Chronology Of SMCRA Implementation

CHRONOLOGY OF SMCRA IMPLEMENTATION Prior to SMCRA 25 states regulated surface coal mining; no program met requirements established by SMCRA. August 3, 1977. Public Law 95-87 (SMCRA) signed into law by President Carter, OSM established by the Secretary of the Interior, Headquarters, five regional offices, 14 district offices, and 28 field offices planned. September 7, 1977. Proposed initial program rules published; 300 written comments received in response. December 13, 1977. Initial program regulations published containing 12 performance standards and regulations governing assessment and collection of reclamation fees. January 30, 1978. First AML fees due for the fourth quarter of 1977. February 3. 1978. Mining and reclamation operations with permits issued after this date required to comply with initial program regulations. May 3. 1979. All coal mining and reclamation operations required to comply with initial program regulations. July 3-12,1978. Proposed draft permanent program regulations distributed; nearly 2,000 pages of public comments received on these advance copies of rules. August 3-11, 1978. Public meetings on proposed regulation held in Washington, DC; Charleston, WV; Knoxville, TN; Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, MO; and Denver, CO; nearly 2,000 pages of comments received; 173 witnesses testified. September 19, 1978. Proposed permanent program regulations published; more than 15,000 pages of comments received from approximately 600 sources. Oct. 25,1978. Final rules for administration of AML fund promulgated. January 7, 1979. Wyoming signed cooperative agreement with the Department of the Interior covering regulation of coal mine reclamation on federal lands; Montana and Utah signed agreements in the following months. March 1979. Abandoned Mine Land Inventory began with 25 states and one Indian tribe submitting information. July 20, 1979. Texas submitted proposed state program; Mississippi submitted plan on Aug. 2, 1979; followed by Montana on Aug. 3 and Wyoming on Aug. 15. February 27, 1980. First state primacy program approved (Texas); Montana followed on April 1, 1980. March 30, 1980. Deadline for state program submission, 24 state programs submitted. (Georgia and Washington did not submit programs.) June 23, 1980. First Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan approved (Texas); Montana followed in October 1980. August 1980-January 1981. Fifteen additional states received primacy. December 16, 1980. First designation of lands as unsuitable for coal mining, an area adjacent to Bryce Canyon National Park. May 21, 1981. OSM reorganized to reflect role change from direct regulation to oversight; Technical Centers established in Pittsburgh and Denver, 13 Field Offices and 6 Area Offices created; number of field locations reduced from 42 to 22. September 30,1981. First Indian tribe cooperative agreement signed between Navajo Tribe and OSM (Crow and Hopi Tribes followed in May 1982). January 1982. Regulatory reform task force established; during next 9-month period 91 percent of all regulations were rewritten. February 1, 1982. Three U.S. Bureau of Mines AML programs transferred to OSM (P.L. 738, Extinguishment of Outcrop and Underground Fires; P.L. 162, Anthracite Mine Drainage Act; and P.L. 89-4, Appalachian Regional Development Act, Section 205). May-August 1982. Remaining 6 state regulatory programs approved; all 24 major coal-producing states have primacy. June 25, 1992. Comment period began on revised regulations; more than 6,100 specific comments received. September-December 1982. Three federal regulatory programs established for non-primacy states (Georgia, Michigan, and Oregon). February 16,1983. Federal lands program promulgated. March 23, 1983. Alaska regulatory program approved; 25 states have primacy. May 2t 1983. Arkansas assumes emergency project responsibility; followed by Montana on Aug 18, 1983 and Illinois on June 11, 1984. May-October 1983. Six more federal programs established in non-primacy states (Idaho, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington). December 23, 1983. Alaska AML Reclamation Plan approved; 22 states have approved reclamation plans.