RECLAIM Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1232 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 30, 2019 Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CASEY, Mr. BROWN, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- sources 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 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1232 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 2019’’ or the ‘‘RECLAIM Act 4 of 2019’’. 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) AUTHORIZATION.—Of the amounts deposited in 12 the fund under section 401(b) before October 1, 2007, and 13 not otherwise appropriated, $200,000,000 shall be avail- 14 able to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for 15 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 for allocation to 16 States and Indian Tribes in accordance with this section 17 for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization, di- 18 versification, and development in economically distressed 19 communities through the reclamation and restoration of 20 land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining 21 carried out before August 3, 1977. 22 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to a State or 23 Indian Tribe under subsection (c) shall be used only for 24 those projects that meet the following criteria: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1232 IS ‘‘(1) RELATED TO THE RECLAMATION OF ABAN- 1 DONED MINE LAND AND WATER.—The project is de- 2 signed— 3 ‘‘(A) to achieve 1 or more of the priorities 4 stated in section 403(a); or 5 ‘‘(B) to be conducted on land immediately 6 adjacent to eligible land and water described in 7 section 403(a) that has previously been remedi- 8 ated or will be remediated under this section. 9 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION TO FUTURE ECONOMIC OR 10 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The project, on com- 12 pletion of reclamation, is reasonably likely to 13 create favorable conditions, as demonstrated in 14 accordance with subparagraph (B), for the eco- 15 nomic development of the project site or pro- 16 mote the general welfare through economic and 17 community development of the area in which 18 the project is conducted. 19 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION OF CONDITIONS.— 20 The conditions referred to in subparagraph (A) 21 may be demonstrated by documentation— 22 ‘‘(i) of the role of the project in the 23 economic development strategy or other 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1232 IS economic and community development 1 planning process of the applicable area; 2 ‘‘(ii) of the planned economic and 3 community use of the project site after the 4 primary reclamation activities are com- 5 pleted, which may include contracts, agree- 6 ments in principle, or other evidence that, 7 once reclaimed, the site is reasonably an- 8 ticipated to be used for 1 or more indus- 9 trial, commercial, residential, agricultural, 10 or recreational purposes; or 11 ‘‘(iii) agreed to by the State or Indian 12 Tribe that demonstrates the project will 13 meet the criteria described in this sub- 14 section. 15 ‘‘(3) LOCATION IN COMMUNITY AFFECTED BY 16 RECENT DECLINE IN MINING.—The project will be 17 conducted in a community— 18 ‘‘(A) in which the economic contribution of 19 coal mining has significantly declined due to a 20 reduction in coal mining-related activity over 21 the preceding 8 years, as demonstrated by em- 22 ployment data, per capita income, or other indi- 23 cators of reduced economic activity attributable 24 to the reduction; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1232 IS ‘‘(B) that has traditionally relied on coal 1 mining for a substantial portion of the economy 2 of the community. 3 ‘‘(4) STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION.—The 4 project has been— 5 ‘‘(A) the subject of project planning under 6 subsection (f); and 7 ‘‘(B) the focus of collaboration, including 8 partnerships, as appropriate, with interested 9 persons or local organizations. 10 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—The project has 11 been proposed and will be executed by entities of 12 State, local, county, or Tribal government, which 13 may include subcontracting project-related activities, 14 as appropriate. 15 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 16 ‘‘(1) UNCERTIFIED STATES.— 17 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF UNCERTIFIED 18 STATE.—In this paragraph, the term 19 ‘Uncertified State’ means a State that— 20 ‘‘(i)(I) has a State program approved 21 under section 405; and 22 ‘‘(II) has not made a certification 23 under section 411(a) in which the Sec- 24 retary has concurred; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1232 IS ‘‘(ii) is a State described in section 1 402(g)(8)(B). 2 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION FOR FISCAL YEARS 2020 3 THROUGH 2024.—Of the amount made available 4 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall allo- 5 cate $195,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 6 through 2024 to Uncertified States through a 7 formula based on the quantity of coal histori- 8 cally produced in each Uncertified State before 9 August 3, 1977. 10 ‘‘(C) REALLOCATION OF UNCOMMITTED 11 FUNDS.— 12 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF COMMITTED.— 13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In this sub- 14 paragraph, the term ‘committed’, with 15 respect to funds received by an 16 Uncertified State, means that the 17 funds— 18 ‘‘(aa) have been exclusively 19 applied to or reserved for a spe- 20 cific project and therefore are not 21 available for any other purpose; 22 or 23 ‘‘(bb) have been expended or 24 designated by the Uncertified 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1232 IS State for the completion of a 1 project. 2 ‘‘(II) INCLUSION.—In this sub- 3 paragraph, the term ‘committed’, with 4 respect to funds received by an 5 Uncertified State, includes the use of 6 any funds for project planning under 7 subsection (f). 8 ‘‘(ii) FISCAL YEAR 2022 THROUGH 9 2024.—For each of fiscal years 2022 10 through 2024, the Secretary shall reallo- 11 cate in accordance with clause (iv) any 12 amount available for allocation under this 13 subsection that has not been committed to 14 eligible projects in the preceding 2 fiscal 15 years, among the Uncertified States that 16 have committed to eligible projects the full 17 amount of the annual allocation of the 18 Uncertified State for the preceding fiscal 19 year as described in clause (iv). 