Revisions to the State Program Amendment Process

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are revising our regulations pertaining to the processing of State program amendments submitted by a State for approval under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The specific regulations being revised govern the standards for determining when proceedings that lead to the substitution of Federal enforcement for all or part of an approved State program should be initiated because of the State's failure to amend its program as directed. These revisions provide us with the discretion to consider additional relevant factors regarding the performance of the State in effectively maintaining its program before determining that proceedings leading to the substitution of Federal enforcement are warranted. We are also revising our regulations that govern the time periods and schedule for processing State program amendments.