H.R. 167 — Community Reclamation Partnerships Act of 2025

This section specifies that, except as otherwise provided, all amendments in this Act refer to provisions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

This section authorizes a state with an approved abandoned mine reclamation plan to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with relevant federal or state agencies to remediate mine drainage (i.e., water pollution from discharge at abandoned coal mine sites eligible under section 404) on abandoned mine lands. (1) The MOU must establish strategies and procedures satisfactory to the parties for improving water quality, monitoring and reporting, operation and maintenance of treatment systems, and related purposes; (2) prior to submission, the state must provide for public comment, at least one public meeting with 15 days' notice, and responses to substantive comments received within 30 days; and (3) upon submission, the Secretary of the Interior and EPA Administrator must approve or disapprove the MOU within 120 days if it facilitates water quality improvements under the state's plan, after which the MOU becomes part of the approved plan. This section further directs the Secretary to approve, within 120 days of submission by a state, a Community Reclaimer project to remediate abandoned mine lands inventoried under section 403(c) if the project meets specified criteria, including conduct by a Community Reclaimer or approved subcontractors, consistency with an approved MOU for mine drainage projects, a state agreement assuming liability for costs or damages except those from the reclaimer's gross negligence or intentional misconduct, state legal authority and financial resources for completion (including operation, maintenance, and contingencies), and no requirement for a title V permit. Project submissions must include a sealed engineering plan, site description, owner and operator identification, state-reclaimer agreement, plan facilitation determination, reclaimer technical capability evidence, cost estimate, and sufficient evidence of reclaimer financial resources.

This section modifies the authority of the Secretary of the Interior or an approved state under the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program (i.e., SMCRA Title IV) to construct and operate plants for the control and treatment of water pollution resulting from mine drainage. Specifically, it permits such control or treatment to be less stringent than required under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act if conducted in accordance with a state memorandum of understanding approved under section 405(m) of SMCRA.

This section revises the required contents of states' annual applications for Abandoned Mine Land reclamation program funding by adding a new paragraph (8) requiring a list of projects proposed under subsection (n). (As background, the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program provides federal funding to states with approved plans to reclaim eligible lands and waters damaged by past coal mining.)