RECLAIM Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1455 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 29, 2021 Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. WARNER, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1455 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Revitalizing the Econ- 2 omy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities 3 and Investing More Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘RECLAIM Act 4 of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION FOR COAL COUNTRY. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Surface Mining 7 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 8 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘SEC. 416. ABANDONED MINE LAND ECONOMIC REVITAL- 10 IZATION. 11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 12 promote economic revitalization, diversification, and devel- 13 opment in economically distressed mining communities 14 through the reclamation and restoration of land and water 15 resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out be- 16 fore August 3, 1977. 17 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—From amounts deposited into 18 the fund under section 401(b) before October 1, 2007, and 19 not otherwise appropriated to the extent such funds are 20 available, $200,000,000 shall be made available to the 21 Secretary, without further appropriation, for each of fiscal 22 years 2022 through 2026 for distribution to States and 23 Indian tribes in accordance with this section for reclama- 24 tion and restoration projects at sites identified as prior- 25 ities under section 403(a): Provided, That if less than 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1455 IS $200,000,000 is available in any fiscal year to the Sec- 1 retary, such remaining amount shall be made available to 2 the Secretary, without further appropriation, and such fis- 3 cal year shall end distributions made available under this 4 section. 5 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds distributed to a State 6 or Indian tribe under subsection (d) shall be used only 7 for projects classified under the priorities of section 403(a) 8 that meet the following criteria: 9 ‘‘(1) CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE ECONOMIC OR 10 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project, upon 12 completion of reclamation, is intended to create 13 favorable conditions for the economic develop- 14 ment of the project site or create favorable con- 15 ditions that promote the general welfare 16 through economic and community development 17 of the area in which the project is conducted. 18 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CONDITIONS.— 19 Such conditions are demonstrated by— 20 ‘‘(i) documentation of the role of the 21 project in such area’s economic develop- 22 ment strategy or other economic and com- 23 munity development planning process; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1455 IS ‘‘(ii) any other documentation of the 1 planned economic and community use of 2 the project site after the primary reclama- 3 tion activities are completed, which may in- 4 clude contracts, agreements in principle, or 5 other evidence that, once reclaimed, the 6 site is reasonably anticipated to be used 7 for one or more industrial, commercial, 8 residential, agricultural, or recreational 9 purposes; or 10 ‘‘(iii) any other documentation agreed 11 to by the State or Indian tribe that dem- 12 onstrates the project will meet the criteria 13 set forth in this subsection. 14 ‘‘(2) LOCATION IN ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED 15 COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY RECENT DECLINE IN 16 MINING.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project will be 18 conducted in a community— 19 ‘‘(i) that has been adversely affected 20 economically by a recent reduction in coal 21 mining related activity, as demonstrated by 22 employment data, per capita income, or 23 other indicators of economic distress; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1455 IS ‘‘(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 8 analysis relied upon in selecting the location of 9 a project under this subparagraph shall be sub- 10 mitted to the Secretary for publication. The 11 Secretary shall publish such evidence or anal- 12 ysis in the Federal Register within 30 days 13 after receiving 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 Sur- 24 face Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1455 IS State or Indian Tribe has published notice of 1 the proposed project in local newspapers of gen- 2 eral circulation, on the Internet, and by any 3 other means considered desirable by the Sec- 4 retary, and has provided an opportunity to re- 5 quest a public meeting convened in a commu- 6 nity near the proposed project site. 7 ‘‘(C) ELECTRONIC NOTIFICATION.—The 8 State or Indian tribe established a way for in- 9 terested persons to receive electronically all 10 public notices issued under subparagraph (B) 11 and any written declarations submitted to the 12 Secretary 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 16 be approved and executed by State or tribal pro- 17 grams, approved under section 405 or referred to in 18 section 402(g)(8)(B) which may include subcon- 19 tracting 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 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1455 IS ‘‘(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 re- 4 quirements of those subparagraphs. The dec- 5 laration must explain why achieving favorable 6 conditions for economic or community develop- 7 ment at the project site is not practicable, or 8 why the requirements of paragraph (2) cannot 9 be met, and that sufficient funds distributed 10 annually under section 401 are not available to 11 implement the project. Such request for an ex- 12 emption is deemed to be approved, except the 13 Secretary shall deny such request if the Sec- 14 retary determines the declaration to be substan- 15 tially inadequate. Any denial of such request 16 shall be resolved at the State’s or Indian tribe’s 17 request through the procedures described in 18 subsection (e). 