<Li> Reported by the joint conference committee on July 12, 1977; agreed to by the Senate on July 20, 1977 (85 - 8) and by the House on July 21, 1977 (325 - 68) </Li> <Li> Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on August 3, 1977 </Li> <P> The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States . </P> <P> SMCRA created two programs: one for regulating active coal mines and a second for reclaiming abandoned mine lands . SMCRA also created the Office of Surface Mining, an agency within the Department of the Interior, to promulgate regulations, to fund state regulatory and reclamation efforts, and to ensure consistency among state regulatory programs . </P>

When was the surface mining control and reclamation act written