Montana Regulatory Program
Key claim: OSM approved Montana’s SMCRA program amendment allowing predictive modeling plus monitoring data in coal reclamation bond-release applications and retention of a bond portion for areas contributing suspended solids.
Abstract
(Rule · Interior Department, Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office) We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are approving an amendment to the Montana regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Montana submitted this proposed amendment to OSM on its own initiative in response to a State law passed by the Montana Legislature–House Bill 616 (HB 616). The amendment to the Montana coal program regulations proposed that predictive modeling, along with monitoring data, may be included in a permittee’s bond release application to prove compliance with their approved reclamation plans. Furthermore, Montana proposed that it may retain a portion of a bond for areas that are contributing suspended solids. HB 616 also included contingencies that apply to the proposed amendment but are not codified into the Montana Code Annotated (MCA): a severability clause, a contingent voidness clause, and an effective date clause.
[This finding represents 2 closely related documents issued 2026-07-15 (same source, same action). Related: fedreg:2026-14244]
Why this matters
Bond-release standards determine when coal operators recover reclamation surety and when long-term water-quality liabilities transfer to the state or public. Allowing predictive modeling alongside monitoring data could accelerate bond release on reclaimed sites, while the partial-bond retention provision preserves financial assurance where suspended-solids loading to streams persists — a practical trade-off between operator cost relief and downstream water-quality protection.