118 HR 5022 IH: Appalachian Communities Health Equity Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-07-27
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5022
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.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Appalachian Communities Health Equity Act” or the “ACHE Act”.
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.
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.
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.).
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).
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.
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)).