HISTORY

	Chronology of the Office of Surface Mining and implementation of the Surface Mining Law

This "unofficial" chronology lists major milestones that were significant to the Office of Surface Mining when they occurred. It is a staff compilation of events that made a change in the policy or the way operations were carried out to implement the Surface Mining Law.

Prior to the Surface Mining Law. 25 states regulated surface coal mining; no program met requirements established by Surface Mining Law March 1977. Nine person task force established to prepare groundwork for the soon-to-be-created Office of Surface Mining August 3, 1977. Public Law 95-87 (the Surface Mining Law) signed into law by President Carter; Office of Surface Mining (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, 1978. 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; 173 witnesses testified. September 18, 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 Abandoned Mine Land 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 12, 1980. The first permanent program mining permit under the Surface Mining Law was issued for a 1,738-acre site in Montana. December 16, 1980. First designation of lands unsuitable for coal mining, an area adjacent to Bryce Canyon National Park. May 21, 1981. Office of Surface Mining 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 Office of Surface Mining (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 Abandoned Mine Land programs transferred to the Office of Surface Mining (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, 1982. 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 2, 1983. Arkansas assumes emergency Abandoned Mine Land 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 Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan approved; 22 states have approved reclamation plans. April 30, 1984. Deficiencies in Oklahoma and Tennessee programs resulted in direct federal enforcement of inspection portion of programs. October 1, 1984. Full federal program instituted in Tennessee after state repealed program; 24 states have primacy. October 12, 1984. Public Law 98-473 authorized states and tribes with approved reclamation plans to use Abandoned Mine Land funds for establishing self-sustaining, individually administered subsidence insurance programs. February 1, 1985. Court order (known as "Revised Parker Order") required computerized permit applicant/violator/debtor matching system to prevent violators from receiving new permits. November 5, 1985. Two-acre task force established to enforce violations and collect unreported fees in Virginia and Kentucky. December 10, 1986. Louisiana Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan approved; 23 states now have approved reclamation plans. May 7, 1987. Public Law 100-34 amended Section 402(g) authorizing states to set aside up to 10 percent of the state-share portion of their annual Abandoned Mine Land grants for use after Aug. 3, 1992. June 6, 1987. Public Law 100-34 eliminated the two-acre exemptions for newly permitted operations and set Nov. 8, 1987, as final day for exemptions. June 22, 1987. First annual Excellence in Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Awards presented to nine operators. July 11, 1987. Public Law 100-71 authorized Navajo, Hopi, and Crow Tribes to administer Abandoned Mine Land programs without approved regulatory programs. (Navajo and Hopi AML plans approved May 16 and June 28, 1988.) October 1987. Applicant Violator System (AVS) operational. November 1987. First prototype Technical Information Processing workstations (TIPS) installed in states of Montana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. November 13, 1987. Virginia assumes responsibility for Abandoned Mine Land emergency projects; followed by West Virginia on Aug. 1, 1988, and Kansas on Jan. 10, 1989. December 22, 1987. Public Law 100-202 authorized civil penalties collected under Section 518 of the Surface Mining Law to be used to reclaim land mined and abandoned after Aug. 3, 1977. February 23, 1988. Cooperative Agreement signed between Office of Surface Mining and Kentucky to implement Settlement Agreement between the National Wildlife Federation and Kentucky; agreement dealt with added financial support from the Office of Surface Mining. May 16, 1988. Navajo Tribe Reclamation Plan approved; followed by the Hopi and Crow Tribes in June 1988 and January 1989. July 13, 1988. Federal regulatory program for California promulgated. January 9, 1990. New Office of Surface Mining emblem adopted; symbolizes balance between the country's need for coal to supply energy and the need for environmental protection. January 24, 1990. Settlement agreement with environmental groups signed, ending 10 years of controversy and litigation over the "two-acre exemption," which was repealed in 1987. March 15, 1990. Federal grand jury indicted two mine operators for alleged scheme to defraud Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund. September 5, 1990. Federal court approved settlement agreement ending eight-year legal dispute between environmental groups over the Applicant Violator System. August 20, 1990. Sliding fee scale for federal coal mine permits adopted; new fee includes a schedule of fixed charges, plus a per-acre fee. January 23, 1991. Alabama assumes responsibility for Abandoned Mine Land emergency projects; seven states have emergency project authority. August 15, 1991. Non-reporting of coal produced and non-payment of Abandoned Mine Land fees results added to permit-blocking criteria of Applicant Violator System. October 1, 1991. Public Law 101-508 revised Title IV: Collection of fees extended until Sept. 30, 1995; interest will accrue on the Fund's unappropriated balance; small operator tonnage definition increased from 100,000 to 300,000 tons; funds may be used to reclaim interim-program sites; and states may establish a trust fund for an acid mine drainage program. November 8, 1991. West Virginia strengthens regulatory program in response to Office of Surface Mining oversight report identifying a decline in performance. May 22, 1992. Federal appeals court dismissed environmental lawsuit over Applicant Violator System performance on jurisdictional grounds; Office of Surface Mining affirmed role of System in permit processing and kept System operational. May 29, 1992. Office of Surface Mining received special national award for management excellence from the President's Council for Management Improvement. The award honored improvements in Applicant