RECLAIM Act of 2021

IB Union Calendar No. 406 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 1733 [Report No. 117–565] 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2021 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. BEYER, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. YAR- MUTH, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. LAMB, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CASE, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mrs. AXNE, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. WILD, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. BOWMAN, and Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources NOVEMBER 16, 2022 Additional sponsors: Ms. PINGREE, Mr. WELCH, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. EVANS, Ms. PORTER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. KILMER, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. BURCHETT, Mr. HIMES, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. TONKO, Mr. COOPER, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. DEAN, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. BOST, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. AGUILAR, and Mr. TRONE VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 1733 RH NOVEMBER 16, 2022 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 10, 2021] A BILL To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to provide funds to States and Indian tribes for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization, di- versification, and development in economically distressed communities through the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by coal min- ing carried out before August 3, 1977, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 1733 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Revitalizing the Econ- 4 omy of Coal communities by Leveraging local Activities and 5 Investing More Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘RECLAIM Act of 6 2021’’. 7 SEC. 2. ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION FOR COAL COUNTRY. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Surface Mining 9 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 et 10 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 416. ABANDONED MINE LAND ECONOMIC REVITALIZA- 12 TION. 13 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro- 14 mote economic revitalization, diversification, and develop- 15 ment in economically distressed mining communities 16 through the reclamation and restoration of land and water 17 resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out be- 18 fore August 3, 1977. 19 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—From amounts deposited into the 20 fund under section 401(b) before October 1, 2007, and not 21 otherwise appropriated to the extent such funds are avail- 22 able, $200,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary, 23 without further appropriation, for each of fiscal years 2022 24 through 2026 for distribution to States and Indian tribes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 1733 RH in accordance with this section for reclamation and restora- 1 tion projects at sites identified as priorities under section 2 403(a): Provided, That if less than $200,000,000 is avail- 3 able in any fiscal year to the Secretary, such remaining 4 amount shall be made available to the Secretary, without 5 further appropriation, and such fiscal year shall end dis- 6 tributions made available under this section. 7 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds distributed to a State 8 or Indian tribe under subsection (d) shall be used only for 9 projects classified under the priorities of section 403(a) that 10 meet the following criteria: 11 ‘‘(1) CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE ECONOMIC OR 12 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project, upon com- 14 pletion of reclamation, is intended to create fa- 15 vorable conditions for the economic development 16 of the project site or create favorable conditions 17 that promote the general welfare through eco- 18 nomic and community development of the area 19 in which the project is conducted. 20 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CONDITIONS.— 21 Such conditions are demonstrated by— 22 ‘‘(i) documentation of the role of the 23 project in such area’s economic development 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 1733 RH strategy or other economic and community 1 development planning process; 2 ‘‘(ii) any other documentation of the 3 planned economic and community use of the 4 project site after the primary reclamation 5 activities are completed, which may include 6 contracts, agreements in principle, or other 7 evidence that, once reclaimed, the site is 8 reasonably anticipated to be used for one or 9 more industrial, commercial, residential, 10 agricultural, or recreational purposes; or 11 ‘‘(iii) any other documentation agreed 12 to by the State or Indian tribe that dem- 13 onstrates the project will meet the criteria 14 set forth in this subsection. 15 ‘‘(2) LOCATION IN ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED 16 COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY RECENT DECLINE IN MIN- 17 ING.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project will be con- 19 ducted in a community— 20 ‘‘(i) that has been adversely affected 21 economically by a recent reduction in coal 22 mining related activity, as demonstrated by 23 employment data, per capita income, or 24 other indicators of economic distress; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 1733 RH ‘‘(ii)(I) that has historically relied on 1 coal mining for a substantial portion of its 2 economy; and 3 ‘‘(II) in which the economic contribu- 4 tion of coal mining has significantly de- 5 clined. 6 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION OF 7 EVIDENCE OR ANALYSIS.—Any evidence or anal- 8 ysis relied upon in selecting the location of a 9 project under this subparagraph shall be sub- 10 mitted to the Secretary for publication. The Sec- 11 retary shall publish such evidence or analysis in 12 the Federal Register within 30 days after receiv- 13 ing such submission. 14 ‘‘(3) STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project has been 16 the subject of project planning under subsection 17 (g) and has been the focus of collaboration, in- 18 cluding partnerships, as appropriate, with inter- 19 ested persons or local organizations. 