2024 24LSO-0199
STATE OF WYOMING Working Draft
0.7
DRAFT ONLY
NOT APPROVED FOR
INTRODUCTION
HOUSE BILL NO.
Abandoned mine reclamation accounts.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Larsen, L
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to environmental quality; creating the
2 long-term abandoned mine reclamation account; specifying
3 permissible uses of the account; authorizing investment of
4 funds in the account; specifying the limits of liability
5 for funds in the account; repealing the abandoned mine
6 lands fund balancing account; specifying transfers of funds
7 from repealed accounts; and providing for an effective
8 date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
11
12 Section 1. W.S. 35-11-1211 is created to read:
13
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 2024 STATE OF WYOMING 24LSO-0199
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1 35-11-1211. Long-term abandoned mine reclamation
2 account.
3
4 (a) There is created the long-term abandoned mine
5 reclamation account. The state treasurer shall, upon
6 direction from the department, deposit up to thirty percent
7 (30%) of the amount of all funds provided to the state by
8 the secretary of the interior under section 40701(c) of the
9 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as amended by
10 section 801 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023,
11 into the account. The state treasurer shall invest funds in
12 the account in accordance with law, and earnings from these
13 investments shall be credited to the account. The liability
14 of the state to fulfill the requirements of this section is
15 limited to the amount of unobligated, unexpended funds in
16 the account. The state shall have no obligations under this
17 section except to the extent of federal funds deposited
18 into this account and the earnings of the account. No funds
19 in the account shall be expended for any purpose not
20 specified in section 40701(c) of the Infrastructure
21 Investment and Jobs Act, as amended by section 801 of the
22 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Funds in the account
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1 shall be expended only upon legislative appropriation for
2 the following purposes:
3
4 (i) The abatement of the causes and the treatment
5 of the effects of acid mine drainage resulting from coal
6 mining practices, including for the costs of building,
7 operating, maintaining and rehabilitating acid mine
8 drainage treatment systems;
9
10 (ii) The prevention, abatement and control of
11 subsidence;
12
13 (iii) The prevention, abatement and control of
14 coal mine fires.
15
16 Section 2. W.S. 35-11-1210(e) is repealed.
17
18 ***********************************************************
19 *******************
20 STAFF COMMENT
21
22 W.S. 35-11-1210(e) created the abandoned mine land funds
23 balancing account:
24
25 35-11-1210. Abandoned mine land funds reserve
26 account.
27
28
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1 (e) There is created the abandoned mine land funds
2 balancing account. Notwithstanding other provisions of
3 this section, the legislature may deposit into the
4 balancing account and appropriate therefrom funds as it
5 determines appropriate to substitute for or supplement
6 abandoned mine land funds received from the federal
7 government, from the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
8 Act Amendments of 2006, Section 411(h)(1).
9
10 ***********************************************************
11 *******************
12
13 Section 3. The abandoned mine land funds balancing
14 account is repealed. On the effective date of this act, the
15 state auditor shall transfer any unexpended, unobligated
16 funds from the abandoned mine land funds balancing account
17 to the abandoned mine land funds reserve account created in
18 W.S. 35-11-1210(a).
19
20 Section 4. This act is effective July 1, 2024.
21
22 (END)
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Statutes affected:
24LSO-0199 v0.7: 35-11-1210