‘‘(B) is unable to meet the requirements 
under paragraph (2), the State or Indian tribe 
shall submit a written declaration to the Sec-
retary requesting an exemption from the require-
ments of those subparagraphs. The declaration 
must explain why achieving favorable conditions 
for economic or community development at the 
project site is not practicable, or why the re-
quirements of paragraph (2) cannot be met, and 
that sufficient funds distributed annually under 
section 401 are not available to implement the 
project. Such request for an exemption is deemed 
to be approved, except the Secretary shall deny 
such request if the Secretary determines the dec-
laration to be substantially inadequate. Any de-
nial of such request shall be resolved at the 
State’s or Indian tribe’s request through the pro-
cedures described in subsection (e). 
‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) STATES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount made 
available in subsection (b), the Secretary shall 
distribute $195,000,000 annually for each of fis-
cal years 2022 through 2026 to States and In-
dian tribes that have a State or tribal program 
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approved under section 405 or are referred to in 
section 402(g)(8)(B), and have not made a cer-
tification under section 411(a) in which the Sec-
retary has concurred, as follows: 
‘‘(i) Four-fifths of such amount shall be 
distributed based on the proportion of the 
amount of coal historically produced in 
each State or from the lands of each Indian 
tribe concerned before August 3, 1977. 
‘‘(ii) One-fifth of such amount shall be 
distributed based on the proportion of rec-
lamation fees paid during the period of fis-
cal years 2012 through 2016 for lands in 
each State or lands of each Indian tribe 
concerned. 
‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds dis-
tributed under this section— 
‘‘(i) shall be in addition to, and shall 
not affect, the amount of funds distributed 
to States and Indian tribes under section 
401(f) and section 411(h)(2); and 
‘‘(ii) shall not reduce any funds dis-
tributed to a State or Indian tribe by rea-
son of the application of section 402(g)(8). 
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‘‘(2) 
ADDITIONAL
FUNDING
TO
CERTIFIED 
STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—From the amount made 
available in subsection (b), the Secretary shall 
distribute $5,000,000 annually for each of the 
five fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2022 
to States and Indian tribes that have a State 
program approved under section 405 and have 
made a certification under section 411(a) in 
which the Secretary has concurred. 
‘‘(B) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS.—Using the 
process in section 405(f), any State or Indian 
tribe described in subparagraph (A) may submit 
a grant application to the Secretary for funds 
under this paragraph. The Secretary shall review 
each grant application to confirm that the 
projects identified in the application for funding 
are eligible under subsection (c). 
‘‘(C) 
DISTRIBUTION
OF
FUNDS.—The 
amount of funds distributed to each State or In-
dian tribe under this paragraph shall be deter-
mined by the Secretary based on the dem-
onstrated need for the funding to accomplish the 
purpose of this section. 
‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED FUNDS.— 
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‘‘(A) COMMITTED DEFINED.—For purposes 
of this paragraph the term ‘committed’— 
‘‘(i) means that funds received by the 
State or Indian tribe— 
‘‘(I) have been exclusively applied 
to or reserved for a specific project and 
therefore are not available for any 
other purpose; or 
‘‘(II) have been expended or des-
ignated by the State or Indian tribe 
for the completion of a project; 
‘‘(ii) includes use of any amount for 
project planning under subsection (g); and 
‘‘(iii) reflects an acknowledgment by 
Congress that, based on the documentation 
required under subsection (c)(2)(B), any 
unanticipated delays to commit such funds 
that are outside the control of the State or 
Indian tribe concerned shall not affect its 
allocations under this section. 
‘‘(B) FISCAL YEAR 2026.—For fiscal year 
2026, the Secretary shall reallocate in accordance 
with subparagraph (C) any amount available for 
distribution under this subsection that has not 
been committed to eligible projects or distributed 
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under paragraph (1)(A), among the States and 
Indian tribes that have committed to eligible 
projects the full amount of their annual alloca-
tion for the preceding fiscal years. 
‘‘(C) AMOUNT
OF
REALLOCATION.—The 
amount reallocated to each State or Indian tribe 
under each of subparagraph (B) shall be deter-
mined by the Secretary to reflect, to the extent 
practicable— 
‘‘(i) the proportion of unreclaimed eli-
gible lands and waters the State or Indian 
tribe has in the inventory maintained 
under section 403(c); 
‘‘(ii) the average of the proportion of 
reclamation fees paid for lands in each 
State or lands of each Indian tribe con-
cerned; and 
‘‘(iii) the proportion of coal mining 
employment loss incurred in the State or on 
lands of the Indian tribe, respectively, as 
determined by the Mine Safety and Health 
Administration, over the 5-year period pre-
ceding the fiscal year for which the realloca-
tion is made. 
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‘‘(e) RESOLUTION OF SECRETARY’S CONCERNS; CON-
GRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary does not 
agree with a State or Indian tribe that a proposed project 
meets the criteria set forth in subsection (c)— 
‘‘(1) the Secretary and the State or tribe shall 
meet and confer for a period of not more than 45 
days to resolve the Secretary’s concerns, except that 
such period may be shortened by the Secretary if the 
Secretary’s concerns are resolved; 
‘‘(2) during that period, at the State’s or Indian 
tribe’s request, the Secretary may consult with any 
appropriate Federal agency; and 
‘‘(3) at the end of that period, if the Secretary’s 
concerns are not resolved the Secretary shall provide 
to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate an explanation of the 
concerns and such project proposal shall not be eligi-
ble for funds distributed under this section. 