19 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 20 ‘‘(1) STATES.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount 22 made available in subsection (b), the Secretary 23 shall distribute $195,000,000 annually for each 24 of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to States and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1455 IS Indian tribes that have a State or tribal pro- 1 gram approved under section 405 or are re- 2 ferred to in section 402(g)(8)(B), and have not 3 made a certification under section 411(a) in 4 which the Secretary has concurred, as follows: 5 ‘‘(i) Four-fifths of such amount shall 6 be distributed based on the proportion of 7 the amount of coal historically produced in 8 each State or from the lands of each In- 9 dian tribe concerned before August 3, 10 1977. 11 ‘‘(ii) One-fifth of such amount shall be 12 distributed based on the proportion of rec- 13 lamation fees paid during the period of fis- 14 cal years 2012 through 2016 for lands in 15 each State or lands of each Indian tribe 16 concerned. 17 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds dis- 18 tributed under this section— 19 ‘‘(i) shall be in addition to, and shall 20 not affect, the amount of funds distributed 21 to States and Indian tribes under section 22 401(f) and section 411(h)(2); and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1455 IS ‘‘(ii) shall not reduce any funds dis- 1 tributed to a State or Indian tribe by rea- 2 son of the application of section 402(g)(8). 3 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CERTIFIED 4 STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 5 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—From the amount 6 made available in subsection (b), the Secretary 7 shall distribute $5,000,000 annually for each of 8 the five fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 9 2022 to States and Indian tribes that have a 10 State program approved under section 405 and 11 have made a certification under section 411(a) 12 in which the Secretary has concurred. 13 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS.—Using 14 the process in section 405(f), any State or In- 15 dian tribe described in subparagraph (A) may 16 submit a grant application to the Secretary for 17 funds under this paragraph. The Secretary 18 shall review each grant application to confirm 19 that the projects identified in the application 20 for funding are eligible under subsection (c). 21 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 22 amount of funds distributed to each State or 23 Indian tribe under this paragraph shall be de- 24 termined by the Secretary based on the dem- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1455 IS onstrated need for the funding to accomplish 1 the purpose of this section. 2 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED 3 FUNDS.— 4 ‘‘(A) COMMITTED DEFINED.—For pur- 5 poses of this paragraph the term ‘committed’— 6 ‘‘(i) means that funds received by the 7 State or Indian tribe— 8 ‘‘(I) have been exclusively applied 9 to or reserved for a specific project 10 and Therefore are not available for 11 any other purpose; or 12 ‘‘(II) have been expended or des- 13 ignated by the State or Indian tribe 14 for the completion of a project; 15 ‘‘(ii) includes use of any amount for 16 project planning under subsection (g); and 17 ‘‘(iii) reflects an acknowledgment by 18 Congress that, based on the documentation 19 required under subsection (c)(2)(B), any 20 unanticipated delays to commit such funds 21 that are outside the control of the State or 22 Indian tribe concerned shall not affect its 23 allocations under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1455 IS ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEAR 2026.—For fiscal year 1 2026, the Secretary shall reallocate in accord- 2 ance with subparagraph (C) any amount avail- 3 able for distribution under this subsection that 4 has not been committed to eligible projects or 5 distributed under paragraph (1)(A), among the 6 States and Indian tribes that have committed to 7 eligible projects the full amount of their annual 8 allocation for the preceding fiscal years. 9 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT OF REALLOCATION.—The 10 amount reallocated to each State or Indian 11 tribe under each of subparagraph (B) shall be 12 determined by the Secretary to reflect, to the 13 extent practicable— 14 ‘‘(i) the proportion of unreclaimed eli- 15 gible lands and waters the State or Indian 16 tribe has in the inventory maintained 17 under section 403(c); 18 ‘‘(ii) the average of the proportion of 19 reclamation fees paid for lands in each 20 State or lands of each Indian tribe con- 21 cerned; and 22 ‘‘(iii) the proportion of coal mining 23 employment loss incurred in the State or 24 on lands of the Indian tribe, respectively, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Jun 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1455.IS S1455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1455 IS as determined by the Mine Safety and 1 Health Administration, over the 5-year pe- 2 riod preceding the fiscal year for which the 3 reallocation is made. 4 ‘‘(e) RESOLUTION OF SECRETARY’S CONCERNS; CON- 5 GRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary does not 6 agree with a State or Indian tribe that a proposed project 7 meets the criteria set forth in subsection (c)— 8 ‘‘(1) the Secretary and the State or tribe shall 9 meet and confer for a period of not more than 45 10 days to resolve the Secretary’s concerns, except that 11 such period may be shortened by the Secretary if the 12 Secretary’s concerns are resolved; 13 ‘‘(2) during that period, at the State’s or In- 14 dian tribe’s request, the Secretary may consult with 15 any appropriate Federal agency; and 16 ‘‘(3) at the end of that period, if the Secretary’s 17 concerns are not resolved the Secr [Text truncated for display. 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