Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill important to public health and safety and the environment in the West. This legislation addresses a recent interpretation by the Department of the Interior, DOI, which restricts the ability of states to use certain funds under the Abandoned Mine Land, AML, Program authorized by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, SMCRA, for non-coal mine reclamation.

The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 contained amendments to SMCRA reauthorizing collection of an AML fee on coal produced in the U.S. and making certain modifications to the AML program. Under this program, which is administered by DOI, funds are expended to reclaim abandoned mine lands, with top priority for protecting public health, safety, general welfare, and property and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by past mining practices. The program is largely directed to abandoned coal mine reclamation, but under section 409 of SMCRA, limited funds have been available to address non-coal mine sites. 

Unfortunately, the Department of the Interior has interpreted the amendments in a manner that limits the ability of western states to use certain funds under SMCRA to address significant problems relating to non-coal abandoned mines, despite the fact that these funds had previously been available for these purposes. 

Section 409 of SMCRA, provides that states may address public health and safety hazards at abandoned mine sites, both coal and non-coal. Western states such as New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, have prioritized the use of AML funds to undertake the most pressing reclamation work on both coal and non-coal mine sites. While activities on non-coal sites have consumed a relatively insignificant portion of the funding provided for the overall AML program, the results in terms of public health and safety in these states is considerable, and there is significant work yet to be done. For example, New Mexico alone has over 15,000 remaining mine openings with a vast majority of these being non-coal. All AML-related fatalities in the State in the last few decades have been at non-coal mine sites. 

I disagree with this interpretation by DOI. This result was not the intention of those of us working on the SMCRA amendments, and I believe the interpretation is in error. First, OSM's interpretation disregards the fact that section 409 was left unamended by the Congress. Furthermore, this interpretation is inconsistent with assurances repeatedly given to us by OSM during the consideration of the legislation that non-coal work could continue to be undertaken with these AML funds. Finally, the interpretation has the unacceptable result of requiring states to devote funds to low priority coal sites while leaving dangerous non-coal sites unaddressed. 

The bill that I am introducing today would correct this problem by modifying the language of SMCRA to clarify that the funding would be available for noncoal reclamation as it was prior to the passage of the amendments in 2006. Under the bill, western, non-certified States could continue to use the payments comprising their so-called previously unappropriated state share balances for noncoal reclamation. 

I hope that my colleagues will support this legislation, which has important implications for abandoned mine clean-up in the West.