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mining coal. Transcript: coal had been mined in the u.s. since the 1740's, but surface mining did not become widespread until the 1930s.At the end of that decade,states began to enact the first laws, which was the SMCRA.This law was introduced in the house of representatives on January 4,1977 but wasn't passed until April 29nth of the same year.Jim Carter signed it into a law August 3rd.