ACHE Act of 2025

This bill pauses new and renewed federal permits for mountaintop removal coal mining—and any expansions—until the Department of Health and Human Services decides, after a federal health study, that this mining does not pose health risks to nearby communities. It orders a comprehensive health study led by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, working with the EPA and other agencies, and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publicly state whether risks exist based on that study. The bill is based on findings that people living near these mines—in steep-slope areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia—face possible higher rates of birth defects and serious diseases linked to pollution from mining activity.

While the pause is in place, any active mountaintop removal project must monitor pollution at the site—continuously for water, air, and noise, and regularly for soil—identify any pollution and how locals might be exposed, and send results to HHS every month. HHS must post the data online within seven days in a searchable database. If a company does not follow these rules, it cannot get federal permits renewed or issued. These monitoring rules end only when HHS issues its final health determination. Companies that have run or are running these projects must also pay a one-time fee to cover the federal costs of the study and monitoring program .

Key points

• Who is affected: People living near mountaintop removal coal mines; companies that run these mines; federal agencies that issue mining-related permits.
• What changes: A pause on new/renewed federal permits until HHS says there is no health risk; required on-site pollution monitoring with monthly public reporting; penalties for noncompliance; a one-time fee on companies to fund the program .
• When: The pause starts now and lasts until HHS publishes its conclusion after the study; the monitoring rules apply during that period and end once HHS issues its determination .