West Virginia Regulatory Program
Key claim: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is granting final approval to two amendments to West Virginia’s surface coal mining regulatory program covering electronic permit filing, pre-subsidence surveys, show cause orders, permitting fees, and miscellaneous topics.
Abstract
(Rule · Interior Department, Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office) We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are approving two 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). West Virginia proposed revisions to the West Virginia Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (WVSCMRA), codified at Title 22, Article 3, of the West Virginia Code (W. Va. Code), along with revisions to its administrative regulations promulgated in the West Virginia Code of State Rules (CSR) that relate to electronic permit filing, pre-subsidence surveys, and issuance of show cause orders, certain fees for surface mining permits and related authorizations, and other miscellaneous topics. We tentatively approved the provisions relating to permitting fees through an interim rule we promulgated on June 29, 2011, which became effective on July 14, 2011. With this rule, our approval of those provisions is now final.
Why this matters
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is granting final approval to two amendments to West Virginia’s surface coal mining regulatory program covering electronic permit filing, pre-subsidence surveys, show cause orders, permitting fees, and miscellaneous topics.