II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1232 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

BROWN, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) 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 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) AUTHORIZATION.—Of the amounts deposited in 

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

14 not otherwise appropriated, $200,000,000 shall be avail15 able to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for 

16 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 for allocation to 

17 States and Indian Tribes in accordance with this section 

18 for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization, di19 versification, and development in economically distressed 

20 communities through the reclamation and restoration of 

21 land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining 

22 carried out before August 3, 1977. 

23 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to a State or 

24 Indian Tribe under subsection (c) shall be used only for 

25 those projects that meet the following criteria: 


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1 ‘‘(1) RELATED TO THE RECLAMATION OF ABAN2 DONED MINE LAND AND WATER.—The project is de3 signed— 

4 ‘‘(A) to achieve 1 or more of the priorities 

5 stated in section 403(a); or 

6 ‘‘(B) to be conducted on land immediately 

7 adjacent to eligible land and water described in 

8 section 403(a) that has previously been remedi9 ated or will be remediated under this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE ECONOMIC OR

11 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project, on com13 pletion of reclamation, is reasonably likely to 

14 create favorable conditions, as demonstrated in 

15 accordance with subparagraph (B), for the eco16 nomic development of the project site or pro17 mote the general welfare through economic and 

18 community development of the area in which 

19 the project is conducted. 

20 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CONDITIONS.— 

21 The conditions referred to in subparagraph (A) 

22 may be demonstrated by documentation— 

23 ‘‘(i) of the role of the project in the 

24 economic development strategy or other 


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1 economic and community development 

2 planning process of the applicable area; 

3 ‘‘(ii) of the planned economic and 

4 community use of the project site after the 

5 primary reclamation activities are com6 pleted, which may include contracts, agree7 ments in principle, or other evidence that, 

8 once reclaimed, the site is reasonably an9 ticipated to be used for 1 or more indus10 trial, commercial, residential, agricultural, 

11 or recreational purposes; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) agreed to by the State or Indian 

13 Tribe that demonstrates the project will 

14 meet the criteria described in this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(3) LOCATION IN COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY

17 RECENT DECLINE IN MINING.—The project will be 

18 conducted in a community— 

19 ‘‘(A) in which the economic contribution of 

20 coal mining has significantly declined due to a 

21 reduction in coal mining-related activity over 

22 the preceding 8 years, as demonstrated by em23 ployment data, per capita income, or other indi24 cators of reduced economic activity attributable 

25 to the reduction; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) that has traditionally relied on coal 

2 mining for a substantial portion of the economy 

3 of the community. 

4 ‘‘(4) STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION.—The 

5 project has been— 

6 ‘‘(A) the subject of project planning under 

7 subsection (f); and 

8 ‘‘(B) the focus of collaboration, including 

9 partnerships, as appropriate, with interested 

10 persons or local organizations. 

11 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—The project has 

12 been proposed and will be executed by entities of 

13 State, local, county, or Tribal government, which 

14 may include subcontracting project-related activities, 

15 as appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) UNCERTIFIED STATES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF UNCERTIFIED

19 STATE.—In this paragraph, the term 

20 ‘Uncertified State’ means a State that— 

21 ‘‘(i)(I) has a State program approved 

22 under section 405; and 

23 ‘‘(II) has not made a certification 

24 under section 411(a) in which the Sec25 retary has concurred; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is a State described in section 

2 402(g)(8)(B). 

3 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION FOR FISCAL YEARS 2020

4 THROUGH 2024.—Of the amount made available 

5 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall allo6 cate $195,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

7 through 2024 to Uncertified States through a 

8 formula based on the quantity of coal histori9 cally produced in each Uncertified State before 

10 August 3, 1977. 

11 ‘‘(C) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED

12 FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF COMMITTED.— 

14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In this sub15 paragraph, the term ‘committed’, with 

16 respect to funds received by an 

17 Uncertified State, means that the 

18 funds— 

19 ‘‘(aa) have been exclusively 

20 applied to or reserved for a spe21 cific project and therefore are not 

22 available for any other purpose; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(bb) have been expended or 

25 designated by the Uncertified 


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1 State for the completion of a 

2 project. 

3 ‘‘(II) INCLUSION.—In this sub4 paragraph, the term ‘committed’, with 

5 respect to funds received by an 

6 Uncertified State, includes the use of 

7 any funds for project planning under 

8 subsection (f). 

9 ‘‘(ii) FISCAL YEAR 2022 THROUGH

10 2024.—For each of fiscal years 2022 

11 through 2024, the Secretary shall reallo12 cate in accordance with clause (iv) any 

13 amount available for allocation under this 

14 subsection that has not been committed to 

15 eligible projects in the preceding 2 fiscal 

16 years, among the Uncertified States that 

17 have committed to eligible projects the full 

18 amount of the annual allocation of the 

19 Uncertified State for the preceding fiscal 

20 year as described in clause (iv). 

