Coal Development Act of 1979

Coal Development Act of 1979 - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to provide for the increased development and use of domestic coal reserves.

Title I: Amendments of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the energy property investment tax credit permanent as of October 1, 1978. Allows a deduction for expenditures for coal mining or coal burning equipment. Provides that the gain from disposition of such equipment shall be treated as ordinary income.

Title II: Allocations of Middle Distillates for Coal Production - Amends the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 to direct the President to establish a special allocation program to provide for the availability of adequate supplies of middle distillates to meet the requirements of domestic coal production.

Title III: Reform of Environmental Regulations to Increase Coal Use and Production - Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize the President to issue to any fuel-burning stationary source a temporary emergency suspension of any part of an applicable implementation plan adopted by a State in the event the President determines that: (1) a national or regional emergency exists involving high levels of unemployment or loss of necessary energy supplies for residential dwellings; (2) such unemployment or loss can be alleviated by such emergency suspension; and (3) foreign imports of fuels and used by such source have reached an excessive level which can be reduced by such suspension. Extends the duration of such emergency suspensions from a maximum of four months to five years or such longer period as the owner or operator of such source may establish as reasonable, except that such suspension is limited in duration to a maximum of four months if it would result in violation of any national ambient air quality standard.

Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to: (1) extend the maximum period which a State regulatory authority may take to issue surface coal mining permits; (2) extend the time limit within which a State seeking to assume exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations has to submit a State program demonstrating its capability of carrying out the provisions of such Act; and (3) to extend the time limit within which the Secretary of the Interior must issue a Federal program for a State which fails to submit such State program.

Title IV: Facilitation of Coal Transportation - Amends the Federal-Aid Highway Act to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to make grants for projects to separate rail highway crossings where there is a substantial increase in use of those rail facilities in transporting coal and where the continued use of such facilities will result in substantial delays in highway travel.

Authorizes appropriations to be funded by the Highway Trust Fund for the purposes of such grant program.