119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 167 
AN ACT 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Reclama-
tion Partnerships Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. REFERENCE. 
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amend-
ment to a provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a provision of the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). 
SEC. 3. STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR CER-
TAIN REMEDIATION. 
Section 405 (30 U.S.C. 1235) is amended by insert-
ing after subsection (l) the following: 
‘‘(m) STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR 
REMEDIATION OF MINE DRAINAGE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State with a State pro-
gram approved under subsection (d) may enter into 
a memorandum of understanding with relevant Fed-
eral or State agencies (or both) to remediate mine 
drainage on abandoned mine land and water im-
pacted by abandoned mines within the State. The 
memorandum may be updated as necessary and re-
submitted for approval under this subsection. 
‘‘(2) 
MEMORANDA
REQUIREMENTS.—Such 
memorandum shall establish a strategy satisfactory 
to the State and Federal agencies that are parties
to the memorandum, to address water pollution re-
sulting from mine drainage at sites eligible for rec-
lamation and mine drainage abatement expenditures 
under section 404, including specific procedures 
for— 
‘‘(A) ensuring that activities carried out to 
address mine drainage will result in improved 
water quality; 
‘‘(B) monitoring, sampling, and the report-
ing of collected information as necessary to 
achieve the condition required under subpara-
graph (A); 
‘‘(C) operation and maintenance of treat-
ment systems as necessary to achieve the condi-
tion required under subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(D) other purposes, as considered nec-
essary by the State or Federal agencies, to 
achieve the condition required under subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(3) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before submitting a 
memorandum to the Secretary and the Admin-
istrator for approval, a State shall—
‘‘(i) invite interested members of the 
public to comment on the memorandum; 
and 
‘‘(ii) hold at least one public meeting 
concerning the memorandum in a location 
or locations reasonably accessible to per-
sons who may be affected by implementa-
tion of the memorandum. 
‘‘(B) NOTICE
OF
MEETING.—The State 
shall publish notice of each meeting not less 
than 15 days before the date of the meeting, in 
local newspapers of general circulation, on the 
Internet, and by any other means considered 
necessary or desirable by the Secretary and the 
Administrator. 
‘‘(C) RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENT.— 
The memorandum shall include responses to 
substantive concerns raised by the public in 
comments and during public meetings if re-
ceived within 30 days of such meetings and op-
portunity to comment. 
‘‘(4) SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL.—The State 
shall submit the memorandum to the Secretary and 
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency for approval. The Secretary and the Admin-
istrator shall approve or disapprove the memo-
randum within 120 days after the date of its sub-
mission if the Secretary and Administrator find that 
the memorandum will facilitate additional activities 
under the State Reclamation Plan under subsection 
(e) that improve water quality. 
‘‘(5) TREATMENT AS PART OF STATE PLAN.— 
A memorandum of a State that is approved by the 
Secretary and the Administrator under this sub-
section shall be considered part of the approved 
abandoned mine reclamation plan of the State. 
‘‘(n) COMMUNITY RECLAIMER PARTNERSHIPS.— 
‘‘(1) PROJECT
APPROVAL.—Within 120 days 
after receiving such a submission, the Secretary 
shall approve a Community Reclaimer project to re-
mediate abandoned mine lands if the Secretary finds 
that— 
‘‘(A) the proposed project will be con-
ducted by a Community Reclaimer as defined in 
this subsection or approved subcontractors of 
the Community Reclaimer; 
‘‘(B) for any proposed project that remedi-
ates mine drainage, the proposed project is con-
sistent with an approved State memorandum of 
understanding under subsection (m);