West Virginia Regulatory Program

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are approving amendments to the West Virginia regulatory program (the West Virginia program), under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act) that contains both West Virginia statutory and regulatory revisions. West Virginia initially submitted an amendment to revise its West Virginia Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (WVSCMRA). Senate Bill 462 amends the West Virginia Code to conform to the State's requirements for informal conferences and decisions on surface coal mining permit applications with parallel provisions of Federal law. Committee Substitute for House Bill 2352 amends the West Virginia Code to provide tax incentives for coal mine operators who reclaim bond forfeiture sites. Subsequently, West Virginia submitted another amendment consisting of a Special Reclamation Tax Credit Rule to implement the proposed statutory revisions providing tax incentives to coal mine operators to reclaim bond forfeiture sites.