Article Summary –
The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) plans to reject a law passed by the 2023 Montana Legislature that was intended to relax water quality laws related to coal mining. This rejection is due to the claim that the law is inconsistent and less effective than existing federal laws, including the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The Montana law, HB 576, aimed to redefine “material damage” to water resources to only include long-term or permanent effects, a standard deemed vague and difficult to enforce by the OSMRE.
The U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) has indicated it may reject a law enacted by the 2023 Montana Legislature aimed at loosening water quality regulations associated with coal mining.
In a letter dated March 28, Jeffrey W. Fleischman, from OSMRE’s Casper area office, highlighted inconsistencies in House Bill 576 with federal laws like the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. As federal law doesn’t permit states to adopt mining regulations that are weaker than federal standards, this could potentially nullify the new state law.
House Bill 576 aimed to redefine “material damage” to water resources to only include “long-term or permanent” effects. Federal laws, however, don’t incorporate such temporal guidelines, which means HB 576 could constrain the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s capacity to enforce actions for short-term, high-pollution events. Additionally, OSMRE voiced concerns that “long-term or permanent” is a “vague and difficult to enforce” standard, undefined in Montana’s laws or rules.
The letter provided Montana’s DEQ with two options: propose policy changes to address OSMRE’s concerns within 30 days or refrain from implementing the new law.
The letter from OSMRE followed a public hearing in Billings about five months earlier to gather public opinion on HB 576 and Senate Bill 392. Senate Bill 392 proposes that an individual or organization that fails in their legal challenge to overturn a coal-mining permit must cover the legal fees of the other party. The majority of the commentary at the hearing opposed the new laws, citing threats to their access to high-quality water from coal mining and perceived substandard enforcement or remediation under the existing framework.
Moira Davin, a DEQ spokesperson, said in an email on April 19 that the department has yet to receive a letter from OSMRE regarding SB 392, which has been incorporated into the latest version of Montana Code Annotated.
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