‘‘(f) ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT.—A State or 
Indian tribe that receives funds under this section may use 
up to 30 percent of such funds as necessary to supplement 
the State’s or tribe’s acid mine drainage abatement and 
treatment fund established under section 402(g)(6)(A), for 
future operation and maintenance costs for the treatment 
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of acid mine drainage associated with the individual 
projects funded under this section. 
‘‘(g) PROJECT PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION.— 
‘‘(1) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.—A State or 
Indian tribe may use up to 10 percent of its annual 
distribution under this section for costs of admin-
istering this section consistent with existing practice 
under sections 401(c)(7) and 402(g)(1)(C) and the Of-
fice of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
Assistance Manual. 
‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The Secretary may expend, 
from amounts made available to the Secretary under 
section 402(g)(3)(D), not more than $3,000,000 dur-
ing the fiscal years for which distributions occur 
under subsection (b) for staffing and other adminis-
trative expenses necessary to carry out this section. 
‘‘(h) DEADLINES.— 
‘‘(1) RULES
AND
GUIDELINES.—To the extent 
necessary to implement this Act, the Secretary shall 
propose rules or develop guidelines (or both) not later 
than 90 days after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion and shall publish them as final rules or guide-
lines, respectively, not later than 90 days thereafter. 
Within 60 days after the issuance of any such final 
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rules or guidelines, the Secretary shall distribute the 
funds under subsection (d). 
‘‘(2) PROJECT
PROPOSALS.—The appropriate 
field office of the Office of Surface Mining Reclama-
tion and Enforcement shall— 
‘‘(A) initially review, vet, and approve or 
disapprove of each project proposal under this 
section within 45 days after receipt by the field 
office of the proposal; and 
‘‘(B) issue an authorization to proceed on 
an approved project within 45 days after receipt 
by the field office of a request for such authoriza-
tion from a State or Indian tribe. 
‘‘(i) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall pro-
vide to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
of Representatives, the Committees on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Com-
mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate at 
the end of each fiscal year for which such funds are distrib-
uted a detailed report— 
‘‘(1) on the various projects that have been un-
dertaken with such funds; 
‘‘(2) the extent and degree of reclamation using 
such funds that achieved the priorities described in 
paragraph (1) or (2) of section 403(a); 
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‘‘(3) the community and economic benefits that 
are resulting from, or are expected to result from, the 
use of the funds that achieved the priorities described 
in paragraph (3) of section 403(a); and 
‘‘(4) the reduction since the previous report in 
the inventory referred to in section 403(c). 
‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USE OF FUNDS.—Any 
State or Indian tribe that uses the funds distributed under 
this section for purposes other than reclamation or drainage 
abatement expenditures, as made eligible by section 404, 
and for the purposes authorized under subsections (f) and 
(g), shall be barred from receiving any subsequent funding 
under this section.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 
the first section of the Surface Mining Control and Rec-
lamation Act of 1977 is amended by adding at the end of 
the items relating to title IV the following: 
‘‘Sec. 416. Abandoned mine land economic revitalization.’’. 
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 
1977 is amended— 
(1) in section 401(c) (30 U.S.C. 1231(c)), by 
striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of para-
graph (10), by redesignating paragraph (11) as para-
graph (12), and by inserting after paragraph (10) the 
following: 
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‘‘(11) to implement section 416; and’’; 
(2) in section 401(d)(3) (30 U.S.C. 1231(d)(3)), 
by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(f) and section 416(a)’’; 
(3) in section 402(g) (30 U.S.C. 1232(g))— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 
section 416’’ after ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end of paragraph (3) 
the following: 
‘‘(F) 
For 
the 
purpose 
of 
section 
416(d)(2)(A).’’; and 
(4) in section 403(c) (30 U.S.C. 1233(c)), by in-
serting after the second sentence the following: ‘‘As 
practicable, States and Indian tribes shall offer such 
amendments based on the use of remote sensing, global 
positioning systems, and other advanced tech-
nologies.’’. 
SEC. 4. MINIMUM STATE PAYMENTS. 
Section 402(g)(8)(A) of the Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(g)(8)) is 
amended 
by 
striking 
‘‘$3,000,000’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘$5,000,000’’. 
SEC. 5. GAO STUDY OF USE OF FUNDS. 
Not later than two years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
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States shall study and report to the Congress on uses of 
funds authorized by this Act, including regarding— 
(1) the solvency of the Abandoned Mine Rec-
lamation Fund; and 
(2) the impact of such use on payments and 
transfers under the Surface Mining Control and Rec-
lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201) to— 
(A) States and Indian Tribes for which a 
certification has been made under section 411 of 
such Act (30 U.S.C. 1241); 
(B) States and Indian Tribes for which 
such a certification has not been made; and 
(C) transfers to United Mine Workers of 
America Combined Benefit Fund. 
SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO CERTIFIED STATES NOT AFFECTED. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to reduce or oth-
erwise affect payments under section 402(g) of the Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Control Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 
1232(g)) to States that have made a certification under sec-
tion 411(a) of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1240a(a)) in which the 
Secretary of the Interior has concurred. 
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Union Calendar No. 406 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1733 
[Report No. 117–565] 
A BILL 
To amend the Surface Mining Control and Rec-
lamation Act of 1977 to provide funds to States 
and Indian tribes for the purpose of promoting 
economic revitalization, diversification, and devel-
opment 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. 
NOVEMBER 16, 2022 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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