20 ‘‘(iii) FISCAL YEAR 2025.—For fiscal 21 year 2025, the Secretary shall reallocate in 22 accordance with clause (iv) any amount 23 available for allocation under this sub- 24 section that has not been committed to eli- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1232 IS gible projects or allocated under subpara- 1 graph (B), among the Uncertified States 2 that have committed to eligible projects the 3 full amount of the annual allocation of the 4 Uncertified State for fiscal year 2024. 5 ‘‘(iv) AMOUNT OF REALLOCATION.— 6 The amount reallocated to each Uncertified 7 State under each of clauses (ii) and (iii) 8 shall be determined by the Secretary to re- 9 flect, to the maximum extent practicable— 10 ‘‘(I) the proportion of unre- 11 claimed eligible land and water the 12 Uncertified State has in the inventory 13 maintained under section 403(c); and 14 ‘‘(II) the proportion of coal min- 15 ing employment loss incurred in the 16 Uncertified State, as determined by 17 the Mine Safety and Health Adminis- 18 tration, over the 8-year period pre- 19 ceding the fiscal year for which the re- 20 allocation is made. 21 ‘‘(D) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Funds al- 22 located under this subsection— 23 ‘‘(i) shall be in addition to, and shall 24 not affect, the amount of funds distributed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1232 IS to Uncertified States under section 401(f); 1 and 2 ‘‘(ii) shall not reduce any funds dis- 3 tributed to an Uncertified State by reason 4 of the application of section 402(g)(8). 5 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO CERTIFIED 6 STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 7 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph, 8 the terms ‘State’ and ‘Indian Tribe’ mean a 9 State or Indian Tribe, as applicable, that— 10 ‘‘(i) has a State program approved 11 under section 405; and 12 ‘‘(ii) has made a certification under 13 section 411(a) in which the Secretary has 14 concurred. 15 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION FOR FISCAL YEARS 2020 16 THROUGH 2024.—Of the amount made available 17 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall allo- 18 cate $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 19 through 2024 to States and Indian Tribes. 20 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS.— 21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Using the process 22 described in section 405(f), any State or 23 Indian Tribe may submit a grant applica- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1232 IS tion to the Secretary for funds under this 1 paragraph. 2 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 3 review each grant application to confirm 4 that the projects identified in the applica- 5 tion for funding are eligible under sub- 6 section (b). 7 ‘‘(D) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The 8 amount of funds allocated to each State and In- 9 dian Tribe under this paragraph shall be deter- 10 mined by the Secretary based on the dem- 11 onstrated need for the funding to accomplish 12 the purposes of this section. 13 ‘‘(d) RESOLUTION OF CONCERNS OF SECRETARY; 14 CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary does not 16 agree with a State or Indian Tribe that a proposed 17 project meets the criteria described in subsection 18 (b), the Secretary and the State or Indian Tribe 19 shall meet and confer for a period of not more than 20 45 days to resolve the concerns of the Secretary. 21 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—During the period de- 22 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary may consult 23 with any appropriate Federal agency, including the 24 Appalachian Regional Commission, the Economic 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1232 IS Development Administration, and the Bureau of In- 1 dian Affairs, to assist with the resolution of the con- 2 cerns. 3 ‘‘(3) EXPLANATION TO CONGRESS.—At the end 4 of the period described in paragraph (1), if the con- 5 cerns of the Secretary are not resolved, the Sec- 6 retary shall submit to Congress an explanation of 7 the concerns. 8 ‘‘(e) ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 10 State or Indian Tribe that receives funds under this 11 section may retain such portion of the funds as is 12 necessary to supplement the acid mine drainage 13 abatement and treatment fund of the State or In- 14 dian Tribe established under section 402(g)(6)(A), 15 for future operation and maintenance costs for the 16 treatment of acid mine drainage associated with the 17 individual projects funded under this section. 18 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A State or Indian Tribe 19 shall specify the total funds allotted for costs de- 20 scribed in paragraph (1) in the application of the 21 State or Indian Tribe submitted under subsection 22 (c)(2)(C). 23 ‘‘(3) CONDITION.—A State or Indian Tribe may 24 retain and use funds under this subsection only if 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1232 IS the State or Indian Tribe demonstrates that the an- 1 nual grant distributed to the State or Indian Tribe 2 pursuant to section 401(f), including any interest 3 from the acid mine drainage abatement and treat- 4 ment fund of the State or Indian Tribe that is not 5 used for the operation or maintenance of preexisting 6 acid mine drainage treatment systems, is insufficient 7 to fund the operation and maintenance of any acid 8 mine drainage treatment system associated with an 9 individual project funded under this section. 10 ‘‘(f) PROJECT PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION.— 11 ‘‘(1) STATES.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian 13 Tribe may use not greater than 10 percent of 14 the amounts allocated to the State or Indian 15 Tribe under this section for project planning 16 and the costs of administering this section. 17 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC EN- 18 GAGEMENT, CONSULTATION WITH SEC- 19 RETARY.—In carrying out project planning for 20 a proposed project, the State or Indian Tribe, 21 in consultation with the Secretary, shall ensure 22 public engagement at the local level, including 23 by— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 May 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1232.IS S1232 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1232 IS ‘‘(i) providing to local residents in the 1 vicinity of the p [Text truncated for display. 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