20 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—As part of project 21 planning the public has been notified of the 22 project, including not less than 45 days before 23 submission of the project to the Office of Surface 24 Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 1733 RH or Indian Tribe has published notice of the pro- 1 posed project in local newspapers of general cir- 2 culation, on the Internet, and by any other 3 means considered desirable by the Secretary, and 4 has provided an opportunity to request a public 5 meeting convened in a community near the pro- 6 posed project site. 7 ‘‘(C) ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION.—The 8 State or Indian tribe established a way for inter- 9 ested persons to receive electronically all public 10 notices issued under subparagraph (B) and any 11 written declarations submitted to the Secretary 12 under paragraph (5). 13 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—The project has 14 been proposed by entities of State, local, county, or 15 tribal governments, or local organizations, and will be 16 approved and executed by State or tribal programs, 17 approved under section 405 or referred to in section 18 402(g)(8)(B) which may include subcontracting 19 project-related activities, as appropriate. 20 ‘‘(5) WAIVER.—If the State or Indian tribe— 21 ‘‘(A) cannot provide documentation de- 22 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) for a project con- 23 ducted under a priority stated in paragraph (1) 24 or (2) of section 403(a), or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 1733 RH ‘‘(B) is unable to meet the requirements 1 under paragraph (2), the State or Indian tribe 2 shall submit a written declaration to the Sec- 3 retary requesting an exemption from the require- 4 ments of those subparagraphs. The declaration 5 must explain why achieving favorable conditions 6 for economic or community development at the 7 project site is not practicable, or why the re- 8 quirements of paragraph (2) cannot be met, and 9 that sufficient funds distributed annually under 10 section 401 are not available to implement the 11 project. Such request for an exemption is deemed 12 to be approved, except the Secretary shall deny 13 such request if the Secretary determines the dec- 14 laration to be substantially inadequate. Any de- 15 nial of such request shall be resolved at the 16 State’s or Indian tribe’s request through the pro- 17 cedures described in subsection (e). 18 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 19 ‘‘(1) STATES.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount made 21 available in subsection (b), the Secretary shall 22 distribute $195,000,000 annually for each of fis- 23 cal years 2022 through 2026 to States and In- 24 dian tribes that have a State or tribal program 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 1733 RH approved under section 405 or are referred to in 1 section 402(g)(8)(B), and have not made a cer- 2 tification under section 411(a) in which the Sec- 3 retary has concurred, as follows: 4 ‘‘(i) Four-fifths of such amount shall be 5 distributed based on the proportion of the 6 amount of coal historically produced in 7 each State or from the lands of each Indian 8 tribe concerned before August 3, 1977. 9 ‘‘(ii) One-fifth of such amount shall be 10 distributed based on the proportion of rec- 11 lamation fees paid during the period of fis- 12 cal years 2012 through 2016 for lands in 13 each State or lands of each Indian tribe 14 concerned. 15 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds dis- 16 tributed under this section— 17 ‘‘(i) shall be in addition to, and shall 18 not affect, the amount of funds distributed 19 to States and Indian tribes under section 20 401(f) and section 411(h)(2); and 21 ‘‘(ii) shall not reduce any funds dis- 22 tributed to a State or Indian tribe by rea- 23 son of the application of section 402(g)(8). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 1733 RH ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CERTIFIED 1 STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 2 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—From the amount made 3 available in subsection (b), the Secretary shall 4 distribute $5,000,000 annually for each of the 5 five fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2022 6 to States and Indian tribes that have a State 7 program approved under section 405 and have 8 made a certification under section 411(a) in 9 which the Secretary has concurred. 10 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS.—Using the 11 process in section 405(f), any State or Indian 12 tribe described in subparagraph (A) may submit 13 a grant application to the Secretary for funds 14 under this paragraph. The Secretary shall review 15 each grant application to confirm that the 16 projects identified in the application for funding 17 are eligible under subsection (c). 18 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 19 amount of funds distributed to each State or In- 20 dian tribe under this paragraph shall be deter- 21 mined by the Secretary based on the dem- 22 onstrated need for the funding to accomplish the 23 purpose of this section. 24 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED FUNDS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 1733 RH ‘‘(A) COMMITTED DEFINED.—For purposes 1 of this paragraph the term ‘committed’— 2 ‘‘(i) means that funds received by the 3 State or Indian tribe— 4 ‘‘(I) have been exclusively applied 5 to or reserved for a specific project and 6 therefore are not available for any 7 other purpose; or 8 ‘‘(II) have been expended or des- 9 ignated by the State or Indian tribe 10 for the completion of a project; 11 ‘‘(ii) includes use of any amount for 12 project planning under subsection (g); and 13 ‘‘(iii) reflects an acknowledgment by 14 Congress that, based on the documentation 15 required under subsection (c)(2)(B), any 16 unanticipated delays to commit such funds 17 that are outside the control of the State or 18 Indian tribe concerned shall not affect its 19 allocations under this section. 20 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEAR 2026.—For fiscal year 21 2026, the Secretary shall reallocate in accordance 22 with subparagraph (C) any amount available for 23 distribution under this subsection that has not 24 been committed to eligible projects or distributed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1733.RH H1733 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 1733 RH under paragraph (1)(A), among the States and 1 Indian tribes that have committed to eligible 2 projects the full amount of their annual alloca- 3 tion for the preceding fiscal years. 4 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT OF REALLOCATION.—The 5 amount reallocated to each State or Indian tribe 6 under each of subparagraph (B) shall be deter- 7 mined by the Secretary to reflect, to the extent 8 practicable— 9 ‘‘(i) the proportion of unreclaimed eli- 10 gi [Text truncated for display. 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