The Alliance for Appalachia

Tell the OSM

The Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement is asking for advice on how to enforce the law - and we need you to offer it! Comments are due by January 19th - please click here to offer comments. Many of you have had personal experiences with the OSMRE - and we encourage you to write about them.

Please feel free to add to the commentary below or write your own. Please add any personal experience you’ve had with the OSMRE or working for enforcement on surface mine issues. The OSMRE has outlined the topics they are most interested in hearing from you on at this link.

Those topics include:

• How to increase citizen involvement as well as how to improve the citizen complaint process
• How to work with state regulatory programs to increase enforcement and make them more effective
• How to increase transparency
• What information on permits should be included on their website and the best way to present that information
• How to improve the reclamation and bonding process

What’s most important is that the OSMRE hears from you - please fill out and send the form below - before January 19th!

Send your comments here

Subject

Thank you for your recent efforts to increase oversight and enforcement within the OSMRE. Public input is one of the most important parts of the oversight process, and I appreciate the agency’s efforts and intentions to increase public participation.</p> <p>Effective oversight is critical to the successful implementation of SMCRA. Coalfield communities have not seen an effective oversight program for many years. While we appreciate the movement towards stronger oversight, I would like to reiterate that these issues are urgent – citizens need swift action to ensure the protection of our communities. Increased enforcement and other program improvements must happen on a clear and quick timeline.</p> <p>I am particularly concerned with historic lack of enforcement and was glad to see it seems that a more stringent Ten-Day Notice Process will be reinstated. Enforcement of the law is the only appropriate action when there is a violation of the law. As such, the OSMRE should increase transparency of enforcement methods taken as well as data collected to enable citizen involvement in the regulatory process. Negotiations and actions by state agencies should also be more consistent and transparent to ensure that laws are followed and enforced.</p> <p>The citizens living with mountaintop removal are experts on the process and their concerns must be taken seriously. The OSMRE has correctly identified some of the problems with the current citizen complaint process. These include an inadequate response to complaints and inordinate delays in addressing complaints. Lack of repercussions for repeated violations has also disillusioned many citizens from making complaints.</p> <p>I am happy to see intent to increase the quantity and consistency of inspections. Thousands of citizens across the coalfields have faced hazardous impacts from blasting, dust, increased flooding, valley fills, toxic water, improperly reclaimed landscapes and many other concerns related to mountaintop removal coal mining and valley fills. While inspections and a culture of enforcement are part of the solution, we would like to see an increased effort to prevent these dangers from happening through increased transparency and coordination between state and federal agencies and the citizens living with the impacts of their decisions.</p> <p>Thank you for taking the time to listen to citizen concerns on these important issues,<br />

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