Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 91.djvu/481

 PUBLIC LAW 95-87—AUG. 3, 1977 Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec. Sec.

91 STAT. 447

TITLE IX—ENERGY RESOURCE GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS 901. Program authorized. 902. Awarding of fellowsliips. 903. Distribution of fellowships. 904. Stipends and institutions of higher education allowances. 905. Limitation. 906. Fellowship conditions. 907. Appropriations authorized. 908. Research and demonstration projects of alternative coal mining technologies.

TITLE I—STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND POLICY FINDINGS

SEC. 101. The Congress finds and declares that— 30 USC 1201. (a) extraction of coal and other minerals from the earth can be accomplished by various methods of mining, including surface mining; (b) coal mining operations presently contribute significantly to the Nation's energy requirements; surface coal mining constitutes one method of extraction of the resource; the overwhelming percentage of the Nation's coal reserves can only be extracted by underground mining methods, and it is, therefore, essential to the national interest to insure the existence of an expanding and economically healthy underground coal mining i n d u s t r y; (c) many surface mining operations result in disturbances of surface areas that burden and adversely affect commerce and the public welfare by destroying or diminishing the utility of land for commercial, industrial, residential, recreational, agricultural, and forestry purposes, by causing erosion and landslides, by contributing to floods, by polluting the water, by destroying fish and wildlife habitats, by impairing natural beauty, by dam-. aging the property of citizens, by creating hazards dangerous to life and property by degrading the quality of life in local communities, and by counteracting governmental programs and efforts to conserve soil, water, and other natural resources; (d) the expansion of coal mining to meet the Nation's energy needs makes even more urgent the establishment of appropriate standards to minimize damage to the environment and to productivity of the soil and to protect the health and safety of the public. (e) surface mining and reclamation technology are now developed so that effective and reasonable regulation of surface coal mining operations by the States and by the Federal Government in accordance with the requirements of this Act is an appropriate and necessary means to minimize so far as practicable the adverse social, economic, and environmental effects of such mining operations; (f) because of the diversity in terrain, climate, biologic, chemical, and other physical conditions in areas subject to mining operations, the p r i m a r y governmental responsibility for developing, authorizing, issuing, and enforcing regulations for surface mining and reclamation operations subject to this Act should rest with the States: (g) surface mining and reclamation standards are essential in order to insure that comnetition in interstate commerce among sellers of coal produced in different States will not be used to

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