<P> In Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Association, Inc., 452 U.S. 264 (1981) the Supreme Court of the United States found the SMCRA does not violate the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . Like most environmental statutes passed in the 1960s and 1970s, SMCRA uses a cooperative federalism approach under which states are expected to take the lead in regulation while the federal government oversees their efforts . </P> <P> Under SMCRA, the federal government can approve a program, which gives the state the authority to regulate mining operations, if the state demonstrates that it has a law that is at least as strict as SMCRA, and that they have a regulatory agency with the wherewithal to operate the program . Currently, most coal - mining states have approved programs . Those states issue their own permits, inspect their mines, and take enforcement action themselves when necessary . In the two states without approved programs (Tennessee and Washington) and on Indian Reservations, the Office of Surface Mining performs those functions . The federal government is required to regulate surface coal mining on federal lands (which include 60 percent of the coal reserves in the West), but can enter into cooperative agreements with states with approved programs . </P> <P> Many states do not require large mining companies to post a surety bond for the costs of mine reclamation . Instead, these companies can hold their own assets as "self - bonding". The bankruptcy of large coal mining companies may imperil the $3.7 billion state regulators have allowed in self - bonding . For example, shortly before it declared bankruptcy Peabody Energy held $1.47 billion in self - bonding liabilities, including $900.5 million in Wyoming alone . </P>

Who opposed the surface mining control and reclamation act