Violator System operation since 1990, plus the outstanding record achieved in getting overdue fees and fines paid. November 6, 1992. Ohio assumes operation of state abandoned mine land emergency program. April 13, 1993. Formal notice on subsidence liability under 1992 Energy Policy Act issued. March 3, 1994. Mission and vision set forth for national surface mining program. April 7, 1994. Office of Surface Mining starts agency reorganization project. April 25, 1994. Supplemental emergency mine reclamation funds targeted at Kentucky landslides. May 31, 1994. Final rules for implementing the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Act of 1990 and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 issued. September 22, 1994. Customer service standards established. September 28, 1994. Acid mine drainage policy proposed. November 1, 1994. COALEX computer data base open to public access. December 6, 1994. Public access to applicant/violator system widened. December 23, 1994. Office of Surface Mining reorganization announced. February 9, 1995. Appalachian Clean Streams program initiated; Office of Surface Mining and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sign agreement to address water quality problems through acid mine drainage abatement effort. March 3,1995. States and tribes join in shared commitment to abandoned mine reclamation. March 29, 1995. New rules fulfill congressional mandate to help states protect property owners from underground coal mine damage. May 1, 1995. Reorganization operational. August 30, 1995. 240 employees get separation notices do to anticipated budget cuts. September 19, 1995. Federal court upholds surface mine ownership and control rules. November 1, 1995. 182 employees lose jobs in Reduction In Force (RIF). November 2, 1995. Fax-on-demand service began. Information available 24 hours/day using telephone menu. November 14, 1995. Office closed for 2 weeks and employees furloughed during government-wide shutdown. November 27, 1995. New rules for coal remining issued. April 16, 1996. Pittsburgh Mine Map Repository acquires U.S.Bureau of Mines maps from Denver, Spokane centers. April 25, 1996. Revised 733 procedures adopted. The new rule establishes a uniform process clearly delineating roles and responsibilities, and establishes early decision milestones to maximize the efficient use of agency procedures. June 25, 1996. New surface mine oversight directive (REG-8) issued for evaluation years 1996 and 1997. The new directive represents a new and fundamentally different results-based oversight strategy. July 10, 1996. World Wide Web site established (www.osmre.gov). Visitor usage goes from 0 to more than 80,000 hits/month in first 6 months August 9, 1996. Management directives and regulations cut by 50% -- from 190, down to 93. This eliminated unnecessary internal regulations and directives. October 22, 1996. Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative partnership projects in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania begin March 31, 1997. New acid mine drainage policy details goals, objectives, and strategies for correcting, preventing, and controlling acid mine drainage (AMD) at coal mine sites nationwide. August 3, 1997. 20th Anniversary of Surface Mining Law. 17,806,513,502 tons of coal mined and dramatic on-the-ground reclamation improvement since 1977. October 1, 1997 New oversight directive issued. October 24, 1997 New financing rules on some Abandoned Mine Land reclamation projects proposed. October 29, 1997 New surface coal mine rule making approach starts with ownership & control regulations. January 7, 1998 First Federal Coal Symposium held in Washington D.C., followed by three Regional Symposium. February 2, 1998 1999 budget includes $2 million increase for acid mine drainage remediation and prevention. February 11, 1998 Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System available to the public on the Internet. October 21, 1998 Revised Oversight Policy announced. November 6, 1998 $5.6 million available for Appalachian Clean Stream Initiative projects in 11 states. February 1, 1999 FY2000 budget includes $25 million increase for Abandoned Mine Land Program. February 12, 1999 Final "enhanced" Abandoned Mine Land rules issued. Project costs can now be less than 50 percent government funding. May 14, 1999 West Virginia proposed "fish and wildlife habitat and recreation lands" as postmining land use for mountaintop removal mines disapproved. June 24, 1999 Director determines "Approximate Original Contour" requirement does not apply to valley fills. December 17, 1999 Final rules on "Valid Existing Rights" and Prohibitions of Section 522(e) published. June 23, 2000 Allowable post mining land use policy issued. November 2, 2000 New Oversight Initiative on coal mine impoundment concerns in the Appalachian region issued. This includes an assessment of the potential for impounded water or slurry to drain in an uncontrolled manner into adjacent underground mines. December 5, 2001-January 26, 2002 Internet communications were shut down for 53 days due to an Interior Department court order involving Indian trust funds litigation. March 28, 2002 Office of Surface Mining web site begins exceeding 1,000,000 visitors per month July 1, 2002Quarterly coal reclamation fee can be paid electronically online. August 3, 2002 25^th Anniversary of the Surface Mining Law May 7, 2003 Office of Surface Mining study finds 3.5 million Americans at risk from nearby abandoned mine hazards May 29, 2003 Federal and state agencies release draft Environmental Impact Statement recommending new actions to ehnance protection of Appalachian streams from effects of mountaintop coal mining. August 22, 2003 Office of Surface Mining begins enforcment of portions of the Missouri coal mining regulatiory program October 1, 2003 The first Good Neighbor Awards presented to three mining companies for working cooperatively with their communities December 10, 2003 New Abandoned Mine Land rule published that allows reclamation to be financed through the sale of remaining coal at the site February 2, 2004 Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton announced an Abandoned Mine Land reauthorization proposal would provide funding to eliminate all significant health and safety problems within 25 years

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Office of Surface Mining
1951 Constitution Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240
202-208-2719
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