Title 30 — Mineral Lands and MiningRelease 119-73
§551 Declaration of policy
Title 30 › Chapter CHAPTER 13— - CONTROL OF COAL-MINE FIRES › § 551
Summary
Congress requires controlling and putting out outcrop and underground coal fires because they waste fuel, threaten public health and safety, and harm surface property and natural resources.
Full Legal Text
Title 30, §551
Mineral Lands and Mining — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
It is recognized that outcrop and underground fires in coal formations involve serious wastage of the fuel resources of the Nation, and constitute a menace to the health and safety of the public and to surface property. It is therefore declared to be the policy of the Congress to provide for the control and extinguishment of outcrop and underground coal fires and thereby to prevent injuries and loss of life, protect public health, conserve natural resources, and to preserve public and private surface property.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Coal Formations Pub. L. 102–486, title XXV, § 2504(d)(1), (2), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3105, 3106, provided that: “(1) In furtherance of the purposes of the Act of August 31, 1954 (30 U.S.C. 551–558) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement
, shall, upon application by a State, enter into a cooperative agreement with any such State that has an approved abandoned mine reclamation program pursuant to section 405 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 [30 U.S.C. 1235] to undertake the activities referred to in section 3(b) of the Act of
August 31, 1954 (30 U.S.C. 553(b)). The Secretary shall immediately enter into such cooperative agreement upon application by a State. Any such cooperative agreement shall not be subject to review or approval by the Appalachian Regional Development Commission. “(2) For the purposes of the cooperative agreements entered into pursuant to paragraph (1), the requirements of section 5 of the Act of
August 31, 1954 (30 U.S.C. 555) are hereby waived.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
30 U.S.C. § 551
Title 30 — Mineral Lands and Mining
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73