ACR 157: Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975: 50th anniversary.

WHEREAS, For 50 years, the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (SMARA) has served as California’s framework for balancing the extraction of essential minerals with the protection of the environment, public health, and local communities, ensuring that mined lands are reclaimed and returned to beneficial use; and

WHEREAS, Authored by Senator John A. Nejedly, a Republican from Contra Costa County, and signed into law by Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr., SMARA reflected a spirit of bipartisan stewardship that has continued through subsequent updates and modernizations, ensuring the act remains effective in meeting California’s environmental and economic needs; and

WHEREAS, SMARA recognizes that mineral resources are fundamental to strong communities, providing the raw materials for clean water, housing, transportation, and technology, while ensuring they are developed responsibly for the benefit of future generations; and

WHEREAS, Since its adoption, SMARA has guided the responsible operation and reclamation of hundreds of mining sites throughout California, resulting in the restoration of lands for future community use, including open space, wildlife habitat, public parks, housing, and commercial uses, among others; and

WHEREAS, The act established a framework of shared governance between local and state agencies, aligning community accountability with statewide oversight to sustain responsible mining and reclamation across California; and

WHEREAS, SMARA relies on the essential partnership between local governments and state agencies, including the Department of Conservation and the State Mining and Geology Board, which provide technical expertise, oversight, and policy guidance, while local lead agencies act as the primary permitting and enforcement authorities, together ensuring that mineral resource development, reclamation, and long-term stewardship of lands are carried out in a manner that is locally accountable, scientifically informed, and consistent with statewide environmental and resource development and conservation goals; and

WHEREAS, SMARA’s classification and designation system has mapped and conserved millions of acres of mineral resources of regional or statewide significance, ensuring that lands critical to California’s infrastructure, economy, and environment remain available for future generations to develop and use; and

WHEREAS, California remains among the nation’s leading producers of nonfuel minerals, with essential commodities such as aggregates, limestone for cement, gypsum, boron, and rare earth elements forming the foundation for housing, agriculture, transportation, water systems, and climate-resilient infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, SMARA has guided reclamation practices that restore mined lands to productive and natural uses, demonstrating that environmental stewardship and resource development can advance together; and

WHEREAS, SMARA affirms that the responsible use and restoration of natural resources are essential to both human prosperity and environmental health, providing a model for how working lands can serve people and nature alike; and

WHEREAS, SMARA continues to embody the principle that thoughtful policy, shared responsibility, and enduring cooperation can sustain both the natural environment and the human communities necessary as California looks to build the infrastructure of the future and remain the gateway to the Pacific; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975, honors the leadership of Senator John A. Nejedly, Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr., and the many bipartisan policymakers, local officials, and industry partners whose vision created SMARA, and reaffirms California’s enduring commitment to responsible mineral resource management and environmental restoration; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Governor, the Department of Conservation, the State Mining and Geology Board, and to the author for further distribution to other relevant stakeholders as a mark of the Legislature’s recognition and celebration of this historic milestone.