MINING AREA RESTORATION SEC. 205. (a) In order to further the economic development of the region by rehabilitating areas presently damaged by deleterious mining practices, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to (1) make financial contributions to States in the region to seal and fill voids in abandoned coal mines and abandoned oil and gas wells, and to reclaim and rehabilitate lands affected by the strip and surface mining and processing of coal and other minerals, including lands affected by waste piles, in accordance with provisions of the Act of July 15, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 571 et seq.), to the extent applicable, without regard to section 2(b) thereof (30 U.S.C. 572(b)) or to any provisions therein limiting assistance to anthracite coal formation, or to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Grants under this paragraph shall be made wholly out of funds specifically appropriated for the purposes of carrying out this Act. (2) plan and execute projects for extinguishing underground and outcrop mine fires in the region or to make grants to the States for carrying out such projects, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Act of August 31, 1954 (30 U.S.C. 551 et. seq.), without regard to any provisions therein relating to annual appropriation authorization ceilings. Grants under this paragraph shall be made solely out of funds specifically appropri ated for the purpose of carrying out this Act. (3) Repealed1. (b) For the fiscal years 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, and 1971, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal share of mining area restoration projects, including reasonable planning and engineering costs, carried out under subsection (a) of this section and conducted on lands other than federally owned lands shall not exceed 75 per centum of the total cost thereof. The non-Federal share of the total cost of any project carried out under subsection (a) of this section may include reasonable land acquisition costs incurred in acquiring land necessary for the purposes of implementing such project, if such land is acquired after the date of enactment of the Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 1967. (c) The Congress hereby declares its intent to provide for a study of a comprehensive, long-range program for the purpose of reclaiming and rehabilitating strip and surface mining areas in the United States. To this general end, the Secretary of the Interior shall, in full cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other appropriate Federal, State, and local departments and agencies, and with the Commission, make a survey and study of strip and surface mining operations and their effects in the United States. The Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the President his recommendations for a long-range comprehensive program for reclamation and rehabilitation of strip and surface mining areas in the United States and for the policies under which the program should be conducted, and the President shall submit these to the Congress, together with his recommendations, not later than July 1, 1967. By July 1 Sec. 205 (a) (3), which had authorized grants for expanding and accelerating fish and wildlife restoration projects, repealed by sec. 110 (b) of the Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 1967, 81 Stat. 261. 1, 1966, the Secretary shall make an interim report to the Commission summarizing his findings to that date on those aspects of strip and surface mining operations in the region that are most urgently in need of attention. Such study and recommendations shall include, but not be limited to, a consideration of the following matters— (1) the nature and extent of strip and surface mining operations in the United States and the conditions resulting therefrom; (2) the ownership of the real property involved in strip and surface mining operations; (3) the effectiveness of past action by States or local units of government to remedy the adverse effects of strip and surface mining operation by financial or regulatory measures, and requirements for appropriate State legislation, including adequate enforcement thereof, to provide for proper reclamation and rehabilitation of areas which may be strip and surface mined in the future; (4) the public interest in and public benefits which may result from reclamation, rehabilitation, and appropriate development and use of areas subjected to strip and surface mining operations, including (A) economic development growth, (B) public recreation, (C) public health and safety, (D) water pollution, stream sedimentation, erosion control, and flood control, (E) highway programs, (F) fish and wildlife protection and restoration, (G) scenic values, and (H) forestry and agriculture; (5) the appropriate roles of Federal, State, and private interests in the reclamation and rehabilitation of strip and surface mining areas and the relative costs to be borne by each, including specific consideration of (A) the extent, if any, to which strip and surface mine operators are unable to bear the cost of remedial action within the limits imposed by the economics of such mining activity, and (B) the extent to which the prospective value of lands and other natural resources, after remedial work has been completed, would be inadequate to justify the landowners doing the remedial work at their expense; and (6) the objectives and the total overall costs of a program for accomplishing the reclamation and rehabilitation of existing strip and surface mining areas in the United States, giving adequate consideration to (A) the economic benefits in relation to costs, (B) the prevention of future devastation of reclaimed and rehabilitated areas, (C) the avoidance of unwarranted financial gain to private owners of improved property, and (D) the types of aid required to accomplish such reclamation and rehabilitation. (d) Not to exceed $30,000,000 of the funds authorized in section 401 of this Act for the two-fiscal-year period ending June 30, 1969, shall be available to carry out this section. No moneys authorized by this Act shall be expended for the purposes of reclaiming, improving, grading, seeding, or reforestation of strip-mined areas (except on lands owned by Federal, State, or local bodies of government) until authorized by law after completion of the study and report to the President as provided in subsection (c) of this section. WATER RESOURCE SURVEY SEC. 206. (a) The Secretary of the Army is hereby authorized and directed to prepare a comprehensive plan for the development and efficient utilization of the water and related resources of the Appalachian region, giving special attention to the need for an increase in the production of economic goods and services within the region as a means of expanding economic opportunities and thus enhancing the welfare of its people, which plan shall constitute an integral and harmonious component of the regional economic development program authorized by this Act. (b) This plan may recommend measures for the control of floods, the regulation of the rivers to enhance their value as sources of water supply for industrial and municipal development, the generation of hydroelectric power, the prevention of water pollution by drainage from mines, the development and enhancement of the recreational potentials of the region, the improvement of the rivers for navigation where this would further industrial development at less cost than would the improvement of other modes of transportation, the conservation and efficient utilization of the land resource, and such other measures as may be found necessary to achieve the objectives of this section. (c) To insure that the plan prepared by the Secretary of the Army shall constitute a harmonious component of the regional