Library of COALEX Research Reports

COALEX Research Reports are the products of research and analysis conducted on specific issues relating to the regulation of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. The research is conducted in response to requests for information from State Regulatory Authorities, under a cooperative agreement between the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and the Interstate Mining Compact Commission (IMCC).

COALEX refers to the Library of Surface Mining Materials maintained by OSM in LEXIS-NEXIS and is a major source for the research.

Each Report includes a list of resources which were sent as attachments to the individual who requested the research. To obtain a copy of the attachments or to obtain any additional information, contact Joyce Zweben Scall by phone at 202-686-9138 or by email at JZScall@aol.com.

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COALEX STATE COMPARISON REPORT - 223

July 1992

Karen Jacobs, Esquire
Department of Mines and Minerals
Land Reclamation Division
300 West Jefferson Street, Suite 300
P.O. Box 10137
Springfield, Illinois 62791-0137

TOPIC: ORGANIZATION OF TITLE IV AND TITLE V REGULATORY AGENCIES

INQUIRY: The regulation of Illinois's Title IV (Abandoned Mined Lands or "AML") program is housed in an agency that is separate from that which houses the Title V (surface mining and reclamation) program. How do other IMCC member states organize their AML and SMCRA agencies?

SEARCH RESULTS: A telephone survey of nine IMCC member states was conducted. All of the states contacted house Title IV and V regulatory programs within the same "natural resources department". Some states regulate the programs in "sister divisions" within the same "department"; other states house both programs as "sections" within the same "division". [Note: As used here, the largest organizational unit is the "natural resources department", followed by the "division" and then the "section".] The precise number of organizational "levels" from the largest unit to the one that regulates surface mining and AML programs differs from state to state. A summary of the state organizational levels (largest unit to specific regulatory agency) follows.

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INDIANA

1. Department of Natural Resources
2. Bureau of Reclamation
   1. Title IV Section (AML)
   2. Title V Section (surface mining regulatory program)

KENTUCKY

1. Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet
2. Department for Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement
   1. Division of Abandoned Lands
   2. Division of Permits
   3. Division of Field Services

MARYLAND

1. Department of Natural Resources
2. Water Resources Administration
3. Bureau of Mines (one of four divisions)
   1. AML Section
   2. Permits Section
   3. Inspection and Enforcement Section
   4. Planning, Analysis and Laboratory Section

MISSOURI

1. Department of Natural Resources
2. Division of Environmental Quality (one of five divisions)
3. Land Reclamation Program
   1. AML Section
   2. Mining and Reclamation Section

OHIO

1. Department of Natural Resources
2. Division of Reclamation (one of about 12 divisions)
   1. Title IV (AML) Section
   2. Title V (surface mining regulatory) Section

OKLAHOMA

1. Department of Pollution Control and Ecology
2. Mining Division
   1. Title IV (AML)
   2. Title V (surface mining regulatory)

PENNSYLVANIA

1. Department of Environmental Resources
2. Mineral Resources Management
   1. Bureau of Abandoned Mine Lands (Title IV)
   2. Bureau of Mining and Reclamation (Title V)

VIRGINIA

1. Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy
2. Division of Mined Land Reclamation (one of six divisions)
   1. AML Section
   2. Regulatory program Section

WEST VIRGINIA

1. Department of Commerce, Labor and Environmental Resources
2. Division of Environmental Protection
   1. Office of Abandoned Mine Lands
   2. Office of Mining and Reclamation

Survey conducted by: Joyce Zweben Scall

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