Community Reclamation Partnerships Act

IB Union Calendar No. 326 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 315 [Report No. 116–404] To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to authorize partnerships between States and nongovernmental entities for the purpose of reclaiming and restoring land and water resources ad- versely affected by coal mining activities before August 3, 1977, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 8, 2019 Mr. LAHOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources FEBRUARY 25, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources; committed to the Com- mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 315 RH A BILL To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to authorize partnerships between States and nongovernmental entities for the purpose of reclaiming and restoring land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining activities before August 3, 1977, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 315 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 ‘‘Community Reclama- 4 tion Partnerships Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REFERENCE. 6 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 7 this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amend- 8 ment to a provision, the reference shall be considered to 9 be made to a provision of the Surface Mining Control and 10 Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). 11 SEC. 3. STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR CER- 12 TAIN REMEDIATION. 13 (a) MEMORANDA AUTHORIZED.—Section 405 (30 14 U.S.C. 1235) is amended by inserting after subsection (l) 15 the following: 16 ‘‘(m) STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING FOR 17 REMEDIATION OF MINE DRAINAGE.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State with a State pro- 19 gram approved under subsection (d) may enter into 20 a memorandum of understanding with relevant Fed- 21 eral or State agencies (or both) to remediate mine 22 drainage on abandoned mine land and water im- 23 pacted by abandoned mines within the State. The 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 315 RH memorandum may be updated as necessary and re- 1 submitted for approval under this subsection. 2 ‘‘(2) MEMORANDA REQUIREMENTS.—Such 3 memorandum shall establish a strategy satisfactory 4 to the State and Federal agencies that are parties 5 to the memorandum, to address water pollution re- 6 sulting from mine drainage at sites eligible for rec- 7 lamation and mine drainage abatement expenditures 8 under section 404, including specific procedures 9 for— 10 ‘‘(A) ensuring that activities carried out to 11 address mine drainage will result in improved 12 water quality; 13 ‘‘(B) monitoring, sampling, and the report- 14 ing of collected information as necessary to 15 achieve the condition required under subpara- 16 graph (A); 17 ‘‘(C) operation and maintenance of treat- 18 ment systems as necessary to achieve the condi- 19 tion required under subparagraph (A); and 20 ‘‘(D) other purposes, as considered nec- 21 essary by the State or Federal agencies, to 22 achieve the condition required under subpara- 23 graph (A). 24 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 315 RH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before submitting a 1 memorandum to the Secretary and the Admin- 2 istrator for approval, a State shall— 3 ‘‘(i) invite interested members of the 4 public to comment on the memorandum; 5 and 6 ‘‘(ii) hold at least one public meeting 7 concerning the memorandum in a location 8 or locations reasonably accessible to per- 9 sons who may be affected by implementa- 10 tion of the memorandum. 11 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF MEETING.—The State 12 shall publish notice of each meeting not less 13 than 15 days before the date of the meeting, in 14 local newspapers of general circulation, on the 15 Internet, and by any other means considered 16 necessary or desirable by the Secretary and the 17 Administrator. 18 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL.—The State 19 shall submit the memorandum to the Secretary and 20 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 21 Agency for approval. The Secretary and the Admin- 22 istrator shall approve or disapprove the memo- 23 randum within 120 days after the date of its sub- 24 mission if the Secretary and Administrator find that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 315 RH the memorandum will facilitate additional activities 1 under the State Reclamation Plan under subsection 2 (e) that improve water quality. 3 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT AS PART OF STATE PLAN.— 4 A memorandum of a State that is approved by the 5 Secretary and the Administrator under this sub- 6 section shall be considered part of the approved 7 abandoned mine reclamation plan of the State. 8 ‘‘(n) COMMUNITY RECLAIMER PARTNERSHIPS.— 9 ‘‘(1) PROJECT APPROVAL.