October 20, 2005
For immediate release | Mike Gauldin
(202) 208-2565
mgauldin@osmre.gov |
New Rules Increase Flexibility in Review of State Mine Reclamation Programs
(Washington) The US Office of Surface Mining is issuing final regulations that will give it flexibility in the processing of State program amendments.
The regulations will allow OSM to work with States to resolve regulatory issues of a minor nature rather than begin the process to substitute Federal enforcement.
"The new regulations give us the discretion we need to resolve issues affecting State regulatory programs," said Jeff Jarrett, director of OSM. "Allowing States to continue to regulate surface coal mining operations while minor issues are resolved means OSM can focus its own resources on issues that have the greatest impact on people's lives, health, and safety."
The regulations being revised govern the standards for determining when the Federal government should take over enforcement of the Surface Mining Law in a given State because of a State's failure to amend its program as directed by OSM.
On occasion, and for various reasons, OSM must revise its regulations. As a result, all 24 States approved to enforce the Surface Mining Act may be required to amend their own programs in order to be "no less effective" than Federal standards.
Frequently States already have approved provisions in place covering the new requirements and only need to make minor adjustments. That usually means that if a State fails to submit a revised amendment to its own rules in time, it doesn't jeopardize the overall effectiveness of the State's regulatory program.
The old regulations were based on a strict time schedule and if a State were late in submitting an amendment, OSM was required to begin the process to withdraw approval for all or part of the State's authority and substitute a Federal enforcement program. This is commonly called a "733 action", named for the section of the Federal code where it is found.
The new regulations allow OSM to consider additional factors such as the consequences that result when the State fails to amend its program in a timely manner and the overall job the State's enforcement program is doing before deciding that a Federal program should be implemented.
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