In complying with the priorities specified 

20 in section 403(a), any State or Indian tribe may ex21 pend amounts available in grants made annually to 

22 the State or tribe under paragraphs (1) and (5) for 

23 projects for the purpose specified in section 

24 403(a)(3) prior to the completion of reclamation 

25 projects under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 
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1 403(a) only if the expenditure is made in conjunc2 tion with the expenditure of funds for reclamation 

3 projects under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 

4 403(a). 

5 ‘‘(8) In making grants referred to in paragraph 

6 (1)(C), the Secretary, using amounts allocated to a 

7 State or Indian tribe under subparagraph (A) or (B) 

8 of paragraph (1), or as necessary amounts available 

9 to the Secretary under paragraph (3), shall ensure 

10 that total grant awards of not less than $2,000,000 

11 are made annually to each State, including Ten12 nessee, and each Indian tribe.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. OBJECTIVES OF FUND. 

14 Section 403 of the Surface Mining Control and Rec15 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1233(a)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘general 

18 welfare,’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘health, safety, and 

21 general welfare’’ and inserting ‘‘health and 

22 safety’’; and 

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semi24 colon at the end; and 

25 (C) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5); 
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1 (2) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

3 inserting ‘‘WATER SUPPLY RESTORATION.—’’; 

4 and 

5 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘up to 

6 30 percent of the’’; and 

7 (3) in the second sentence of subsection (c), by 

8 inserting ‘‘, subject to the approval of the Sec9 retary,’’ after ‘‘amendments’’. 

10 SEC. 5. RECLAMATION OF RURAL LAND. 

11 Section 406 of the Surface Mining Control and Rec12 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1236) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘Soil Con14 servation Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Natural Resources 

15 Conservation Service’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(i) There are authorized to be appro18 priated to the Secretary of Agriculture, 

19 from amounts in the Treasury other than 

20 amounts in the fund, such sums as are 

21 necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

22 SEC. 6. LIENS. 

23 Section 408(a) of the Surface Mining Control and 

24 Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1238) is amended 
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1 in the last sentence by striking ‘‘who owned the surface 

2 prior to May 2, 1977, and’’. 

3 SEC. 7. CERTIFICATION. 

4 Section 411 of the Surface Mining Control and Rec5 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1240a) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(h) STATE SHARE FOR CERTIFIED STATES AND IN8 DIAN TRIBES.— 

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

10 ‘‘(A) QUALIFIED STATE OR INDIAN

11 TRIBE.—The term ‘qualified State or Indian 

12 tribe’ means a State or Indian tribe— 

13 ‘‘(i) for which a certification is made 

14 under subsection (a); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) in which there is public domain 

16 land available for leasing under the Min17 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). 

18 ‘‘(B) NON-QUALIFIED STATE OR INDIAN

19 TRIBE.—The term ‘non-qualified State or In20 dian tribe’ means a State or Indian tribe— 

21 ‘‘(i) for which certification is made 

22 under subsection (a); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) in which there is no public do24 main land available for leasing under the 
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1 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 

2 seq.). 

3 ‘‘(2) PAYMENTS TO QUALIFIED STATES AND IN4 DIAN TRIBES.—From amounts referred to in section 

5 35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(a)) 

6 that are paid into the Treasury after the date of the 

7 enactment of this subsection and that are not paid 

8 to States under section 35 of that Act or reserved 

9 as part of the reclamation fund under that section, 

10 the Secretary of the Interior shall pay to each quali11 fied State and Indian tribe, on a proportional basis, 

12 an amount equal to the sum of the aggregate unap13 propriated amount allocated to the qualified State 

14 and Indian tribe under section 402(g)(1)(A). 

