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Petition To Initiate Rulemaking; Use of Explosives on Surface Coal Mining Operations
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), seek comments concerning a petition, submitted pursuant to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. (SMCRA or the Act), requesting that we amend our regulations governing the use of explosives to prohibit visible nitrogen oxide clouds. We are...
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Cost Recovery for Permit Processing, Administration, and Enforcement
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) proposes to revise its Federal and Indian Lands Program regulations for the purposes of adjusting the existing permit fees and assessing new fees to recover the actual costs for permit review and administration and permit enforcement activities provided to the coal industry. These...
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Cost Recovery for Permit Processing, Administration, and Enforcement
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) proposes to revise its Federal and Indian Lands Program regulations for the purposes of adjusting the existing permit fees and assessing new fees to recover the actual costs for permit review and administration and permit enforcement activities provided to the coal industry. These...
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Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program; Limited Liability for Noncoal Reclamation by Certified States and Indian Tribes
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are proposing changes to our abandoned mine land (AML) reclamation program regulations under title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). If finalized, the changes would allow states and Indian tribes that have certified correction of...
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Abandoned Mine Land Program
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are proposing regulation changes to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund (Fund) and the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program. This proposed rule revises our regulations to be consistent with the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, Pub. L. 109-432, signed into law on December 20,...
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Remining Incentives
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are proposing to amend our existing regulations to provide incentives to promote the remining and reclamation of eligible abandoned coal mine refuse piles. We are also considering and seeking comment on other remining incentives that were authorized by recent amendments to the...
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Excess Spoil, Coal Mine Waste, and Buffers for Waters of the United States
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are proposing to amend our regulations concerning stream buffer zones, stream diversions, siltation structures, impoundments, and the creation and disposal of excess spoil and coal mine waste. Among other things, this proposed rule would require that surface coal mining...
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Permit Application Packages
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are proposing to reduce the number of copies of a permit application package that a person must submit. The proposed revisions would conform our regulations to those of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations implementing the Paperwork Reduction Act.
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Abandoned Coal Refuse Sites
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) propose to amend our regulations to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct). The EPAct requires the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to develop regulations establishing environmental performance and reclamation standards for abandoned coal refuse remining...
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Ownership and Control; Permit and Application Information; Transfer, Assignment, or Sale of Permit Rights
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), propose to revise certain provisions of our December 19, 2000, final ``ownership and control'' and related rules, as well as our rules pertaining to the transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights. More specifically, we propose to amend our definitions pertaining to...
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Topsoil Replacement and Revegetation Success Standards
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are proposing minor changes to our regulations that govern topsoil replacement and revegetation success standards. These revisions would: Encourage species diversity on reclaimed lands; provide flexibility to States in using new vegetative success standards and sampling...
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Transfer, Assignment, or Sale of Permit Rights
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), propose to revise our rules for, and related to, the transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights. This proposed rule effectuates a settlement agreement we entered into with the National Mining Association (NMA) in connection with NMA's judicial challenge to certain provisions...
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Coal Production Fees and Fee Allocation; Republication
This rule sets forth the criteria and procedures that we are proposing to use to establish fees under the abandoned mine reclamation program provisions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The fixed-rate fees established under SMCRA expire September 30, 2004. However, the Act requires that, for coal...
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Coal Production Fees and Fee Allocation
This rule sets forth the criteria and procedures that we are proposing to use to establish fees under the abandoned mine reclamation program provisions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The fixed-rate fees established under SMCRA expire September 30, 2004. However, the Act requires that, for coal...
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Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations; Excess Spoil; Stream Buffer Zones; Diversions
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are proposing to amend our regulations to accomplish two basic goals: Minimizing the adverse environmental effects stemming from the construction of excess spoil fills; and clarifying the circumstances in which mining activities, such as the construction of excess spoil fills,...
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Ownership and Control Settlement Rule
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), propose to amend certain provisions of our December 19, 2000, final ownership and control rule (hereinafter referred to as the 2000 final rule) in order to effectuate a settlement agreement we entered into with the National Mining Association (NMA). Specifically, we propose to...
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Revisions to the State Program Amendment Process
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), propose to revise our regulations governing the processing of State program amendments submitted by a State for approval under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. When a State with an approved program fails to amend its program as directed, our existing...
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Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Fee Collection and Coal Production Reporting on the OSM-1 Form
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) propose to amend our regulations governing Abandoned Mine Land (AML) reclamation fee reporting to allow for the electronic filing of the information required on the OSM-1 Form.