Department of Interior Rescinds OSM Enforcement Policies -

On October 12, 2017, the Department of the Interior ("DOI") withdrew two prior Office of Surface Mining ("OSM") policies affecting mining operations. DOI rescinded a July 2016 document by the previous administration entitled "A More Complete Enforcement of SMCRA and Its Implementing Regulations," which tried to connect enforcement powers of OSM under the federal Surface Mining and Reclamation Act with the federal Clean Water Act. This 2016 directive attempted to empower OSM with the authority to investigate and sanction Clean Water Act violations under its Surface Mining and Reclamation Act mandate. The DOI also rescinded OSM's August 2016 policy advisory, which instructed state regulatory agencies to limit self-bonding options until the coal market recovers some stability. The revision of these previous regulatory mandates by DOI takes a heavy burden off of the coal industry.