40 years of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA): what have we learned in the State of Wyoming

Abstract

Abstract The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) was enacted in 1977 and was the overriding federal regulation governing mining and reclamation of surface coal mines in the United States of America (USA). Many of the newest surface mines in the USA, at that time, were in the western portion of the nation. Wyoming surface coal mines numbered approximately 20 and were located throughout the state in the coal bearing regions, generally in the south/southwestern portion of the state and the northeastern corner. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is the federal agency tasked with oversight of the implementation of SMCRA. Individual states developed statewide programs that met or exceeded the requirements of SMCRA and, thus, obtained primacy over coal mine mining and reclamation within their boundaries as long as those regulatory conditions were maintained. OSMRE retained oversight on the Indigenous Nations programs within the USA. Much information has been learned on the reclamation side of SMCRA, its regulations and state programs since its passage. This paper and presentation will present some of the basic changes made in reclamation programs over the last 40 years in the State of Wyoming.

Keywords

• Regulatory
• Policies
• Historical changes