On Feb. 19, 2026, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) finalized a rule, effective March 23rd, 2026, that reverted its “ten-day notice” enforcement regulations back to their 2020 form. This rule repealed changes made by a 2024 Biden administration rule.
Established by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), OSMRE’s primary goal is “to assist States in operating a nationwide program that protects society and the environment from the adverse effects of coal mining, while ensuring that surface coal mining can be done without permanent damage to land and water resources.” Under SMCRA, states have primary authority for regulating surface coal mining on non-federal lands. Citizens, however, can report possible SMCRA violations to OSMRE, which then issues a formal ten-day notice to the relevant state agency. Upon receiving this notice, the state has ten days to either take appropriate action or explain why no action is warranted. If the state does not respond adequately, OSMRE may conduct a federal inspection and take an enforcement action.
The 2024 rule modified this ten-day notice process in two primary ways. First, it restricted OSMRE from conducting informal pre-notice consultations with state regulators before issuing a ten-day notice. Second, it removed a requirement that citizens notify their state agency before or when filing a federal complaint.
OSMRE’s final rule rescinded both of these changes. OSMRE may again informally consult with state regulators, including reviewing non-public state databases and inspection records, before deciding whether to issue a ten-day notice to the state. And citizens requesting a federal inspection must again notify their state agency before or when they contact OSMRE. Because the informal pre-notice consultation period has no statutory deadline, the length of this period is not fixed.
This rescission could reduce the number of ten-day notices issued in response to citizen complaints. Under the 2020 rule being reinstated, OSMRE issued ten-day notices less than 17% of the time, compared to over 56% of the time under the 2024 rule.