§555 Conditions precedent for aid to non-Federal lands

Summary

Before giving federal help to fight coal-seam fires on land not owned or controlled by the United States (unless the work is needed to protect federal land or property), the Secretary of the Interior can require the state or local government to pass laws to control and put out those fires and to cooperate with the work. The Secretary can also require written agreements that say who will do the work and who will keep it maintained. For projects to put out fires in inactive coal mines on nonfederal land (again, unless needed to protect federal land or property), the Secretary must require the state or the landowner to pay half (50 percent) of planning and cleanup costs. If the state or landowner shows they cannot pay, the Secretary can make them pay 50 percent to the federal government within a time set by the Secretary. At least 75 percent of the money spent in any fiscal year for such nonfederal projects must go to projects where the state or landowner is providing the 50 percent match.