93D CONGRESS 1ST SESSION

H. R. 1000

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 3, 1973

Mr. HECHLER of West Virginia (for himself, Mr. ASHLEY, Mr. Aspin, Mr. BIESTER, Mr. CONTE, Mr. COTTER, Mr. ECKHARDT, Mr. FASCELL, Mr. FULTON, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. METCALFE, Mrs. MINK, Mr. MITCHELL of Maryland, Mr. MOSHER, Mr. Moss, Mr. OBEY, Mr. PEYSER, Mr. REUSS, Mr. RIEGLE, Mr. ROUSH, Mr. SANDMAN, Mr. SEIBERLING, Mr. STARK, Mr. VANIK, and Mr. WILLIAMS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the committee on Interior and Insular Affairs

A BILL

To provide for the control of surface and underground coal mining operations which adversely affect the quality of our environment, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act shall be cited as the "Environmental Protection

4 and Enhancement Act of 1973".

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FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds and declares

(1) that there are coal mining operations on public, private, and Indian lands in the Nation which adversely

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affect the environment by destroying or diminishing, for an indefinite period, the availability of public, private,

and Indian lands for recreational, commercial, industrial,

agricultural, and forestry purposes, by causing erosion, landslides, and subsidence, by contributing to floods and the pollution of waters and air, by destroying fish and wildlife habitat and forests and otherwise impairing nat

ural beauty, by frustrating efforts to conserve soil, water, and other natural resources, by destroying public and

private property, and by creating hazards to life and property;

(2) that the public has a right to expect that the Federal Government, the States, and local government will utilize all practicable means and measures to protect and enhance the quality of our environment;

(3) that the integrity, productivity, and beauty of the land surface must be protected for the growing requirements of present and future generations;

(4) that the reserves of all needed grades of coal in the United States are sufficiently extensive to permit rigorous protection of the land surface in ways which will stimulate the development and utilization of nondestructive and efficient mining technologies while preserving

our capacity to supply coal for the needs of society; and

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(5) that coal mining operations are activities affect

ing interstate commerce which can contribute to the eco

nomic well-being, security, and general welfare of the

Nation where conducted in a manner that will protect and enhance the quality of the human environment.

(b) It is, therefore, the purpose of this Act to provide 7 for participation by the Federal Government with State and 8 local governments, private individuals, and other interested 9 persons in a comprehensive program to prevent further dam10 age to the lands, waters, and natural resources of the Nation 11 from unregulated or inadequately regulated surface and under12 ground coal mining operations, to stabilize lands damaged by 13 surface coal mining, to promote an effective continuing con14 servation land-use and management program for the coal 15 mining industry, and to assist any worker adversely affected 16 by this Act.

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ADMINISTRATION OF ACT

SEC. 3. Except as specifically provided in this Act, the 19 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 20 (hereinafter called "Administrator") shall administer this 21 Act.

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SEC. 4. Public participation in the development, revision,

24 and enforcement of any regulation, standard, or guideline

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96-352 073 pt, 19

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1 promulgated under this Act, and in the administration of

2 this Act, shall be provided for, encouraged, and assisted by

3 the Administrator and the States.

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COAL MINES SUBJECT TO ACT

5 SEC. 5 Each coal mining operation, the products of 6 which enter interstate commerce, or the operations or prod7 ucts of which indirectly or directly affect interstate commerce, 8 and each operator of such mining operation, shall be subject 9 to this Act.

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DEFINITIONS

SEC. 6. For the purposes of this Act

(a) The term "coal" includes bituminous coal, lignite,

13 and anthracite.

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(b) The term "surface coal mining" includes (1) all or any part of the process followed in the extraction of coal 16 from a natural coal deposit after removing the overburden. 17 therefrom or in the extraction of coal by the auger method or 18 any similar method which penetrates a coal seam and removes coal therefrom directly through a series of openings 20 made by a machine which enters the coal seam from a sur21 face excavation; (2) the removing of overburden for the pur22 pose of determining the location, quality, or quantity of a 23 natural coal deposit; (3) any area of land from which coal 24 is extracted by surface coal mining, including private ways

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1 and roads within or pertinent to such area; and (4) land, 2 facilities, processes, and spoil banks resulting from, or used 3 in, extracting coal from natural deposits by such mining, 4 including land used for the deposition of coal wastes from 5 surface coal mining operations.

6 (c) The term "overburden" means all of the earth and 7 other materials removed or excavated for the purpose of 8 exposing a coal seam in order to surface mine the coal, and 9 includes earth and other materials removed from their 10 natural state in the process of surface coal mining. 11 (d) The term "spoil bank" means any deposit of re12 moved overburden, waste, culm banks, or other similar ma13 terial from either surface or underground coal mining 14 operations.

15 (e) The term "area of land affected" means (i) the 16 land from which coal is removed by surface coal mining,

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(ii) any land in which the natural land surface has been dis18 turbed as a result of, or incident to, surface coal mining 19 activities, and (iii) any land on which are conducted the 20 surface activities associated with underground coal mining, 21 and includes but not limited to, private ways and roads ap22 purtenant to any such land, and refuse banks, spoilage banks, 23 culm banks, tailings, repair areas, storage areas, processing 24 areas, shipping areas, and areas on which structures, facili