21 ‘‘(iii) FISCAL YEAR 2025.—For fiscal 

22 year 2025, the Secretary shall reallocate in 

23 accordance with clause (iv) any amount 

24 available for allocation under this sub25 section that has not been committed to eliVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232

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1 gible projects or allocated under subpara2 graph (B), among the Uncertified States 

3 that have committed to eligible projects the 

4 full amount of the annual allocation of the 

5 Uncertified State for fiscal year 2024. 

6 ‘‘(iv) AMOUNT OF REALLOCATION.— 

7 The amount reallocated to each Uncertified 

8 State under each of clauses (ii) and (iii) 

9 shall be determined by the Secretary to re10 flect, to the maximum extent practicable— 

11 ‘‘(I) the proportion of unre12 claimed eligible land and water the 

13 Uncertified State has in the inventory 

14 maintained under section 403(c); and 

15 ‘‘(II) the proportion of coal min16 ing employment loss incurred in the 

17 Uncertified State, as determined by 

18 the Mine Safety and Health Adminis19 tration, over the 8-year period pre20 ceding the fiscal year for which the re21 allocation is made. 

22 ‘‘(D) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds al23 located under this subsection— 

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

25 not affect, the amount of funds distributed 


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1 to Uncertified States under section 401(f); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) shall not reduce any funds dis4 tributed to an Uncertified State by reason 

5 of the application of section 402(g)(8). 

6 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CERTIFIED

7 STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph, 

9 the terms ‘State’ and ‘Indian Tribe’ mean a 

10 State or Indian Tribe, as applicable, that— 

11 ‘‘(i) has a State program approved 

12 under section 405; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) has made a certification under 

14 section 411(a) in which the Secretary has 

15 concurred. 

16 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION FOR FISCAL YEARS 2020

17 THROUGH 2024.—Of the amount made available 

18 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall allo19 cate $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

20 through 2024 to States and Indian Tribes. 

21 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Using the process 

23 described in section 405(f), any State or 

24 Indian Tribe may submit a grant applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232

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1 tion to the Secretary for funds under this 

2 paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

4 review each grant application to confirm 

5 that the projects identified in the applica6 tion for funding are eligible under sub7 section (b). 

8 ‘‘(D) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The 

9 amount of funds allocated to each State and In10 dian Tribe under this paragraph shall be deter11 mined by the Secretary based on the dem12 onstrated need for the funding to accomplish 

13 the purposes of this section. 

14 ‘‘(d) RESOLUTION OF CONCERNS OF SECRETARY; 

15 CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary does not 

17 agree with a State or Indian Tribe that a proposed 

18 project meets the criteria described in subsection 

19 (b), the Secretary and the State or Indian Tribe 

20 shall meet and confer for a period of not more than 

21 45 days to resolve the concerns of the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—During the period de23 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary may consult 

24 with any appropriate Federal agency, including the 

25 Appalachian Regional Commission, the Economic 


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1 Development Administration, and the Bureau of In2 dian Affairs, to assist with the resolution of the con3 cerns. 

4 ‘‘(3) EXPLANATION TO CONGRESS.—At the end 

5 of the period described in paragraph (1), if the con6 cerns of the Secretary are not resolved, the Sec7 retary shall submit to Congress an explanation of 

8 the concerns. 

9 ‘‘(e) ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 

11 State or Indian Tribe that receives funds under this 

12 section may retain such portion of the funds as is 

13 necessary to supplement the acid mine drainage 

14 abatement and treatment fund of the State or In15 dian Tribe established under section 402(g)(6)(A), 

16 for future operation and maintenance costs for the 

17 treatment of acid mine drainage associated with the 

18 individual projects funded under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A State or Indian Tribe 

20 shall specify the total funds allotted for costs de21 scribed in paragraph (1) in the application of the 

22 State or Indian Tribe submitted under subsection 

23 (c)(2)(C). 

24 ‘‘(3) CONDITION.—A State or Indian Tribe may 

25 retain and use funds under this subsection only if 


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1 the State or Indian Tribe demonstrates that the an2 nual grant distributed to the State or Indian Tribe 

3 pursuant to section 401(f), including any interest 

4 from the acid mine drainage abatement and treat5 ment fund of the State or Indian Tribe that is not 

6 used for the operation or maintenance of preexisting 

7 acid mine drainage treatment systems, is insufficient 

8 to fund the operation and maintenance of any acid 

9 mine drainage treatment system associated with an 

10 individual project funded under this section. 

