Mining Claims Under the General Mining Laws; Surface Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is issuing this final rule to amend at this time only one provision of its regulations for surface management of mining operations conducted under the Mining Laws. This final rule changes the date by which operators with plans of operation approved by BLM before January 20, 2001, must provide a financial guarantee--from July 19, 2001, to November 20, 2001, for operations that already have financial guarantees, and to September 13, 2001 for operations without any financial guarantee. The amendment is necessary because BLM field offices and the State governments with which we cooperate are not able to implement the financial guarantee requirements in the existing regulations to enable operators to comply by the deadline in those regulations. Changing the deadline will better enable BLM and the States to implement fully the financial guarantee requirements in the BLM surface management regulations. BLM intends to retain the financial guarantee (sometimes referred to as "bonding") provisions in these regulations that became effective on January 20, 2001. BLM will issue a final rule addressing other issues identified in its March 23, 2001, notice of proposed rulemaking at a later date.