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 ‘‘Preventing Govern-
ment Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in Amer-
ica’’. 
SEC. 2. INCORPORATION OF SURFACE MINING STREAM 
BUFFER ZONE RULE INTO STATE PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 503 of the Surface Min-
ing Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 
1253) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) STREAM BUFFER ZONE MANAGEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require-
ments under subsection (a), each State program 
shall incorporate the necessary rule regarding excess 
spoil, coal mine waste, and buffers for perennial and 
intermittent streams published by the Office of Sur-
face Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on De-
cember 12, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 75813 et seq.) which 
complies with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) in view of the 2006 discus-
sions between the Director of the Office of Surface 
Mining and the Director of the United States Fish 
and Wildlife Service, and the Office of Surface Min-
ing Reclamation and Enforcement’s consideration
and review of comments submitted by the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service during the rule-
making process in 2007. 
‘‘(2) STUDY OF IMPLEMENTATION.—The Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) at such time as the Secretary deter-
mines all States referred to in subsection (a) 
have fully incorporated the necessary rule re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection 
into their State programs, publish notice of 
such determination; 
‘‘(B) during the 5-year period beginning on 
the date of such publication, assess the effec-
tiveness of implementation of such rule by such 
States; 
‘‘(C) carry out all required consultation on 
the benefits and other impacts of the implemen-
tation of the rule to any threatened species or 
endangered species, with the participation of 
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and 
the United States Geological Survey; and 
‘‘(D) upon the conclusion of such period, 
submit a comprehensive report on the impacts 
of such rule to the Committee on Natural Re-
sources of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate, including— 
‘‘(i) an evaluation of the effectiveness 
of such rule; 
‘‘(ii) an evaluation of any ways in 
which the existing rule inhibits energy pro-
duction; and 
‘‘(iii) a description in detail of any 
proposed changes that should be made to 
the rule, the justification for such changes, 
all comments on such changes received by 
the Secretary from such States, and the 
projected costs and benefits of such 
changes. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON NEW REGULATIONS.—The 
Secretary may not issue any regulations under this 
Act relating to stream buffer zones or stream protec-
tion before the date of the publication of the report 
under paragraph (2), other than a rule necessary to 
implement paragraph (1).’’. 
(b) DEADLINE FOR STATE IMPLEMENTATION.—Not 
later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, a State with a State program approved under section 
503 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 
of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1253) shall submit to the Secretary
of the Interior amendments to such program pursuant to 
part 732 of title 30, Code of Federal Regulations, incor-
porating the necessary rule referred to in subsection (e)(1) 
of such section, as amended by this section. 
Passed the House of Representatives March 25, 
2014. 
Attest: 
Clerk.