Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

E53893

United States federal law environmental law mining law

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is a U.S. federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining and mandates the restoration of mined lands.

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All labels observed (7)

Label	Occurrences
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 canonical	7
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act	2
An Act to provide for the cooperation between the Secretary of the Interior and the States with respect to the regulation of surface coal mining operations, and the acquisition and reclamation of abandoned mines, and for other purposes	1
Regulatory Program for active surface coal mining	1
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act in West Virginia	1
Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975	1
federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T428428 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
Context triple: [Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, legalBasis, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977]

A. Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 is a U.S. law that established comprehensive regulations and enforcement mechanisms to protect the safety and health of miners in the nation’s mining industry.
B. Mineral Leasing Act
The Mineral Leasing Act is a U.S. federal law that governs the leasing and development of publicly owned mineral resources such as oil, gas, coal, and other fuels on federal lands.
C. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is a U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating coal mining and overseeing the restoration of abandoned mine lands to protect the environment and public health.
D. Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982
The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 is a U.S. law that governs the collection, accounting, and auditing of royalties from oil and gas production on federal and Indian lands to ensure proper return to the public.
E. Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935
The Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935 was a New Deal-era U.S. law aimed at stabilizing the coal industry through price regulation and labor standards, later struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
Target entity description: The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is a U.S. federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining and mandates the restoration of mined lands.

A. Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 is a U.S. law that established comprehensive regulations and enforcement mechanisms to protect the safety and health of miners in the nation’s mining industry.
B. Mineral Leasing Act
The Mineral Leasing Act is a U.S. federal law that governs the leasing and development of publicly owned mineral resources such as oil, gas, coal, and other fuels on federal lands.
C. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is a U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating coal mining and overseeing the restoration of abandoned mine lands to protect the environment and public health.
D. Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982
The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 is a U.S. law that governs the collection, accounting, and auditing of royalties from oil and gas production on federal and Indian lands to ensure proper return to the public.
E. Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935
The Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935 was a New Deal-era U.S. law aimed at stabilizing the coal industry through price regulation and labor standards, later struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States federal law ⓘ environmental law ⓘ mining law ⓘ
abbreviationOfAgency	OSMRE ⓘ
administeredBy	Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement ⓘ United States Department of the Interior ⓘ
aimsTo	assure that surface coal mining operations are conducted in an environmentally sound manner ⓘ balance environmental protection with the nation’s need for coal as an energy source ⓘ promote reclamation of mined areas left without adequate reclamation prior to the Act ⓘ protect society and the environment from adverse effects of surface coal mining operations ⓘ
allows	state primacy in regulating surface coal mining if state programs meet federal standards ⓘ
appliesTo	coal mining on federal lands ⓘ coal mining on non-federal lands ⓘ
contains	inspection and enforcement provisions ⓘ penalties for violations of mining and reclamation standards ⓘ provisions for citizen suits ⓘ
country	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
createsProgram	Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program ⓘ linked to: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
enactedBy	95th United States Congress ⓘ linked to: 95th Congress
establishes	Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement ⓘ federal minimum environmental performance standards for coal mining ⓘ
fundedBy	fees on coal production ⓘ
historicalContext	enacted in response to environmental damage from unregulated surface coal mining ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
legalCitation	30 U.S.C. § 1201 et seq. ⓘ
primaryPurpose	establish standards for surface coal mining operations ⓘ mandate restoration of mined lands ⓘ regulate environmental effects of coal mining in the United States ⓘ
providesFor	federal enforcement where states do not have approved programs ⓘ
publicLawNumber	Public Law 95-87 ⓘ
regulates	surface coal mining ⓘ surface effects of underground coal mining ⓘ
relatedTo	United States environmental policy ⓘ United States mining law ⓘ linked to: General Mining Act of 1872 for certain minerals on federal lands
requires	control of erosion and sedimentation ⓘ performance bonds for mine reclamation ⓘ permits for surface coal mining operations ⓘ protection of water quality ⓘ reclamation of mined land to beneficial use ⓘ restoration of approximate original contour of mined land ⓘ revegetation of disturbed areas ⓘ
sector	coal industry ⓘ
shortName	SMCRA ⓘ
signedBy	Jimmy Carter ⓘ
signingDate	1977-08-03 ⓘ
subjectOf	coal mining regulation ⓘ land reclamation ⓘ
title	An Act to provide for the cooperation between the Secretary of the Interior and the States with respect to the regulation of surface coal mining operations, and the acquisition and reclamation of abandoned mines, and for other purposes ⓘ linked to: Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (14)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement → legalBasis → Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 ⓘ

95th United States Congress → passedLegislation → Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 ⓘ

subject linked to: 95th Congress

OSMRE → legalBasis → Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 ⓘ

OSMRE → overseesProgram → Regulatory Program for active surface coal mining ⓘ