[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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