Safeguarding Treatment for the Restoration of Ecosystems From Abandoned Mines Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 7283, the Safeguarding Treatment for the Restoration of Ecosystems from Abandoned Mines Act, also known as the STREAM Act.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act appropriated $11.3 billion to the Abandoned Mine Lands, or the AML, trust fund. This money is for use by State AML programs to address abandoned mine lands created before enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

This historic, fee-based AML program allows a State to set aside up to 30 percent of its annual AML grant in an interest-bearing account to cover the long-term costs of acid mine drainage, or AMD, facilities, which are often needed to address water treatment in historic coal mining states.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act reauthorizes the collection of the AML fee at a reduced rate, as well as a 30 percent set-aside authority for States. However, the IIJA neglected to grant parallel set-aside authority for the newly authorized $11.3 billion in Treasury funds for AML projects.

This is one of the many areas Congress will need to correct in the hastily passed IIJA bill, and it goes to show why we need to have regular order, why we need to have committee hearings, and why we need to take our time on these large bills.

That large IIJA bill never went through a committee in the House. It was sent over from the Senate, hastily adopted, and here we are today, trying to fix it. I am sure it won't be the last time.

The STREAM Act is a bipartisan bill that will make a technical fix to IIJA, clarifying that States receiving newly authorized funds for AML cleanup have the authority to set aside a portion of those funds for AMD cleanup purposes consistent with existing law. This will allow States to utilize AML funds according to their specific needs.

That said, the Department of the Interior recently released final guidance for States applying to receive funds authorized for AML cleanup that includes requirements over and above the letter of the law. DOI should allow States to make decisions on prioritizing AML sites and refrain from imposing unauthorized and heavy-handed requirements.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source