§930.  Water rights and replacement

A.  After the state has assumed exclusive jurisdiction of surface coal mining operations as provided in Section 503 of Public Law 95-87,¹ and as long as the state retains such jurisdiction, then, nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting in any way the right of any person to enforce or protect, under applicable law, his interest in water resources affected by a surface coal mining operation.

B.  The operator of a surface coal mine shall replace the water supply of an owner of interest in real property who obtains all or part of his supply of water for domestic, agricultural, industrial or other legitimate use from an underground or surface source where such supply has been affected by contamination, diminution, or interruption proximately resulting from such surface coal mine operation.

C.  This Section shall not be given effect (1) if the Secretary of the Interior does not require the inclusion of similar provisions in state laws as a condition for approval by the Secretary of the Interior of state programs of regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations pursuant to Section 503 of Public Law 95-87¹ or (2) if any such requirement of the Secretary of the Interior is declared invalid by final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction: Provided, that if similar provisions are required by the Secretary of the Interior to be included in state laws, the Secretary of Natural Resources and the commissioner may commence and prosecute an action in the appropriate Federal court to have the regulation requiring inclusion declared invalid.

Added by Acts 1978, No. 406, §1.

¹30 U.S.C.A. §1253.