[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1644 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1644

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to 
 ensure transparency in the development of environmental regulations, 
                        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 ``Supporting Transparent Regulatory 
and Environmental Actions in Mining Act'' or the ``STREAM Act''.

SEC. 2. PUBLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS FOR RULES AND RELATED 
              ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS, ENVIRONMENTAL 
              ASSESSMENTS, AND ECONOMIC ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) Requirement.--Title V of the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 530. PUBLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS FOR RULES AND RELATED 
              ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES, AND ECONOMIC ASSESSMENTS.

    ``(a) Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make publicly 
        available 90 days before the publication of any draft, 
        proposed, supplemental, final, or emergency rule under this 
        Act, or any related environmental analysis, economic 
        assessment, policy, or guidance, each scientific product the 
        Secretary relied on in developing the rule, environmental 
        analysis, economic assessment, policy, or guidance.
            ``(2) Federally funded scientific products.--For those 
        scientific products receiving Federal funds in part, or in 
        full, the Secretary shall also make publicly available the raw 
        data used for the federally funded scientific product.
    ``(b) Compliance.--
            ``(1) In general.--Failure to make publicly available any 
        scientific product 90 days before the publication of--
                    ``(A) any draft, proposed, or supplemental rule, 
                environmental analysis, economic assessment, policy or 
                guidance shall extend by one day the comment period for 
                each day such scientific product is not made available; 
                or
                    ``(B) any final or emergency rule shall delay the 
                effective date of the final or emergency rule by 60 
                days plus each day the scientific product is withheld.
            ``(2) Delay longer than 6 months.--If the Secretary fails 
        to make publicly available any scientific product for longer 
        than 6 months, the Secretary shall withdraw the rule, 
        environmental analysis, economic assessment, policy, or 
        guidance.
            ``(3) Exception.--This subsection shall not apply if a 
        delay in the publication of a rule will pose an imminent and 
        severe threat to human life.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Publicly available.--The term `publicly available' 
        means published on the Internet via a publicly accessible 
        website under the Secretary's control.
            ``(2) Environmental analysis.--The term `environmental 
        analysis' means environmental impact statements and 
        environmental assessments prepared pursuant to the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
            ``(3) Scientific product.--The term `scientific product' 
        means any product that--
                    ``(A) employs the scientific method for 
                inventorying, monitoring, experimenting, studying, 
                researching, or modeling purposes;
                    ``(B) is relied upon by the Secretary in the 
                development of any rule, environmental analysis, 
                economic assessment, policy, or guidance; and
                    ``(C) is not protected under copyright laws.
            ``(4) Raw data.--The term `raw data'--
                    ``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), means 
                any computational process, or quantitative or 
                qualitative data, that is relied on in a scientific 
                product to support a finding or observation; and
                    ``(B) does not include such data or processes--
                            ``(i) that are protected by copyright;
                            ``(ii) that contain personally identifiable 
                        information, sensitive intellectual property, 
                        trade secrets, or business-sensitive 
                        information; or
                            ``(iii) to the extent that such data and 
                        processes are covered by the provisions of part 
                        C of title XI of the Social Security Act (42 
                        U.S.C. 1320d et seq.), regulations promulgated 
                        pursuant to section 264(c) of the Health 
                        Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 
                        1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d-2 note), and the 
                        provisions of subtitle D of title XIII of the 
                        Health Information Technology for Economic and 
                        Clinical Health Act (42 U.S.C. 17921 et 
                        seq.).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in the first section 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 
such title the following:

``Sec. 530. Publication of scientific products for rules and related 
                            environmental analyses, and economic 
                            assessments.''.

SEC. 3. STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CERTAIN RULE.

    (a) Requirement.--Title VII of the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1291 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 722. STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CERTAIN RULE.

    ``(a) Study.--No later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of the STREAM Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 
the Interstate Mining Compact Commission and its State members, shall 
enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences, for 
execution by the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, to conduct a 
comprehensive study on the regulatory effectiveness of the `Surface 
Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations Permanent Regulatory Program; 
Stream Buffer Zones and Fish, Wildlife, and Related Environmental 
Values' Final Rule published June 30, 1983 (48 Fed. Reg. 30312), and 
amended September 30, 1983 (48 Fed. Reg. 44777), in protecting 
perennial and intermittent streams through the use of stream buffer 
zones. If the study determines the existence of regulatory 
inefficiencies, then the study shall include suggestions and 
recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of the rule.
    ``(b) Results of the Study.--Not later than 2 years after execution 
of the arrangements under subsection (a), the Board on Earth Sciences 
and Resources shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate, appropriate Federal agencies, and the Governor 
of each of the States represented on the Interstate Mining Compact 
Commission the results of the study conducted under subsection (a).
    ``(c) Funding.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary of the Interior $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2016 and 
$1,000,000 for fiscal year 2017 for the purposes of this section.
    ``(d) Prohibition on New Regulations.--The Secretary shall not 
issue any final or other regulations pertaining to the proposed rule 
entitled `Stream Protection Rule' (80 Fed. Reg. 44436) or relating to 
stream buffer zones, until 1 year after the Secretary has submitted the 
results of the study in accordance with subsection (b). If the 
Secretary proposes any such regulations after such submission, the 
Secretary shall take into consideration the findings of the study.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in the first section 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 
such title the following:

``Sec. 720. Subsidence.
``Sec. 721. Research.
``Sec. 722. Study of the effectiveness of certain rule.''.

SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.

    Section 702 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 
1977 (30 U.S.C. 1292) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsection 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Compliance With Other Federal Laws.--Nothing in this Act 
authorizes the Secretary to take any action by rule, regulation, 
notice, policy, guidance, or order that duplicates, implements, 
interprets, enforces, or determines any action taken under an Act 
referred to in subsection (a) or any regulation or rule promulgated 
thereunder.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives January 12, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1644

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to 
 ensure transparency in the development of environmental regulations, 
                        and for other purposes.