H.R. 4705 — ACHE Act of 2025

This section sets forth congressional findings on mountaintop removal coal mining in the steep slope regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia, including (1) community concerns over pollution-related health crises; (2) peer-reviewed research linking the practice to elevated risks of circulatory, respiratory, central nervous system, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal birth defects; (3) associations with increased adult hospitalizations for chronic pulmonary disorders and hypertension, as well as higher rates of mortality, lung cancer, and chronic heart, lung, and kidney disease; (4) a need to halt new permits and increase monitoring at existing projects pending federal investigation; and (5) the suitability of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to lead an interagency working group.

This section directs the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in consultation with the EPA Administrator and other appropriate federal agencies, to conduct or support a comprehensive study on the health impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on individuals residing in nearby communities. The Director must submit a report on the study to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who must then publish on the HHS website a determination on whether such mining presents health risks to those individuals.

This section imposes a moratorium on issuing or renewing any federal authorization for mountaintop removal coal mining projects or their expansions by (1) the Secretary of the Army (through the Corps of Engineers) or a state under CWA §404 (dredged or fill material permits), (2) the EPA Administrator or a state under CWA §402 (NPDES discharge permits), or (3) the Secretary of the Interior (through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement) or a state under SMCRA, until the Secretary publishes a determination under section 3(c) that such mining presents no health risks to nearby communities.

This section requires any person conducting a mountaintop removal coal mining project to (1) monitor continuously for water, air, and noise pollution and consistently for soil pollution at the project site; (2) identify any project-related pollution and potential exposures to nearby communities; and (3) submit monthly monitoring results to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who must publish the results publicly on the department's website in a searchable database within seven days. This section prohibits issuance or renewal of permits under Clean Water Act sections 402 (33 U.S.C. 1342) or 404 (33 U.S.C. 1344)—by the EPA Administrator or states for discharges, or the Secretary of the Army for dredged or fill material—or under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.)—by the Secretary of the Interior—for any such project or expansion upon noncompliance with the monitoring or reporting requirements. (Thus, these conditions apply to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for wastewater discharges and dredge-and-fill permits affecting waters of the U.S.) The requirements terminate upon the Secretary's publication of the determination described in section 3(c).

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, to assess and collect a one-time fee from each person conducting or who has previously completed a mountaintop removal coal mining project as of enactment, in an amount sufficient to recover the federal costs of implementing sections 3 and 5. Amounts collected may be used only for those costs, to the extent and in the amount provided in advance in appropriations Acts.

This section defines key terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) "Federal authorization" as a permit, license, or other authorization issued by a federal agency; (2) "mountaintop removal coal mining" as surface coal mining that uses blasting with explosives and is carried out in the steep slope regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia; (3) "Secretary" as the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and (4) "steep slope" as defined in section 515(d)(4) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1265(d)(4)).