anthracite coal mines

anthracite coal mines Sec. 529. (a) The Secretary is hereby authorized to and shall issue separate regulations according to time schedules established in the Act for anthracite coal surface mines, if such mines are regulated by environmental protection standards of the State in which they are located. Such alternative regulations shall adopt, in each instance, the environmental protection provisions of the State regulatory program in existence at the date of enactment of this Act in lieu of sections 515 and 516. Provisions of sections 509 and 519 are applicable except for specified bond limits and period of revegetation responsibility. All other provisions of this Act apply and the regulation issued by the Secretary of Interior for each State anthracite regulatory program shall so reflect: Provided, however, That upon amendment of a State's regulatory program for anthracite mining or regulations thereunder in force in lieu of the above-cited sections of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such additional regulations as necessary to meet the purposes of this Act. (b) The Secretary of Interior shall report to Congress biennially, commencing on December 31, 1977, as to the effectiveness of such State anthracite regulatory programs operating in conjunction with this Act with respect to protecting the environment and such reports shall include those recommendations the Secretary deems necessary for program changes in order to better meet the environmental protection objectives of this Act. [30 U.S.C. 1279]