Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA)

• THE LAW: US federal legislation concerning the regulation of the surface mining of coal and the responsibility for the restoration of land after surface mining
• DATE: Enacted on August 3, 1977
• The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act has been responsible for significant improvements in the environmental sustainability of coal mining in the United States and in the cleanup of pollution from abandoned mines. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, created by the act, conducts research and provides training in best practices for restoring land degraded by mining.

As the United States economy grew rapidly after World War II, the need for energy grew equally rapidly; one consequence of this rapid expansion was the mining of coal as quickly and as cheaply as possible, with little regard for the environment. Surface mining, or the mining of coal near the Earth's surface by removing the rock and soil on top of it, became increasingly common, and states desperate for mining jobs competed with one another to offer the least restrictive regulations on mining operations.

As concerns about the environment began to grow during the 1970s, the US Congress attempted to set federal regulations on surface mining, passing legislation in 1974 and 1975; President Gerald Ford vetoed both bills, however. The country was still reeling from the oil embargo imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1973-1974 and the ensuing energy crisis, and Ford did not want to make things worse by restricting the supply of coal. In 1977, Ford’s successor, Jimmy Carter, signed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, over the strenuous objections of the coal industry, but with the support of local advocacy groups, including Save Our Cumberland Mountains.

The act created the new Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) in the Department of the Interior. The law began with the assumption that the technology already existed to make surface mining both economical and environmentally safe, and it established 114 performance standards for mining and reclamation, described in eighty-eight pages. The new law prohibited actions that were common in the past, such as dumping polluted soil and rock into streambeds.

Under the terms of the act, mining companies are required to submit plans in advance of beginning any new mining operations, explaining how they will prevent pollution to soil and water and how they will restore, or reclaim, the land after mining has ceased so that it can again be available for the same uses it could support before the mining. Certain environmentally sensitive areas, including wilderness areas, may not be mined. The law also requires coal mining companies to pay fees, based on the amount of coal they remove, into the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. Each US state collects up to half of these fees from its own mines, and the money is used to clean up abandoned mines that present environmental hazards.

As new research and economic pressures altered the perceived role of coal in US energy production, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was amended by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and 2005. In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act further amended the original act. Among the provisions in the 2021 amendment was the extension of abandoned mine land fees and the approval of additional funding for the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.

Bibliography

"Chronology of Major SMCRA-Related Events." Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, www.osmre.gov/laws-and-regulations/chronology-of-major-smrca-related-events. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.

Montrie, Chad. To Save the Land and People: A History of Opposition to Surface Coal Mining in Appalachia. U of North Carolina P, 2003.

Otto, James M. “Global Trends in Mine Reclamation and Closure Regulation.” Mining, Society, and a Sustainable World, edited by J. P. Richards, Springer, 2009.

Rowe, James F. Coal Surface Mining: Impacts of Reclamation. Westview Press, 1979.

"Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act ." National Park Service, 22 July 2025, www.nps.gov/subjects/energyminerals/smcra.htm. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.

Zedack, Kevin. "The State of Coal Community Protections 48 Years after Landmark Mining Law ." Appalachian Voices, 4 Aug. 2025, appvoices.org/2025/08/04/surface-mining-control-and-reclamation-acts-48th-anniversary. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.