Interior Department Publishes Final Rule Revising Stream Buffer Zone Regulations

摘要

The Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSM) published a final rule Dec. 12 that it says clarifies mountaintop mining stream buffer zone regulations and resolves long-standing issues on how the regulations should be applied (73 Fed. Reg. 75,814).rnThe final rule, which takes effect Jan. 12, 2009, governs the dumping by coal mining companies of excess rock or "spoil" from mountaintop mining operations into valleys and streams (39 ER 2451, 12/12/08).rnPublication of the rule represents the culmination of a five-year process. OSM issued its first version of the proposed rules in January of 2004 and a revised proposal in August of 2007.rnThe department said the final rule places new restrictions on how coal mine operators can dispose of coal mine waste, while environmental groups contend the rule rolls back the existing buffer zone rule and could allow harm to the environment.rnEnvironmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson concurred with the final rule prior to publication in a letter from to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.