Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA)

P.L. 95-87, Enacted August 3, 1977

• "An Act to provide for the cooperation between the Secretary of the Interior and the States with respect to the regulation of surface coal mining operations, and the acquisition and reclamation of abandoned mines, and for other purposes." So begins the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, the law that established the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE).
• Compilation of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, as amended (pdf). This link contains an unofficial compilation of all revisions to SMCRA through July 6, 2012. The file is word searchable.
• Users of this compilation should be aware that there are slight variations between the enacted version and the version codified in the U.S. Code; when citing SMCRA, the U.S. Code is the only official source. Click here to link to SMCRA in the U.S. Code (Title 30, Chapter 25). Click here to view the document as a pdf.
• Link to a Chronology of Major SMCRA-Related Milestones

Code of Federal Regulations

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the rules that agencies use to accomplish their missions. The Office of the Federal Register publishes annual updates of the CFR and maintains an up-to-date electronic version of OSMRE's rules at this link:

• Title 30--Mineral Resources, CHAPTER VII--Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Department of the Interior, Parts 700 to 999

The CFR contains only the text of the rules themselves. To better understand the background of a particular rule, you may wish to review the preamble to that rule as published in the Federal Register, using one of the links below.

Federal Register Notices

• OSMRE Federal Register Notices
• Federal Register Searching (FDsys website)

Compliance with the Endangered Species Act

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formally submitted a Final Programmatic Biological Opinion to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on October 16, 2020. The Biological Opinion and five associated appendices were formally accepted on November 9, 2020:

Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation Final Programmatic Biological Opinion and Conference Opinion on the United States Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Title V Regulatory Program and Associated Appendices

• Appendix A: SMCRA/ESA Coordination Process as Outlined in 30 C.F.R. §§ 780.16 and 784.21 and Based on OSMRE’s Oversight Process
• Appendix B: Dispute Resolution Process Relevant to Regulatory Authorities Coordinating SMCRA Permitting with the USFWS
• Appendix C: Status of the Species and Critical Habitat
• Appendix D: Environmental Baseline Section from OSMRE's 2020 Final Biological Assessment
• Appendix E: Overview of Considerations Relevant to Exposure and Response Analyses

These documents rescind any previous Biological Opinions related to the OSMRE regulatory program including the 1996 Biological Opinion.

Select Executive Orders

Executive Order 12898 - Environmental Justice

Select MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

December 7, 2016 Memorandum of Understanding Related to Migratory Bird Conservation