Where do we go from here?: The Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act - past, present, and future
The current federal coal program celebrates its twentieth anniversary on August 4, 1996. Aside from the mining of valuable mineral deposits from federal lands, an area so weathered that time has little meaning, the federal coal program stands almost alone as lasting longer than the other principal federal resource/energy programs. Currently, the antiquated hardrock mineral program is receiving national scrutiny. Not so with the federal coal program, which still operates in accordance with the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1975 (FCLAA). The longevity of FCLAA is remarkable, but whether it reflects a sound policy that will carry us into the next century is an issue worth exploring. This article attempts to lay the foundation for such an examination by briefly canvassing the events and circumstances animating the passage of FCLAA, and then summarizing the primary provisions and subsequent regulatory implementation of the Act, with a focus on those aspects of the federal coal program that were designed to discourage speculation and spur development. This article concludes with some preliminary observations about the continued efficacy of FCLAA, tentatively suggesting that, while in hindsight the underlying concern prompting passage of FCLAA may be questionable, the anti-speculative and diligence provisions in FCLAA may still serve important natural resource policy objectives.
- OSTI ID:
- 376877
- Journal Information:
- West Virginia Law Review, Vol. 98, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Sum 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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