Long title | An Act to provide for the cooperation between the Secretary of the Interior and the States with respect to the regulation of surface coal mining operations, and the acquisition and reclamation of abandoned mines, and for other purposes. |
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Acronyms (colloquial) | SMCRA |
Enacted by | the 95th United States Congress |
Effective | August 3, 1977 |
Citations | |
Public law | 95-87 |
Statutes at Large | 91 Stat. 445 |
Codification | |
Titles amended | 30 U.S.C.: Mineral Lands and Mining |
U.S.C. sections created | 30 U.S.C. ch. 25 § 1201 et seq. |
Legislative history | |
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The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States.
SMCRA created two programs: one for regulating active coal mines and a second for reclaiming abandoned mine lands. SMCRA also created the Office of Surface Mining, an agency within the Department of the Interior, to promulgate regulations, to fund state regulatory and reclamation efforts, and to ensure consistency among state regulatory programs.[1]