THE POLITICS OF FEDERAL-STATE RELATIONS - THE CASE OF SURFACE MINING REGULATIONS

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977(1) crea ted a framework for a national regulatory program to prevent significa nt environmental damage from surface coal mining. The significant regi onal variations in the impacts of surface mining made federal-state pa rtnership necessary. The major political issue throughout these years has been the appropriate role of the federal and state governments in regulating surface coal mining. The conflicting interests and intense battles of the coal industry, states, environmentalists, and federal o fficials are discussed and presented. The paper argues that fundamenta l conflicts of interest, such as, in this case, the substantial advers e economic impact of the Act on the coal industry vs. the deeply held environmental ethics of environmentalists vs. the states' interest in autonomy, are not likely to be settled by a policy enactment. Conflict s in federal-state relations arise as the battle over more fundamental economic and ideological conflicts among surface mining interests is fought.