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Title 30, Mineral Lands and MiningRelease 119-110

§1253 State Programs

Title 30 › CHAPTER 25 — SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION › SUBCHAPTER V — CONTROL OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF SURFACE COAL MINING › § 1253

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

A State that wants to take exclusive control of surface coal mining on non‑Federal land must send a plan to the Secretary by the end of the 18‑month period that began on August 3, 1977. The plan must show the State can carry out the law. That means the State needs laws to regulate mining and to punish violations (including civil and criminal penalties, bond forfeiture, permit suspensions or revocations, and stop orders), a funded regulatory agency with trained staff, a legal permit system, a process to name areas unsuitable for mining (Federal lands are designated by the Secretary after consulting the State), a way to coordinate State and Federal permits to avoid duplication, and rules that match the Secretary’s regulations. Before approving a plan, the Secretary must get input from EPA, the Agriculture Secretary, and other Federal agencies; get EPA’s written agreement on the parts that affect air or water standards under the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; hold at least one public hearing in the State; and find the State has the legal authority and qualified personnel. The Secretary must approve or disapprove within six full calendar months. If disapproved, the State has 60 days to resubmit, and the Secretary then has 60 days to decide. If a court injunction stops a State from acting, the State does not lose funding eligibility and the State will continue to regulate under the Federal backup rules until the injunction ends or for one year, whichever is shorter.

Full Legal Text

Title 30, §1253

Mineral Lands and Mining, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations; submittal to Secretary; time limit; demonstration of effectiveness
Each State in which there are or may be conducted surface coal mining operations on non-Federal lands, and which wishes to assume exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations, except as provided in section 1271 and 1273 of this title and subchapter IV of this chapter, shall submit to the Secretary, by the end of the eighteenth-month period beginning on August 3, 1977, a State program which demonstrates that such State has the capability of carrying out the provisions of this chapter and meeting its purposes through—
(1)a State law which provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations in accordance with the requirements of this chapter;
(2)a State law which provides sanctions for violations of State laws, regulations, or conditions of permits concerning surface coal mining and reclamation operations, which sanctions shall meet the minimum requirements of this chapter, including civil and criminal actions, forfeiture of bonds, suspensions, revocations, and withholding of permits, and the issuance of cease-and-desist orders by the State regulatory authority or its inspectors;
(3)a State regulatory authority with sufficient administrative and technical personnel, and sufficient funding to enable the State to regulate surface coal mining and reclamation operations in accordance with the requirements of this chapter;
(4)a State law which provides for the effective implementations,1 maintenance, and enforcement of a permit system, meeting the requirements of this subchapter for the regulations 1 of surface coal mining and reclamation operations for coal on lands within the State;
(5)establishment of a process for the designation of areas as unsuitable for surface coal mining in accordance with section 1272 of this title provided that the designation of Federal lands unsuitable for mining shall be performed exclusively by the Secretary after consultation with the State; and 1
(6)establishment for the purposes of avoiding duplication, of a process for coordinating the review and issuance of permits for surface coal mining and reclamation operations with any other Federal or State permit process applicable to the proposed operations; and
(7)rules and regulations consistent with regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant to this chapter.
(b)Approval of program
The Secretary shall not approve any State program submitted under this section until he has—
(1)solicited and publicly disclosed the views of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the heads of other Federal agencies concerned with or having special expertise pertinent to the proposed State program;
(2)obtained the written concurrence of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency with respect to those aspects of a State program which relate to air or water quality standards promulgated under the authority of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.], and the Clean Air Act, as amended [42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.];
(3)held at least one public hearing on the State program within the State; and
(4)found that the State has the legal authority and qualified personnel necessary for the enforcement of the environmental protection standards.
The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a State program, in whole or in part, within six full calendar months after the date such State program was submitted to him.
(c)Notice of disapproval
If the Secretary disapproves any proposed State program in whole or in part, he shall notify the State in writing of his decision and set forth in detail the reasons therefor. The State shall have sixty days in which to resubmit a revised State program or portion thereof. The Secretary shall approve or disapprove the resubmitted State program or portion thereof within sixty days from the date of resubmission.
(d)Inability of State to take action
For the purposes of this section and section 1254 of this title, the inability of a State to take any action the purpose of which is to prepare, submit or enforce a State program, or any portion thereof, because the action is enjoined by the issuance of an injunction by any court of competent jurisdiction shall not result in a loss of eligibility for financial assistance under subchapters IV and VII of this chapter or in the imposition of a Federal program. Regulation of the surface coal mining and reclamation operations covered or to be covered by the State program subject to the injunction shall be conducted by the State pursuant to section 1252 of this title, until such time as the injunction terminates or for one year, whichever is shorter, at which time the requirements of this section and section 1254 of this title shall again be fully applicable.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), is act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, 62 Stat. 1155, as amended generally by Pub. L. 92–500, § 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816, which is classified generally to chapter 26 (§ 1251 et seq.) of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1251 of Title 33 and Tables. The Clean Air Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), is act July 14, 1955, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322, which is classified generally to chapter 85 (§ 7401 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 7401 of Title 42 and Tables.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

30 U.S.C. § 1253

Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110