62 1 reclamation of abandoned and unreclaimed mined areas 2 pursuant to title III and for research and demonstration 3 projects pursuant to section 404 of this Act the Secretary 4 shall develop regulations which will accord a preference to 5 surface mining operators who can demonstrate that their sur6 face mining operations, despite good-faith efforts to comply 7 with the requirements of this Act, have been adversely af8 fected by the regulation of surface mining and reclamation 9 operations pursuant to this Act. 10 (b) Contracts awarded pursuant to this section shall 11 require the contractor to afford an employment preference 12 13 14 to individuals whose employment has been adversely affected by this Act. SEC. 412. SEVERABILITY.-If any provision of this Act 15 or the applicability thereof to any person or circumstance 16 is held invalid, the remainder of this Act and the applica17 tion of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall 18 not be affected thereby. YO CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 6709 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL $. 1773 Mr. DINGEL introduced the folowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs A BILL To provide for the environmental regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency of mining activities, for the restoration by the Corps of Engineers of abondoned mined areas, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "Mined Area Environ 4 mental Protection Act of 1973". 5 6 ADMINISTRATION OF ACT SEC. 2. Except as specifically provided in this Act, the 7 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter called "Administrator") shall administer this 9 Act. I 1 2 2 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SEC. 3. Public participation in the development, revi3 sion, and enforcement of any regulation, standard, or guide4 line promulgated under this Act, and in the administration of 5 this Act, and in the approval or disapproval of any permit or 6 renewal thereof, shall be provided for, encouraged, and as7 sisted by the Administrator and the States. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION SEC. 101. The Congress finds and declares (a) that there are many coal mining operations on public and private lands in the Nation which adversely affect the environment by destroying or diminishing the availability of land for commercial, industrial, recreational, agricultural, historic, and forestry purposes, by causing erosion and landslides, by contributing to floods and the pollution of waters, land, and air, by destroying fish and wildlife habitat and impairing natural beauty, by frustrating efforts to conserve soil, water, and other natural resources, by destroying public and private property, and by creat ing hazards to life and property; (b) that coal mining operations affect interstate commerce and, when conducted in a manner which pre vents environmental degradation, contribute to the 11 12 3 economic well-being, security, and general welfare of the Nation; (c) that it is the purpose of the Act to encourage a nationwide, uniform effort to regulate coal mining operations to prevent such adverse effects; to abate the adverse effects from previously mined lands and return damaged lands to productive and useful purposes; and to prevent further detriment to the Nation from such operations. COAL MINES SUBJECT TO ACT SEC. 102. Each coal mining operation, the products of which enter interstate commerce, or the operations or 13 products of which indirectly or directly affect interstate 14 commerce, and each operator of such mining operation, shall 15 be subject to this Act on and after the date of enactment of this Act. 16 17 18 19 20 2223 21 222 23 PROHIBITED ACTS SEC. 103. (a) Beginning thirty days after the enactment of this Act, no mining operations of any kind shall hereafter be carried out in any manner within any area of the national forest system or in any designated wilderness area or in any acquired or public land area which is currently under study as a wilderness area, unless it is finally deter 24 mined, after completion of such study, that such area should 25 not be designated as a wilderness area. The head of the 4 1 agency administering any such area shall enforce this section 2 and shall insure that any operator conducting such mining in 3 such area on the date of enactment of this Act shall, in ter4 minating such mining and removing equipment from such 5 area, take such actions as such agency head deems necessary 6 to prevent or minimize any damage to such area and shall re 7 quire such person to take such actions as such head deems 8 appropriate to reclaim the surface of any such area. 9 (b) After the date of enactment of this Act, no operator 10 shall open or develop any new or previously mined site for the extraction of coal by surface mining or significantly 12 increase or accelerate coal surface mining operations existing 11 13 on such date, unless such operator has first obtained a permit 14 pursuant to this Act. 15 (c) On and after twelve months from the date of enact16 ment of this Act, no operator of a surface coal mine, and on 17 and after twenty months from such date, no operator of an 18 underground coal mine, shall engage in mining operations 19 unless such operator has first obtained a permit under this 20 Act. 21 222 PERMITS SEC. 104. (a) The Administrator shall, in accordance 23 with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, promulgate 24 within one hundred and eighty days after the date of enact25 ment of this Act regulations establishing guidelines and per |