Subject: OSM Announces Opportunity to Comment on Options for Revisions to Stream Buffer Zone and Related Rules

On November 30, 2009, OSM announced the publication in the Federal Register of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking requesting comment on alternatives for revising the stream buffer zone rule and other rules related to protection of streams. The stream buffer zone rule determines under what circumstances coal mining may be conducted in or within 100 feet of a perennial or intermittent stream.

This proposed rulemaking reflects commitments contained in a June 11, 2009, memorandum of understanding (MOU) among the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers to reduce the harmful environmental consequences of Appalachian surface coal mining. The MOU identifies the stream buffer zone rule and our regulations concerning approximate original contour as two rules that we will consider revising. In the notice, we describe options that we are considering for revision of the stream buffer zone rule and other related rules. We invite you to comment on those options, to suggest other options, and to identify other provisions of our regulations that should be revised to better protect the environment and the public from the impacts of surface coal mining nationwide.

Until rulemaking is completed, OSM has instituted Immediate Stream Protection Measures to protect streams.

OSM is seeking comments on the proposed rulemaking. Interested persons may submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov under the Docket ID: OSM-2009-0009. The public may also submit comments by mail or courier addressed to: Administrative Record (MS 252), Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1951 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20240. Please include the Docket ID with all comments sent my mail or courier. The comment period closes on December 30, 2009.