Section 503 of SMCRA

STATE PROGRAMS

[30 U.S.C. 1253]

SEC. 503. (a) 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 sections 521 and 523 and title IV of this Act, shall submit to the Secretary, by the end of the eighteenth‑month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, a State program which demonstrates that such State has the capability of carrying out the provisions of this Act 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 Act;

(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 Act, 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 Act;

(4) a State law which provides for the effective implementations, maintenance, and enforcement of a permit system, meeting the requirements of this title for the regulations 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 522 provided that the designation of Federal lands unsuitable for mining shall be performed exclusively by the Secretary after consultation with the State; and

(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 Act.

(b) 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. 1151‑1175), and the Clean Air Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1857 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) 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) For the purposes of this section and section 504, 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 th`e 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 titles IV and VII of this Act 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 502 of this Act, until such time as the injunction terminates or for one year, whichever is shorter, at which time the requirements of sections 503 and 504 shall again be fully applicable.