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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9023 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9023
To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to
strengthen control of the environmental impacts of surface coal mining,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 26, 2026
Mr. Beyer (for himself, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Deluzio)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to
strengthen control of the environmental impacts of surface coal mining,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Contemporaneous Land and
Environmental Action for Neutralizing Unreclaimed Property at Mines Act
of 2026'' or the ``CLEAN UP Mines Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION ACT OF
1977.
(a) Reclamation Plan Requirements.--Section 508(a)(7) of the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C.
1258(a)(7)) is amended by inserting ``, not to exceed the standards
established in section 515(b)(3)'' after ``reclamation plan''.
(b) Revision of Permits.--Section 511(a) of the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1261(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (5); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) A request to temporarily cease or suspend mining operations
is a significant permit revision for purposes of paragraph (2).
``(4) In each case where no active coal removal or reclamation has
occurred at a permitted mine for more than 6 months during any 3-year
period, the applicable permit shall be considered out of compliance
with the reclamation plan--
``(A) unless the permit is in compliance with the standards
established in section 515(b)(3) and does not have any
variances from such standards; and
``(B) until the date on which the regulatory authority
approves--
``(i) a reasonable plan submitted by the operator
to return to production not later than 1 year after the
date on which the operator is notified that the
applicable permit is considered out of compliance under
this paragraph; or
``(ii) an application for a revision of the permit
submitted by the permittee under paragraph (1).''.
(c) Environmental Protection Performance Standards.--Section 515 of
the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1265)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by inserting ``and not later than 180
days after the date of the last coal production
as reported pursuant to section 402(c)'' after
``except as provided in subsection (c)'';
(ii) by inserting ``ensure proper drainage
control,'' after ``with respect to all surface
coal mining operations''; and
(iii) by inserting ``and complete all final
backfilling and grading before the equipment
necessary for backfilling and grading is
removed from the site'' after ``to retain
moisture to assist revegetation or as otherwise
authorized pursuant to this Act)'';
(B) in paragraph (16), by inserting ``, with such
specific requirements for maximum time periods
allowable for contemporaneous reclamation set forth in
paragraphs (3), (19), and (20) of this subsection,
paragraph (7) of subsection (c), and section 519(c)''
after ``contemporaneously as practicable with the
surface coal mining operations'';
(C) in paragraph (19), by inserting ``not later
than 36 months after the date of last coal production
as reported pursuant to section 402(c)'' before
``establish on the regraded areas'';
(D) in paragraph (20)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) in no instance shall the operator be allowed more
than 1 year greater than the time periods set forth in this
subsection to achieve successful revegetation;'';
(E) in paragraph (22)(I), by striking the period at
the end and inserting a semicolon;
(F) in paragraph (23), by striking ``and'' at the
end; and
(G) in paragraph (24), by adding ``and'' at the
end; and
(2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
``(7) All backfilling and regrading to ensure proper drainage
control, prevent leaching of toxic materials, eliminate highwalls,
spoil piles, and depressions (unless small depressions are needed in
order to retain moisture to assist revegetation or as otherwise
authorized pursuant to this Act), and ensure stability, shall be
completed not later than 180 days after the date of coal production as
reported pursuant to section 402(c).''.
(d) Inspections and Monitoring.--Section 517(b) of the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1267(b)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), to read as follows:
``(2) the regulatory authority shall--
``(A) require quarterly monitoring of both surface
water and ground water during mining and reclamation;
``(B) specify those--
``(i) monitoring sites to record the
quantity and quality of surface drainage above
and below the mine site as well as in the
potential zone of influence;
``(ii) monitoring sites to record level,
amount, and samples of ground water and
aquifers potentially affected by the mining and
also directly below the lowermost (deepest)
coal seam to be mined;
``(iii) records of well logs and borehole
data to be maintained; and
``(iv) monitoring sites to record
precipitation; and
``(C) require the monitoring, data collection, and
analysis required by this section to be conducted
according to standards and procedures set forth by the
regulatory authority in order to ensure their
reliability and validity;'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (5); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) the regulatory authority shall conduct an annual
assessment of the biological condition of streams to
demonstrate progress with respect to restoring of the pre-
mining biological condition of the stream;
``(4) the regulatory authority shall conduct an inspection
of surface water runoff control structures after each
precipitation event that is at least as intense as a 100-year,
6-hour precipitation event; and''.
(e) Release of Performance Bonds or Deposits.--Section 519(c) of
the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C.
1269(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by inserting ``and section 515(b)(3), or
section 515(c)(7), as applicable,'' after ``with his
approved reclamation plan''; and
(B) by striking ``60'' and inserting ``40'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``and section
515(b)(19)'' after ``in accordance with the approved
reclamation plan''; and
(3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``in accordance with the
approved reclamation plan and section 515(b)(20),'' after
``When the operator has completed successfully all surface coal
mining and reclamation activities''.
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