Application and Permit Information Requirements; Permit Eligibility; Definitions of Ownership and Control; the Applicant/Violator System; Alternative Enforcement

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are publishing final rules to amend application and permit information requirements and to redesign permit eligibility criteria under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act), as amended. In this final rule, we are also amending related provisions in our regulations to incorporate changes for internal consistency. This rule fulfills our April 21, 1997, commitment to undertake new rulemaking, including public notice and comment, on ownership and control and related regulatory issues in the wake of the January 31, 1997, decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This final rule also reflects the findings in another decision of the United States Court of Appeals. On May 28, 1999, the appeals court issued a ruling shortly after the initial close of the comment period for the proposed rule upon which this final rulemaking is based. We later found it advisable to reopen and extend the comment period in order to seek public comment on the effects of the May 1999 decision. As a result, we modified the provisions in this final rule in order to be consistent with the 1999 decision. Thus, this final rule is fully consistent with both court decisions.