program, he shall consult with the Commission and the following: the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Transportation, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Federal Power Commission. (d) The plan prepared pursuant to this section shall be submitted to the Commission. The Commission shall submit the plan to the President with a statement of its views, and the President shall submit the plan to the Congress with his recommendations not later than December 31, 1968. (e) The Federal agencies referred to in subsection (c) of this section are hereby authorized to assist the Secretary of the Army in the preparation of the plan authorized by this section, and the Secretary of the Army is authorized to enter into and perform such contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions as may be necessary to the preparation of this plan and on such terms as he may deem appropriate, with any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States or with any State, or any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, or with any person, firm, association, or corporation. (f) The plan to be prepared by the Secretary of the Army pursuant to this section shall also be coordinated with all comprehensive river basin plans heretofore or hereafter developed by United States study commissions, interagency committees, or similar planning bodies, for those river systems draining the Appalachian region. (g) Not to exceed $2,000,000 of the funds authorized in section 401 of this Act for the two-fiscal-year period ending June 30, 1969, shall be available to carry out this section. ASSISTANCE FOR PLANNING AND OTHERS PRELIMINARY EXPENSES OF PROPOSED HOUSING PROJECTS UNDER SECTION 221 AND SECTION 236 OF THE NATIONAL HOUSING ACT SEC. 207. (a) In order to encourage and facilitate the construction or rehabilitation of housing to meet the needs of low- and moderateincome families and individuals, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (hereafter in this section referred to as the "Secretary") is authorized to make grants and loans from the Appalachian Housing Fund established by this section, under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe, to nonprofit, limited dividend, or cooperative organizations, or to public bodies, for expenses of planning and of obtaining an insured mortgage for a housing construction or rehabilitation project, under section 221 or section 236 of the National Housing Act (hereafter in this section referred to as "section 221 or section 236"), in any area of the Appalachian region determined by the Commission to have significant potential for future growth. (b) No grant under this section shall exceed 80 per centum of those administrative expenses, incident to planning a project and obtaining an insured mortgage under section 221 or section 236, which the Secretary considers not to be recoverable from the proceeds of a mortgage insured under such section: Provided, That no grant shall be made to an organization established for profit. (c) No loan under this section shall exceed 80 per centum of the cost of planning a project and obtaining an insured mortgage under section 221 or section 236, including, but not limited to, preliminary surveys and analyses of market needs, preliminary site engineering and architectural fees, site options, Federal Housing Administration, Government National Mortgage Association, and Federal National Mortgage Association fees, and construction loan fees and discounts. Loans may be made without interest, or at any market or below market interest rate authorized for a mortgage insured under section 221 or section 236: Provided, That any loan made to an organization established for profit shall bear interest at the prevailing market rate authorized for a mortgage insured under such section. The Secretary may, except in the case of a loan to an organization established for profit, waive the repayment of all or any part of a loan made under this section, including interest, which he finds the borrower is unable to recover from the proceeds of a mortgage insured under section 221 or section 236. (d) All funds allocated to the Secretary for the purposes of this section shall be deposited in a fund which shall be known as the Appalachian Housing Fund and shall be used as a revolving fund by the Secretary for carrying out such purposes. General expenses of administration of this section may be charged to the fund. Moneys in the fund not needed for current operation may be invested in bonds or other obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States. (e) The Secretary is further authorized to provide, or contract with public or private organizations to provide, information, advice, and technical assistance with respect to the construction, rehabilitation, and operation by nonprofit organizations of housing for low or moderate income families in such areas of the region. 1 Section as amended by Section 201 (f) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-448) 81 Stat. 261. 39-801 0-70-5 PART B-SUPPLEMENTATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS OF EXISTING PROGRAMS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FACILITIES SEC. 211. (a) In order to provide basic facilities to give the people of the region the training and education they need to obtain employment, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare is authorized to make grants for construction of the school facilities and for the equipment of such facilities and other school facilities needed for the provision of vocational education in areas of the region in which such education is not now adequately available. Such grants shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Vocational Education Act of 1963 (77 Stat. 403), without regard to any provisions therein relating to appropriation authorization ceilings or to allotments among the States. Grants under this section shall be made solely out of funds specifically appropriated for the purpose of carrying out this Act, and shall not be taken into account in the computation of the allotments among the States made pursuant to any other provision of law. (b) Not to exceed $26,000,000 of the funds authorized in section 401 of this Act for the two-fiscal-year period ending June 30, 1969, shall be available to carry out this section. SEWAGE TREATMENT WORKS SEC. 212. (a) In order to provide facilities to assist in the prevention of pollution of the region's streams and to protect the health and welfare of its citizens, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare is authorized to make grants for the construction of sewage treatment works in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 466 et seq.), without regard to any provisions therein relating to appropriation authorization ceilings or to allotments among the States. Grants under this section shall be made solely out of funds specifically appropriated for the purpose of carrying out this Act, and shall not be taken into account in the computation of the allotments among the States pursuant to any other provision of law. (b) Not to exceed $6,000,000 of the funds authorized in section 401 of this Act for the two-fiscal-year period ending June 30, 1969, shall be available to carry out this section. AMENDMENTS TO HOUSING ACT OF 1954 SEC. 213. (a) Section 701(a) of the Housing Act of 1954 (40 U.S.C. 461 (a)) is amended by striking out "and" at the end of clause (8) and all of clause (9) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "(9) the Appalachian Regional Commission, for comprehensive planning for the Appalachian region as defined by section 403 of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965; and "(10) local development districts, certified under section 301 of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, for compre |