ON APRIL 21, 2023, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 993, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to make changes to the Primacy and Reclamation Act of Tennessee (the "Act").
Generally, present law requires the department of environment and conservation to undertake efforts to re-establish a state program for permitting and regulating coal mining activity and reclamation in Tennessee ("primacy").
By July 1, 2024, and each July 1 thereafter until July 1, 2028, this amendment requires the department to submit a report to the speaker of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives containing data on the tonnage of coal severed from the ground in surface coal mining and reclamation operations in this state during the prior fiscal year; and the amount of projected revenue from acreage fees, severance taxes, permit fees, and amendment fees that would have been required by state law if the state had exclusive jurisdiction over surface coal mining and reclamation operations in this state during the prior fiscal year.
This amendment requires the state to postpone efforts to obtain primacy until the commissioner of environment and conservation notifies the speaker of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives that the commissioner has determined that:
(1) The surface coal mining industry in this state is fiscally self-sufficient to support a state-operated program, with revenues from fees and taxes generated from the industry anticipated to meet required expenditures; and
(2) This state has allocated monies sufficient to address actual and potential liabilities resulting from insufficient bonding relative to surface coal mining and reclamation operations.
If, by July 1, 2028, the commissioner has not notified the required officials that self-sufficiency and potential liability have been addressed, as described in (1) and (2) above, then any obligation of this state to seek to obtain exclusive jurisdiction over surface coal mining and reclamation operations within this state under the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 terminates.
This amendment also increases the minimum bond requirement for a surface coal mining operation from $10,000 to $75,000.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 59-8-112(b)(1)(C), 59-8-112