7 that right set forth in subsection (b) of this section in order to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the requirements of present and future generations (4) financial aid to provide for research and devel- (5) cooperative programs with State and local mines; (6) the promotion of the public health and safety culture, restoration and préservation of natural beauty, ural resources values; and (7) the elimination of competitive disadvantages for COAL MINES SUBJECT TO ACT SEC. 4. Each coal mine, the products of which enter commerce, or the operations or products of which affect 8 1 commerce, and each operator of such mine, shall be subject 4 SEC. 5. (a) On and after the enactment date of this 5 Act, no person shall open in any State any new, inactive. or 6 abandoned surface coal mine for the purpose of conducting 7 surface coal mining operations thereon. 8 (b) (1) On and after the enactment date of this Act. 9 any operator of a surface coal mine who is conducting oper10 ations therein to extract coal from such mine shall develop 11 and submit to the Administrator a plan for the effective 12 reclamation of such surface mine. Such plan shall be submitted by the operator within sixty days after such 13 enactment. (2) The Administrator shall promulgate, within thirty days after enactment of this Act, regulations governing the content of any reclamation plan submitted to him under this subsection. As a minimum, such regulations shall prescribe (A) the prevention of all adverse offsite effects from such mining and (B) effective requirements for the planned reclamation of such mines and for the termination of all surface coal mining operations at all surface coal mines with in six months after the date of enactment of this Act, except those operations necessary to carry out any approved plan. (3) The Administrator shall approve any plan sub 9 1 mitted to him under this section if he determines that it 2 meets the requirements of such regulations. The failure of 8 any operator of a surface coal mine to submit to the Admin4 istrator an approvable reclamation plan under this section 5 shall not relieve or be construed as relieving such operator 6 of his obligation under this Act to carry out effective rec7 lamation of such mine and to terminate surface coal mining operations at such mine within six months after the date of enactment of this Act. If an operator does not comply with 10 the plan or submit it for approval, the Administrator may 11 reclaim such lands and the operator shall be liable to the 12 United States for all such costs of reclamation and the 13 Administrator shall sue for the same in the appropriate dis14 trict court which shall have jurisdiction. 15 16 NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR UNDERGROUND COAL MINES SEC. 6. (a) The Administrator shall within ninety days 17 after the date of enactment of this Act, publish proposed regulations prescribing national environmental control stand19 ards for underground coal mines opened on or before the 18 enactment of this Act and for such mines opened or activated after the date of enactment of this Act and for contiguous areas affected by operations within such mines. (b) After a reasonable time for interested persons to submit written comments thereon (but no later than ninety days after the publication of such proposed regulations), the 10 1 Administrator shall by regulation promulgate such regula2 tions with such modifications as he deems appropriate to 3 carry out the purpose of this Act. Such regulations may be 4 revised in the same manner as promulgated. 5 6 IMPLEMENTATION PLANS SEC. 7. (a) (1) Each of the several States shall, after 7 reasonable notice and public hearings, adopt and submit to 8 the Administrator, within six months after the promulgation 9 of reasonable regulations under section 6(a) of this Act, 10 a plan which provides for the effective implementation, main11 tenance, and enforcement of such regulations within such 12 State. 13 (2) The Administrator shall, within four months after 14 the date required for submission of a plan under paragraph (1) of this subsection, approve or disapprove such plan or any portion thereof. The Administrator shall approve such 15 16 plan, or each portion thereof, if he determines that it was adopted after reasonable notice and public hearing and that— (A) it is in conformance with the regulations promulgated under section 6 of this Act; (B) it includes provisions— (i) for the issuance of permits or licenses by the State for all underground coal mining operations subject to such regulations and for the review and renewal thereof at a minimum of every three years; 11 (ii) for the posting by the operator of each underground coal mine of an adequate performance bond to provide for the appropriate reclamation of such mine simultaneously with such mining opera tions (whether or not such operator completes mining operations at such mine), and the forfeiture of which shall automatically result in the denial of future permits or licenses applied for by such operator or his successors in interest to conduct operations at any other such mine in said State; (iii) for mining operations to be planned and approved prior to the issuance or renewal of any license or permit; (iv) for reports which shall be available to the public by the operator of the mine concerning compliance with his permit or license; (v) for prohibiting the opening of any new underground coal mine or expanding the operations of any such existing mine where the State finds that such mining would result in, or contribute to, the violation of applicable air or water quality standards or where such mining would be detrimental to the public health or welfare; and (vi) for insuring that during operations at such mine effective controls will be established and 70-867 O 72 pt. 2 - 19 |