In the United States, the General Mining Law of 1872 gave rights to explore and mine on public domain land; the original law did not require post-mining reclamation (Woody et al. 2011). Mined land reclamation requirements on federal land depended on state requirements until the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act in 1976. Currently, mining on federal land must have a government-approved mining and reclamation plan before mining can start. Reclamation bonds are required. Mining on either federal, state, or private land is subject to the requirements of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
One solution proposed to reclamation problems is the privatization of the land to be mined (Woody et al. 2011).