At the end of that decade, states began to enact the first laws regulating the coal mining industry: West Virginia in 1939, Indiana in 1941, Illinois in 1943, and Pennsylvania in 1945.

In 1974 and 1975 Congress sent mining regulation bills to President Gerald Ford, but he vetoed them out of concern that they would harm the coal industry, increase inflation, and restrict the energy supply.

The remaining 20% are used by OSM to respond to emergencies such as landslides, land subsidence, and fires, and to carry out high priority cleanups in states without approved programs.

In the two states without approved programs (Tennessee and Washington) and on Indian Reservations, the Office of Surface Mining performs those functions.

[4] The bankruptcy of large coal mining companies may imperil the $3.7 billion state regulators have allowed in self-bonding.

[5] For example, shortly before it declared bankruptcy Peabody Energy held $1.47 billion in self-bonding liabilities, including $900.5 million in Wyoming alone.