The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is revising its regulations, for the primary purpose of applying updated science and reinforcing the need to minimize the adverse impacts of surface coal mining operations on surface water, groundwater, fish, wildlife, and related environmental values, with particular emphasis on protecting or restoring streams and aquatic ecosystems.

On June 11, 2009, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) implementing an interagency action plan to reduce the harmful environmental consequences of surface coal mining operations in six states in central and northern Appalachia. Subsequently, the Department of the Interior, through OSMRE, began to update its rules. OSMRE is now in the midst of this rulemaking, known as the Stream Protection Rule. The bureau is also developing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing a range of alternatives for the rule. The EIS will address the impacts of burying and mining through streams, including the protection of aquatic communities in streams located on, adjacent to, and downstream from coal mining operations. In addition, the EIS will analyze alternatives to provide for the restoration of native forests that have been eliminated during the mining process. Finally, the EIS will consider alternatives that will further enhance restoration of mined lands to their approximate original contour in accordance with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).

Unregulated coal mining in Appalachia and elsewhere in the nation’s coal fields has had devastating impacts on the environment, land use, and society as a whole. While SMCRA has made significant strides in regulating contemporary mining, an increasing number of studies have substantiated that adverse environmental impacts may continue in certain situations long after the completion of reclamation. As stated in the 2009 MOU, “Streams once used for swimming, fishing, and drinking water have been adversely impacted, and groundwater resources used for drinking water have been contaminated. Some forest lands that sustain water quality and habitat and contribute to the Appalachian way of life have been fragmented or lost.”

Upon completion of the Draft EIS, OSMRE will develop a proposed rule based upon the EIS' preferred alternative, taking into account the overall benefits, socioeconomic impacts, and costs of the various alternatives analyzed. OSMRE will publish both the Draft EIS and the proposed rule for public comment. OSMRE encourages the public to provide comments on both. Upon review and consideration of all comments received, OSMRE will develop a final Stream Protection Rule.

In 1983, OSMRE issued a rule that required a 100-foot “buffer zone” adjacent to streams. Environmental groups have alleged that the 1983 rule is an outright prohibition on the disposal of excess spoil that buries streambeds, which could severely limit coal mining operations in Appalachia. Historically, OSMRE and some Appalachian states did not interpret the 1983 rule in this manner.

In 2008, OSMRE finalized the Stream Buffer Zone Rule to clarify OSMRE’s interpretation of the 1983 rule. The 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule explicitly allows excess spoil to be placed in streams, though it also added new requirements designed to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of doing so.

Environmental groups challenged the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule in court:

Coal River Mountain Watch v. Jewell (D.D.C.); and National Parks Conservation Association v. Jewell (D.D.C.). While not identical, each suit challenges OSMRE’s 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule and the EPA’s concurrence determination. Pursuant to the parties’ motion, proceedings in these two cases were in abeyance for almost three years. In March 2013, however, the court lifted a stay, and in February 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule. The decision reinstated the 1983 version of the Stream Buffer Zone Rule. The court decision is not expected to affect the development of the Stream Protection Rule.