2023 Tennessee Code › Title 59 - MINES AND MINING (§§ 59-1-101 — 59-13-144) › Chapter 8 - STRIP AND OPEN PIT MINES (§§ 59-8-101 — 59-8-421) › Part 1 - PRIMACY AND RECLAMATION ACT OF TENNESSEE (§§ 59-8-101 — 59-8-133) › Section 59-8-101 - Short title - Legislative findings and declarations - Purpose

(a)
This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Primacy and Reclamation Act of Tennessee."
(b)
The general assembly finds and declares that:
(1)
Coal is an integral component of the nation's energy requirements and that there is a need to strike a balance between protection of the environment, agricultural productivity, and economic development and the nation's need for coal as a source of energy;
(2)
The unregulated exploration for and surface mining of coal can cause soil erosion and landslides, water and air pollution, and accumulation and seepage of contaminated water, and may contribute to floods, impair the value of land, adversely affect fish and wildlife and their habitats, counteract efforts for the conservation of soil, water, and other natural resources, adversely affect cultural resources, impair neighboring owners' property rights, create fire hazards, and in general create conditions inimical to life, property, and the public welfare, so as to require the exercise of the state's police power in the regulation of, exploration for, and surface mining of coal; and
(3)
There are wide variations in the circumstances and conditions surrounding and arising out of the exploration for and surface mining of coal, due primarily to differences in topographical, geological, and soil conditions, which make it necessary, in order to provide the most effective, beneficial, and equitable solution to the problem, that broad discretion be placed in the authority designated to administer and enforce the regulatory provisions enacted by the general assembly.
(c)
It is the purpose of this part to:
(1)
Assume for this state exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations within this state under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (
30 U.S.C. § 1201
et seq.);
(2)
Develop, implement, and enforce a program which, at a minimum, will achieve the purposes of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (
30 U.S.C. § 1201
et seq.) and the regulations promulgated thereunder;
(3)
Assure that the rights of surface landowners and other persons with a legal interest in the land or appurtenances to the land are fully protected from those operations;
(4)
Assure that surface coal mining operations are not conducted where reclamation as required by this part is not feasible;
(5)
Assure that surface coal mining operations are conducted in a manner protective of the environment;
(6)
Assure that adequate procedures are undertaken to reclaim surface areas as contemporaneously as possible with the surface coal mining operations;
(7)
Assure that appropriate procedures are provided for public participation in the development, revision, and enforcement of rules, standards, reclamation plans, or programs established by the state under this part;
(8)
Assure that the coal supply integral to the energy requirements of the nation and to its economic and social well-being is provided, and to strike a balance between protection of the environment, agricultural productivity and economic development and the need of the nation for coal as an integral component of the nation's energy requirements; and
(9)
To, wherever necessary, exercise the full reach of state constitutional powers to ensure the protection of the public interest through effective control of surface coal mining operations.
Repealed and reenacted by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 548, s 3, eff. 5/26/2021.
Added by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 839, s 1, eff. eight (8) months immediately following the receipt of notification from the secretary of the interior that this state has been approved to exercise primacy over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations within its territorial boundaries.