Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Program; Enhancing AML Reclamation

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is amending its rules concerning the financing of Abandoned Mine Land reclamation (AML) projects that involve the incidental extraction of coal. Projections of receipts to the AML fund through the year 2004, when the authority to collect fees will expire, strongly indicate that there will be insufficient money to address all problems currently listed in the Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System. Given these limited AML reclamation resources, OSM is establishing an innovative way for AML agencies, working with contractors, to maximize available funds to increase AML reclamation. The first revision amends the definition of ``government-financed construction'' to allow less than 50 percent government funding when the construction is an approved AML project under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or ``the Act''). The second revision adds a new section which requires specific consultations and concurrences with the Title V regulatory authority for AML construction projects receiving less than 50 percent government financing. These consultations and concurrences are intended to ensure the appropriateness of the project being undertaken as a Title IV AML project and not under the Title V regulatory program.