15 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS TO NON-QUALIFIED STATES

16 AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than De18 cember 31, 2004, in addition to any other funds 

19 provided under this Act, the Secretary of the 

20 Interior shall use amounts described in section 

21 8(a) of the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation 

22 Reform Act of 2004 to pay an amount to any 

23 non-qualified State or Indian tribe. 
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1 ‘‘(B) PROPORTIONAL AMOUNT.—The pay2 ment to a non-qualified State or Indian tribe 

3 under subparagraph (A) shall be— 

4 ‘‘(i) proportional to the sum of the ag5 gregate unappropriated amount allocated 

6 to the State or Indian tribe under section 

7 402(g)(1)(B); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) in lieu of payment of the aggre9 gate allocated amount. 

10 ‘‘(C) TOTAL AMOUNT.—The total amount 

11 of payments made under this paragraph shall 

12 not exceed $65,000,000. 

13 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—Payments to States 

14 and Indian tribes under this subsection shall be 

15 made, without regard to any limitation in section 

16 401(d), in the same manner as if the payments were 

17 made under, and concurrently with payments under, 

18 section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

19 191). 

20 ‘‘(5) REALLOCATION.—The amount allocated to 

21 any State or Indian tribe under section 402(g)(1)(A) 

22 that is paid to the qualified State or Indian tribe as 

23 a result of a payment under paragraph (2) shall be 

24 reallocated and available for grants under section 

25 402(g)(5).’’. 
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1 SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION. 

2 (a) TRANSITION RULES.— 

3 (1) AVAILABILITY OF ALLOCATED AMOUNTS.—

4 Amounts allocated under section 402(g)(2) of the 

5 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 

6 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(g)(2)) (excluding interest) be7 fore the date of enactment of this Act for the pro8 gram under section 406 of that Act (30 U.S.C. 

9 1236), but not appropriated before that date, shall 

10 be available for fiscal year 2005 and thereafter for 

11 the transfers referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) 

12 of section 411(h) of that Act (30 U.S.C. 1240a(h)) 

13 (as amended by section 7), in the same manner as 

14 are other amounts available for the transfers. 

15 (2) INTEREST.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law, interest credited to the fund estab17 lished by section 401 of the Surface Mining Control 

18 and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231) that 

19 are not transferred to the Combined Benefit Fund 

20 referred to in section 402(h) of that Act (30 U.S.C. 

21 1232(h)), before the date of enactment of this Act 

22 shall be available for fiscal year 2006 and thereafter 

23 for the transfers referred to in paragraphs (2) and 

24 (3) of section 402(h) of that Act (30 U.S.C. 

25 1232(h)), in the same manner as are other amounts 

26 available for the transfers. 
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1 (b) INVENTORY.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 the Interior shall complete a review of all additions 

5 made, pursuant to amendments offered by States 

6 and Indians tribes after December 31, 1998, to the 

7 inventory referred to in section 403(c) of the Surface 

8 Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 

9 U.S.C. 1233(c)) to ensure that the additions— 

10 (A) reflect eligible land and water under 

11 section 404 of that Act (30 U.S.C. 1234) that 

12 meet the priorities specified in paragraphs (1) 

13 and (2) of section 403(a) of that Act (30 

14 U.S.C. 1233(a)); and 

15 (B) are correctly identified pursuant to the 

16 priorities. 

17 (2) REMOVAL FROM INVENTORY.—Any land or 

18 water that was included in the inventory pursuant to 

19 the general welfare standard specified in section 

20 403(a) of that Act (30 U.S.C. 1233(a)) before the 

21 date of enactment of this Act that is determined in 

22 the review to no longer meet the criteria specified in 

23 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 403(a) of that Act 

24 (as amended by section 4(1)), shall be removed from 

25 the inventory. 
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1 (c) CLARIFICATION.—Section 528(2) of the Surface 

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

3 1278(2)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘government-fi4 nanced’’ the following: ‘‘(not including financing with 

5 funds made available under title IV)’’. 

6 (d) REMINING.— 

7 (1) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 

8 510(e) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclama9 tion Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1260(e)) is amended in 

10 the last sentence by striking ‘‘2004’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘2014’’. 

12 (2) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Except as provided in 

13 paragraph (1), nothing in this section modifies any 

14 provision of law relating to the remining of coal.

Æ