Utah Regulatory Program

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is approving a proposed amendment to the Utah regulatory program (hereinafter, the "Utah program") under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Utah's amendment proposed to change the State's rules pertaining to: Definitions of "abandoned site," "other treatment facilities," "previously mined area," "qualified laboratory," and "significant recreational, timber, economic, or other values incompatible with coal mining and reclamation operations;" engineering requirements for impoundments and for backfilling and grading; hydrologic requirements for impoundments; requirements for bond release applications; prime farmland acreage; inspection frequency for abandoned sites; and the period in which to pay a penalty when requesting a formal hearing. Utah intended to revise its program to make it consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations and SMCRA.