H.R. 9023

[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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