11 ‘‘(f) PROJECT PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) STATES.— 

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

14 Tribe may use not greater than 10 percent of 

15 the amounts allocated to the State or Indian 

16 Tribe under this section for project planning 

17 and the costs of administering this section. 

18 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC EN19 GAGEMENT, CONSULTATION WITH SEC20 RETARY.—In carrying out project planning for 

21 a proposed project, the State or Indian Tribe, 

22 in consultation with the Secretary, shall ensure 

23 public engagement at the local level, including 

24 by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) providing to local residents in the 

2 vicinity of the proposed project location— 

3 ‘‘(I) adequate notice; and 

4 ‘‘(II) an opportunity to submit 

5 written comments; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) holding not fewer than 1 public 

7 meeting in a community in the vicinity of 

8 the proposed project location— 

9 ‘‘(I) to provide a description of 

10 the proposed project; and 

11 ‘‘(II) to solicit public comment. 

12 ‘‘(C) PROJECT PLANNING REQUIRE13 MENTS.—For purposes of this paragraph, 

14 project planning may include— 

15 ‘‘(i) identification of eligible projects; 

16 ‘‘(ii) updating the inventory described 

17 in section 403(c); 

18 ‘‘(iii) developing project designs; 

19 ‘‘(iv) preparing cost estimates; 

20 ‘‘(v) collaborating with stakeholders, 

21 including public meetings; or 

22 ‘‘(vi) engaging in other similar activi23 ties necessary to facilitate reclamation ac24 tivities under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—In addition to amounts 

2 available for allocation under subsection (a), the Sec3 retary may expend, without further appropriation, 

4 not more than $3,000,000 for the 5-fiscal-year pe5 riod beginning after the date of enactment of the 

6 RECLAIM Act of 2019 for staffing and other ad7 ministrative expenses necessary to carry out this sec8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USE OF FUNDS.— 

10 Any State or Indian Tribe that uses the funds allocated 

11 to the State or Indian Tribe under this section for pur12 poses other than for the purpose described in subsection 

13 (a) or for the purpose described in subsection (f) shall be 

14 barred from receiving any subsequent funding under this 

15 section. 

16 ‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—At the end of each fis17 cal year for which funds are allocated under this section, 

18 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

19 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

20 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a 

21 detailed report describing— 

22 ‘‘(1) the projects that have been carried out 

23 using the funds; 


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

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

3 of the funds; and 

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

5 the inventory described in section 403(c).’’. 

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

7 in the first section of the Surface Mining Control and Rec8 lamation Act of 1977 (Public Law 95–87; 91 Stat. 445; 

9 104 Stat. 1388–297) is amended by adding at the end 

10 of the items relating to title IV the following: 

‘‘Sec. 415. Remining incentives. 

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

11 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

12 (a) ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND AND

13 PURPOSES.—Section 401 of the Surface Mining Control 

14 and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in subsection (c)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

18 at the end; 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraph (11) as 

20 paragraph (12); and 

21 (C) by inserting after paragraph (10) the 

22 following: 

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


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1 (2) in subsection (d)(3), by inserting ‘‘and sec2 tion 416’’ before the period at the end. 

3 (b) RECLAMATION FEE.—Section 402(g) of the Sur4 face Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 

5 U.S.C. 1232(g)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

7 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and section 416’’ 

8 after ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(F) For the purpose of section 416.’’. 

12 (c) OBJECTIVES OF FUND.—Section 403(c) of the 

13 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 

14 U.S.C. 1233(c)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the fifth sentence, by striking ‘‘On’’ and 

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(B) PROJECTS.—On’’; 

18 (2) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

19 Secretary shall compile’’ and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) INVENTORY.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

22 compile’’; 

23 (3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec24 retary shall provide’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall pro2 vide’’; 

3 (4) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Under’’ 

4 and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) AMENDMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under’’; 

7 (5) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘For’’ and 

8 inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For’’; 

10 (6) in paragraph (1) (as so designated)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘which meet’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘that meet any of’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2) 

14 of’’; 

15 (7) in paragraph (2) (as so designated), by add16 ing at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(B) ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES.—A State 

18 or Indian Tribe offering amendments under 

19 subparagraph (A), shall, if practicable, offer the 

20 amendments based on the use of remote sens21 ing, global positioning systems, and other ad22 vanced technologies.’’; and 

23 (8) in paragraph (4) (as so designated), by add24 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(C) UPDATES.—The Secretary may per2 form any work necessary to amend any entry in 

3 the inventory that has not been updated by a 

4 State or Indian Tribe within the preceding 3 

5 years to ensure that the entry is up-to-date and 

6 accurate.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. MINIMUM STATE PAYMENTS. 

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

9 and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(g)(8)(A)) 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘$3,000,000’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘$5,000,000’’. 

Æ 


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