(a) Enactment of local laws; agreements

As a condition to the extending of any benefits under section 553(b) of this title to any lands not owned or controlled by the United States or any of its agencies, except where such action is necessary for the protection of lands or other property owned or controlled by the United States or any of its agencies, the Secretary of the Interior may require—

(1) the enactment of State or local laws providing for the control and extinguishment of outcrop and underground fires in coal formations on State or privately owned land and the cooperation of State or local authorities in the work; and

(2) agreements or covenants as to the performance and maintenance of the work required to control or extinguish such fires.

(b) Contributions

Terms Used In 30 USC 555

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Coal: means any of the recognized classifications and ranks of coal, including anthracite, bituminous, semibituminous, subbituminous, and lignite. See 30 USC 552
  • Coal mine: means any underground, surface, or strip mine from which coal is obtained. See 30 USC 552
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Outcrop: means any place where a formation is visible or substantially exposed at the surface. See 30 USC 552
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons. See 30 USC 552
  • State: means any State or Territory of the United States, or any political subdivision thereof. See 30 USC 552

The Secretary of the Interior shall require in connection with any project for the control or extinguishment of fires in any inactive coal mine on any lands not owned or controlled by the United States or any of its agencies, except where such project is necessary for the protection of lands or other property owned or controlled by the United States or any of its agencies, (1) that the State or person owning or controlling such lands contribute on a matching basis 50 per centum of the cost of planning and executing such project, or (2), if such State or person furnishes evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior of an inability to make the matching contribution herein provided for, that such State or person pay to the Government, within such period of time as the Secretary of the Interior shall determine, an amount equal to 50 per centum of the cost of planning and executing such project. At least 75 per centum of the funds expended in any fiscal year, from any appropriation available to carry out the purposes of this chapter, in connection with projects for the control or extinguishment of fires in inactive coal mines where such action is not necessary for the protection of lands or other property owned or controlled by the United States or any of its agencies, shall be expended in conformity with clause (1) of this subsection.

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