Permit Fees

What this funds

The FY 2027 request includes $1.5M and 7 FTEs for Federal Lands program, which provide OSM the resources to support State regulatory programs on Federal lands. In primacy States, mining on Federal lands is regulated under a cooperative agreement between the Governor and the Secretary of the Interior. SMCRA requires the Secretary to retain authority to approve mining plans; no mining may occur until approval is granted. OSM prepares decision documents for proposed mining plans and modifications and serves as the regulatory authority in States without cooperative agreements. OSM also processes valid existing rights claims and conducts environmental (EIS) in consultation with other Federal agencies and State regulatory authorities In FY 2025, OSM administered the preparation of 11 mining plan recommendations and attendant environmental analyses. In collaboration with the Department of the Interior's Office of the Solicitor and BLM, OSM intends to continue to finalize NEPA analyses and issue mining plan recommendations for In FY 2025, OSM completed and obtained the Assistance Secretary for Land and Minerals Management (ASLM) approval for 7 mining plan decisions and expects to complete 8 mining plan decision documents for ASLM by the end of FY 2026. The FY 2027 request includes $3.3M and 16 FTEs for the Indian Lands Program on Tribal lands outside the State of Oklahoma (hereinafter Indian Lands Program). OSM is responsible for regulating coal mining and reclamation activities on Indian Lands. The Indian Lands Program staff review and approve permit applications and revisions, conduct inspections and enforcement activities, and ensure timely reclamation after mining. OSM coordinates closely with Indian Tribes and other resource management entities. OSM ensures that the lands and trust resources of federally recognized Tribes and their members are identified, conserved, and protected. In fulfilling these responsibilities, OSM operates within a government-to- The Crow Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Navajo Nation have active coal mine permits on their lands. The coal mines on Indian Lands are among the largest in the United States, with a total of 107,625 acres regulated by OSM. Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe: The McKinley Mine and the Navajo Mine are large surface mines located in McKinley and San Juan Counties, New Mexico. These mines are on lands within the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Mine is an active mine and provides coal to the Four Corners Power Plant in New Mexico. Mining operations permanently ceased at the McKinley Mine in 2009, and it is currently undergoing final reclamation. Navajo Transitional Energy Company is seeking approval for a new SMCRA permit application to mine 500 million tons of coal through 2136. The new permit will be referred to as the No Name Permit, which will also provide coal to the Four Corners Power Plant. The Kayenta Mine is a large surface mine located in Navajo County, Arizona, on lands within the Navajo Nation and the Hopi reservation. The Navajo Nation owns most coal resources at this mine, but certain coal resources are jointly owned by the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. The Kayenta Mine permanently ceased mining in August 2019, and the Navajo Generating Station ceased operations in November 2019, and is currently undergoing final reclamation. Crow Tribe: The Absaloka Mine is a large surface mine located in Big Horn County, Montana. The Absaloka (South) Mine operates within the boundaries of the Crow Reservation and is regulated by OSM. The Absaloka (North) Mine operates outside the boundaries of the Crow Reservation but includes Crow- owned coal resources. The Absaloka (North) Mine is co-regulated by OSM and the State regulatory Ute Mountain Ute Tribe: The King II Mine is an underground mine located in La Plata County, Colorado. The mine extracts Federal coal beneath surface land owned privately by the Ute Mountain Ute. The OSM permit includes the lands above the underground mine workings, including approximately nine acres of surface disturbance. No reclamation liability release applications are expected until the mine closes and completes final reclamation of its facilities. The FY 2027 request includes $5.3M and 20 FTEs for Program Development and Maintenance. Work elements under this program are primarily policy actions that support the other program activities in the National Policy Development entails rulemaking and guidance development and analyzing their effects on other statutes and assessing their conformity with executive orders and Administration priorities. In addition, the work under this program entails preparation of EAs and EISs as required under NEPA, information collection request, and regulatory impact analyses, such as cost benefit analyses. When required, OSM involves the public and interested parties in the development of regulations. OSM also maintains the administrative record for rules and coordinates rule publication with the Office of the Federal OSM assists States with the development, administration, implementation, and maintenance of their changes in the program's provisions, scope, or objectives), and decisions to approve or disapprove State program amendments are Federal rulemaking actions. In the case where States may be required to amend their programs because of changes to SMCRA or Federal regulations, OSM notifies the State of the required change, and reviews and evaluates the State program amendment submission. When a State program amendment is required due to changes in the States program, the State will submit an amendment describing the change for OSM to review and evaluate. As part of the review and evaluation of any State program amendment, OSM solicits public comments, holds public meetings, maintains the administrative record, and publishes the decisions as final rules in the Federal Register.

Extracted from Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, p. 10. Verbatim; nothing here is paraphrased.

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