—Within 120 days 10 after receiving such a submission, the Secretary 11 shall approve a Community Reclaimer project to re- 12 mediate abandoned mine lands if the Secretary finds 13 that— 14 ‘‘(A) the proposed project will be con- 15 ducted by a Community Reclaimer as defined in 16 this subsection or approved subcontractors of 17 the Community Reclaimer; 18 ‘‘(B) for any proposed project that remedi- 19 ates mine drainage, the proposed project is con- 20 sistent with an approved State memorandum of 21 understanding under subsection (m); 22 ‘‘(C) the proposed project will be con- 23 ducted on a site or sites inventoried under sec- 24 tion 403(c); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 315 RH ‘‘(D) the proposed project meets all sub- 1 mission criteria under paragraph (2); 2 ‘‘(E) the relevant State has entered into an 3 agreement with the Community Reclaimer 4 under which the State shall assume all respon- 5 sibility with respect to the project for any costs 6 or damages resulting from any action or inac- 7 tion on the part of the Community Reclaimer in 8 carrying out the project, except for costs or 9 damages resulting from gross negligence or in- 10 tentional misconduct by the Community Re- 11 claimer, on behalf of— 12 ‘‘(i) the Community Reclaimer; and 13 ‘‘(ii) the owner of the proposed project 14 site, 15 if such Community Reclaimer or owner, respec- 16 tively, did not participate in any way in the cre- 17 ation of site conditions at the proposed project 18 site or activities that caused any lands or 19 waters to become eligible for reclamation or 20 drainage abatement expenditures under section 21 404; 22 ‘‘(F) the State has the necessary legal au- 23 thority to conduct the project and will obtain all 24 legally required authorizations, permits, li- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 315 RH censes, and other approvals to ensure comple- 1 tion of the project; 2 ‘‘(G) the State has sufficient financial re- 3 sources to ensure completion of the project, in- 4 cluding any necessary operation and mainte- 5 nance costs (including costs associated with 6 emergency actions covered by a contingency 7 plan under paragraph (2)(K)); and 8 ‘‘(H) the proposed project is not in a cat- 9 egory of projects that would require a permit 10 under title V. 11 ‘‘(2) PROJECT SUBMISSION.—The State shall 12 submit a request for approval to the Secretary that 13 shall include— 14 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed project, 15 including any engineering plans that must bear 16 the seal of a professional engineer; 17 ‘‘(B) a description of the proposed project 18 site or sites, including, if relevant, the nature 19 and extent of pollution resulting from mine 20 drainage; 21 ‘‘(C) identification of the past and current 22 owners and operators of the proposed project 23 site; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 315 RH ‘‘(D) the agreement or contract between 1 the relevant State and the Community Re- 2 claimer to carry out the project; 3 ‘‘(E) a determination that the project will 4 facilitate the activities of the State reclamation 5 plan under subsection (e); 6 ‘‘(F) sufficient information to determine 7 whether the Community Reclaimer has the 8 technical capability and expertise to successfully 9 conduct the proposed project; 10 ‘‘(G) a cost estimate for the project and 11 evidence that the Community Reclaimer has 12 sufficient financial resources to ensure the suc- 13 cessful completion of the proposed project (in- 14 cluding any operation or maintenance costs); 15 ‘‘(H) a schedule for completion of the 16 project; 17 ‘‘(I) an agreement between the Community 18 Reclaimer and the current owner of the site 19 governing access to the site; 20 ‘‘(J) sufficient information to ensure that 21 the Community Reclaimer meets the definition 22 under paragraph (3); 23 ‘‘(K) a contingency plan designed to be 24 used in response to unplanned adverse events 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 315 RH that includes emergency actions, response, and 1 notifications; and 2 ‘‘(L) a requirement that the State provide 3 notice to adjacent and downstream landowners 4 and the public and hold a public meeting near 5 the proposed project site before the project is 6 initiated. 7 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY RECLAIMER DEFINED.—For 8 purposes of this section, the term ‘Community Re- 9 claimer’ means any person who— 10 ‘‘(A) seeks to voluntarily assist a State 11 with a reclamation project under this section; 12 ‘‘(B) did not participate in any way in the 13 creation of site conditions at the proposed 14 project site or activities that caused any lands 15 or waters to become eligible for reclamation or 16 drainage abatement expenditures under section 17 404; 18 ‘‘(C) is not a past or current owner or op- 19 erator of any site with ongoing reclamation obli- 20 gations; and 21 ‘‘(D) is not subject to outstanding viola- 22 tions listed pursuant to section 510(c).’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 315 RH SEC. 4. CLARIFYING STATE LIABILITY FOR MINE DRAINAGE 1 PROJECTS. 2 Section 413(d) (30 U.S.C. 1242(d)) is amended in 3 the second sentence by inserting ‘‘unless such control or 4 treatment will be conducted in accordance with a State 5 memorandum of understanding approved under section 6 405(m) of this Act’’ after ‘‘Control Act’’ the second place 7 it appears. 8 SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 9 Section 405(f) (30 U.S.C. 1235(f)) is amended— 10 (1) by striking the ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 11 paragraph (6); 12 (2) by striking the period at the end of para- 13 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 14 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(8) a list of projects proposed under sub- 16 section (n).’’. 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 326 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 315 [Report No. 116–404] A BILL To amend the Surface Mining Control and Rec- lamation Act of 1977 to authorize partnerships between States and nongovernmental entities for the purpose of reclaiming and restoring land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining activities before August 3, 1977, and for other purposes. FEBRUARY 25, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H315.RH H315 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS