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U.S. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
GP
116TH CONGRESS [REPT. 116-609
2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Part 1
SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION ACT
AMENDMENTS OF 2019
DECEMBER 2, 2020.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State
of the Union and ordered to be printed
Mr. GRIJALVA, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4248]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 4248) to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclama-
tion Act of 1977 to allow the Secretary of the Interior to delegate
certain emergency reclamation activities to the States and Tribes,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favor-
ably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do
pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4248 is to amend the Surface Mining Con-
trol and Reclamation Act of 1977 to allow the Secretary of the Inte-
rior to delegate certain emergency reclamation activities to the
States and Tribes and extend the Abandoned Mine Land Reclama-
tion Fund for 15 years.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Two centuries of coal mining occurred in the United States before
the industry was federally regulated. Prior to 1977, mining was
done with little regard to environmental consequences and with
few, if any, reclamation requirements. As a result, millions of
Americans live less than one mile from an abandoned coal mine,
which pose risks to public health, safety, and the environment.
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