[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5022 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5022
To place a moratorium on the issuance and renewal of certain Federal
authorizations for mountaintop removal coal mining until a health study
is conducted, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2023
Mr. McGarvey (for himself, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Tonko, Ms.
McCollum, Ms. Norton, Mr. Trone, Mr. Connolly, and Mr. Cohen)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and
Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To place a moratorium on the issuance and renewal of certain Federal
authorizations for mountaintop removal coal mining until a health study
is conducted, 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 ``Appalachian Communities Health
Equity Act'' or the ``ACHE Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Communities surrounding mountaintop removal coal mining
projects, which involve surface coal mining including blasting
with explosives in the steep slope regions of Kentucky,
Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia, have raised concerns
that pollution of the water, air, and soil that results from
mountaintop removal coal mining may be causing health crises in
their communities.
(2) Peer-reviewed scientific research and reports have
raised serious concerns about mountaintop removal mining with
respect to elevated risks in categories of birth defects
studied, including circulatory, respiratory, central nervous
system, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal.
(3) Mountaintop removal coal mining has also been
associated with elevated levels of adult hospitalizations for
chronic pulmonary disorders and hypertension that are elevated
as a function of county-level coal production, as are rates of
mortality, lung cancer, and chronic heart, lung, and kidney
disease. These health problems strike both women and men in
mountaintop removal coal mining communities and these elevated
levels of disease, defects, and mortality persist even after
controlling for other variables.
(4) Scientific evidence, and the level of public concern,
warrant immediate action to stop new mountaintop removal coal
mining permits and increase environmental and human health
monitoring at existing mountaintop removal coal mining projects
while the reported links between health effects and mountaintop
removal coal mining are investigated by Federal health
agencies.
(5) The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
is uniquely qualified to manage a working group of Federal
health agencies with expertise that is relevant to study of the
reported links.
SEC. 3. HEALTH STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Director of the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, in consultation with the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency and the heads of such other Federal
agencies as the Director determines appropriate, shall conduct or
support a comprehensive study regarding the health impacts, if any, of
mountaintop removal coal mining on individuals who reside in
communities in close proximity to mountaintop removal coal mining
projects.
(b) Report.--The Director of the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences shall submit to the Secretary, and make
publicly available, a report regarding the results of the study
conducted or supported under subsection (a).
(c) Determination.--After receipt of the report required under
subsection (b), the Secretary shall publish on the website of the
Department of Health and Human Services a determination regarding
whether mountaintop removal coal mining presents any health risks to
individuals who reside in communities in close proximity to mountaintop
removal coal mining projects.
SEC. 4. MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL COAL MINING FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION
MORATORIUM.
No Federal authorization may be issued or renewed for any
mountaintop removal coal mining project, or for any expansion of such a
project, by any of the following individuals before the date on which
the Secretary publishes a determination under section 3(c) concluding
that mountaintop removal coal mining does not present any health risks
to individuals who reside in communities in close proximity to
mountaintop removal coal mining projects:
(1) The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of
Engineers, or a State, under section 404 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344).
(2) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, or a State, under section 402 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342).
(3) The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the
Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, or a State, under the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).
SEC. 5. MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL COAL MINING MONITORING.
(a) Monitoring Requirement.--Any person that conducts a mountaintop
removal coal mining project shall--
(1) with respect to the site of the project, carry out
monitoring for pollution that occurs as a result of the
project, including--
(A) continuous monitoring for water, air, and noise
pollution; and
(B) consistent monitoring for soil pollution; and
(2) based on the results of the monitoring carried out
under paragraph (1)--
(A) identify any pollution that occurs as a result
of the project; and
(B) identify ways in which individuals who reside
in communities in close proximity to the project might
be exposed to such pollution.
(b) Results of Monitoring.--
(1) Submission to secretary.--Each person that carries out
monitoring under subsection (a)(1) for a mountaintop removal
coal mining project shall submit to the Secretary, on a monthly
basis, the results of such monitoring.
(2) Public availability.--Not later than 7 days after the
date on which the Secretary receives results under paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall make such results publicly available
on the website of the Department of Health and Human Services
in a searchable database format.
(c) Enforcement.--If a person that conducts a mountaintop removal
coal mining project fails to comply with either subsection (a) or (b)
with respect to the project, no Federal authorization may be issued or
renewed for the project, or for any expansion of the project, by any of
the following individuals:
(1) The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of
Engineers, or a State, under section 404 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344).
(2) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, or a State, under section 402 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342).
(3) The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the
Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, or a State, under the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).
(d) Applicability.--The requirements under subsections (a) and (b)
shall terminate on the date on which the Secretary publishes the
determination described in section 3(c).
SEC. 6. FEDERAL COST FEE.
(a) Collection and Assessment.--The Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement, shall assess and collect a one-time fee from each
person that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, is conducting
or has previously completed a mountaintop removal coal mining project
in the United States, in an amount sufficient to recover the Federal
cost of implementing sections 3 and 5.
(b) Use of Fee.--Amounts collected under this section may be used,
to the extent and in the amount provided in advance in appropriations
Acts, only to pay the Federal cost of carrying out sections 3 and 5.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Federal authorization.--The term ``Federal
authorization'' means a permit, license, or other authorization
that is issued by a Federal agency.
(2) Mountaintop removal coal mining.--The term
``mountaintop removal coal mining'' means surface coal mining
that--
(A) uses blasting with explosives; and
(B) is carried out in the steep slope regions of
Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
(4) Steep slope.--The term ``steep slope'' has the meaning
given the term in section 515(d)(4) of the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1265(d)(4)).
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