[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 23, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page E1485]]



 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 23, 1997

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, on February 26, 1972, at 8 o'clock in the 
morning, a coal waste dam failed on the Middle Fork of Buffalo Creek in 
Logan County. Over 175 million gallons of water and coal waste raced 
through a 17-mile valley. In its wake, 125 people were dead, 523 
injured, and 4,000 left homeless.
  Historically, the environmental effects of coal mining were often 
neglected. From the time surface mining techniques became widespread 
until the 1970's, it was assumed implicitly that the permanent 
degrading of the local surroundings and the pollution of streams was 
the inevitable price a community paid in return for jobs and tax 
revenue generated by the coal industry.
  What happened at Buffalo Creek changed all of that. While the lives 
of those 125 individuals could not be reclaimed, their ultimate 
sacrifice raised the level of public attention to the plight of 
coalfield citizens from a local, to a truly national, level.
  The Buffalo Creek disaster also became, in 1977, a major factor in 
the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, known 
as SMCRA.
  August 3, 1997, marks the 20th anniversary of the date former 
President Jimmy Carter signed SMCRA into law. The act set detailed 
mining and reclamation standards for coal operators and established in 
abandoned mine reclamation fund to finance the restoration of land that 
had been mined and abandoned in prior years. I was pleased to have been 
a Member of Congress who worked to make that law a reality, and to have 
participated in the Rose Garden ceremony when President Carter signed 
the legislation into law.
  Much has changed over the last 20 years since SMCRA was enacted. The 
coal industry has benefited because the law created a more level 
playing field. At one time States would try to increase the 
competitiveness of their industry by reducing environmental 
regulations. That cannot happen under SMCRA. Coalfield citizens have 
benefited as well. Many hazards we once faced--burning job piles, 
abandoned open mine portals, and landslide-prone hillsides--have been 
eliminated and the land brought back to productive uses.
  SMCRA also created a Federal agency to make sure the States properly 
enforced the law. This arrangement has also benefited coalfield 
residents as this agency, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, is their second line of defense--their safety net--against 
the occasional failure of State enforcement authorities to fully 
implement SMCRA.
  In recognition of the 20th anniversary of SMCRA, today I am 
introducing a House concurrent resolution which reaffirms the goals of 
SMCRA: the advancement of the health, safety, and general welfare of 
the residents of the Nation's coalfields.
  Joining me in introducing this resolution are a number of my 
Democratic colleagues on the Resources Committee. They are Mr. Miller 
of California, Mr. Vento, Mr. Romero-Barceleo, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode 
Island, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Pickett, Mr. Oritiz, Ms. 
Christian-Green, Mr. Faleomavaega, and Mr. Hinchey. To each of them, I 
express my gratitude for their support of this resolution and what it 
means to the people of the Appalachian region.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution simply states it is the sense of the 
Congress that the private property rights of coalfield citizens should 
be protected against incursions by improper coal mining practices. It 
states that the homes, farms, water supplies, and places of business of 
coalfield residents should be protected from subsidence, from improper 
blasting practices, and from landslides and erosion.
  It states that the health, safety, and general welfare of coalfield 
citizens should not be diminished, or threatened, by the failure of 
State or Federal regulatory authorities to enforce SMCRA.
  It states that coalfield residents have the right to enjoy the 
recreational values of their rivers and streams, that these water 
bodies should not be diminished by acidic or toxic water pollution from 
coal mining operations.
  And it states that coal operators, as citizens of our Nation's 
coalfields, deserve equal protection under SMCRA. That they deserve 
equal protection against predatory policies which may be advanced on 
the State level aimed at providing operators in one State a competitive 
advantage over operators in another State. In effect, that it is our 
policy that Kentucky should no less effectively enforce SMCRA than West 
Virginia, giving Kentucky operators a leg up on West Virginia operators 
in pursuing utility coal contracts. That in the Powder River Basin, 
Montana producers should not have a competitive advantage over those in 
Wyoming because of less stringent environmental protection standards.
  Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not also take this 
opportunity to pay homage to the father of the Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act of 1977, our former colleague and once chairman of 
the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Morris Udall. It took Mo 
over 9 years and two Presidential vetoes to gain the enactment of 
Federal surface mining legislation. But get it enacted he did. While he 
hailed from Arizona, I know that Mo came to understand Appalachia and 
the pressing need we had at that time for Federal leadership in gaining 
the enactment of legislation such as SMCRA. The last time I visited Mo, 
I told him that I was seeking to return the favor by promoting the 
reform of the mining law of 1872 which in its present form so adversely 
affects the environment of the West.
  Finally, I would like to note that nine House Members and eight 
Senators signed the conference report on H.R. 2, the legislation which 
was enacted as SMCRA back in 1977. Of those nine House Members, I am 
the only one still serving in the House of Representatives. Of the 
eight Senators, two still serve: Senator Wendell Ford of Kentucky and 
Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico. I salute these gentlemen as well 
for their foresight and courage in working 20 years ago to gain the 
enactment of SMCRA.

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