Montana Regulatory Program
Key claim: The federal Office of Surface Mining is not approving most of Montana’s proposed coal-mining program changes—including a new “affected drainage basin” definition and changes to bond-release application rules—with one exception.
Abstract
(Rule · Interior Department, Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office) The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is not approving, with one exception, an amendment to the Montana regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The Montana legislature, specifically Montana House Bill 328, proposes to add a definition of affected drainage basin to the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). Additionally, House Bill 328 proposes changes to the Montana Code Annotated, pertaining to bond release application requirements.
Why this matters
OSMRE’s decision keeps Montana’s existing surface-coal-mining reclamation standards in place rather than adopting the state’s proposed loosening of drainage-basin scope and bond-release procedures, which affects how reclamation performance is measured and when operators can recover reclamation bonds. Because bond release governs the practical end of an operator’s reclamation liability, the status-quo outcome preserves current cost and permitting expectations for both industry and downstream water resources. It is a routine but concrete example of federal-state friction under SMCRA’s cooperative-federalism structure.