WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has issued a rule called: Backfilling and Grading.
The rule was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 27 by Lanny E. Erdos, Acting Assistant Secretary, Land Minerals Management.
Summary: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is delaying the effective date of the direct final rule "Backfilling and Grading, " published on November 28, 2025. The direct final rule rescinded a regulation that prescribed time and distance performance standards for the completion of rough backfilling and grading for surface mining operations, which was suspended by the Secretary of the Interior in 1992 but never removed from the Code of Federal Regulations. D...