Judge restores pre-Trump rules for dealing with mine violations

CASPER (WNE) — A federal court has restored preTrump standards to the so-called Ten Day Notice, a rule that requires state and federal agencies to address public complaints with mining operations in a timely manner.

Whether for excessive dust, water pollution, or non-compliant noise levels, the rule is meant to give citizens speedy recourse to mining-related infractions, requiring state agencies to respond to permit violations within 10 days.

The rule is enforced by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and required under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, landmark legislation that overhauled a mineral industry that, until the 1970s, had operated under relatively minimal regulation.

The Citizens Coal Council, Appalachian Voices and Sierra Club filed suit in the U.S. District Court to challenge the rule, saying the 2020 changes resulted in “pre-investigation investigations” that significantly delayed actions to address violations while giving the office of surface mining and state regulators the discretion to table complaints indefinitely.

Advocacy groups in Wyoming say the newly strengthened rule is a win for citizens.

“When Congress passed the federal strip mine law, SMCRA, they realized that people like me who live near coal mines are a valuable source of information for regulators, and that we must have a way to call on regulators to address violations,” said Lynne Huskinson, a retired coal miner and board member of the Powder River Basin Resource Council and Western Organization of Resource Councils from Gillette, Wyoming.

Administrators with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality see the updated rule differently.

Leaders at WDEQ say the new rule was drafted without meaningful input from state partners and worry it will add unneeded bureaucratic paperwork while undermining the principle of “cooperative federalism,” which has normally conferred State Regulatory Authorities primacy to administer federal laws in state.

This story was published on April 9, 2024.