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ACTION PLAN ID # UT-2017-001 <br /> I. INTRODUCTION <br /> As part of its review of a citizen complaint and request for a State program evaluation, the Office <br /> of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE)completed an internal technical <br /> review that identified separate, minor programmatic deficiencies. This Action Plan is intended <br /> to address and resolve these minor programmatic issues. The programmatic issues identified <br /> relate to the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining's (DOGM) administration of the approved <br /> Utah coal mining regulatory program(the Utah program) and the implementation of its technical <br /> guidance with respect to DOGM's bonding practices. Through this Action Plan, both OSMRE <br /> and DOGM commit to certain activities as necessary to effectively resolve the issues identified <br /> herein. Resolving these programmatic issues will also ensure that DOGM is appropriately <br /> implementing its technical guidance and that all directives provided through technical guidance <br /> documents are in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Utah program, the Surface <br /> Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), and the Federal regulations. <br /> II. BACKGROUND <br /> In a letter dated December 21,2015,WildEarth Guardians(WEG)presented information which <br /> it believed demonstrated that violations were occurring on three mine sites within the State of <br /> Utah. In its letter,WEG alleged site-specific violations through a citizen complaint and <br /> requested that OSMRE conduct a State program evaluation under 30 C.F.R. Part 733 to ensure <br /> that DOGM was effectively administering, implementing, maintaining,and enforcing a portion <br /> of its approved State program. WEG's assertions mostly pertained to DOGM's alleged failure to <br /> adequately review and adjust bond amounts to account for the inflated future cost of reclamation, <br /> thereby allegedly failing to assure that sufficient bonding exists to carry out the approved <br /> reclamation plans in the event of permit revocation and bond forfeiture. <br /> On January 6, 2016,OSMRE issued three Ten-Day Notices (TDNs) to DOGM in response to <br /> WEG's alleged violations of reclamation bonding requirements at the three mine sites. DOGM <br /> responded to the TDNs on January 22,2016. OSMRE subsequently requested internal technical <br /> assistance as part of its review of the information presented by WEG and of DOGM's TDN <br /> response. On August 16, 2016, OSMRE issued a determination in response to WEG's 733 <br /> request and concluded that the allegations did not warrant further evaluation under 30 C.F.R. § <br /> 733.12(a)(2). On October 11,2016, OSMRE issued a written determination with respect to <br /> DOGM's TDN response and concluded that DOGM had shown good cause for not taking action <br /> to correct the potential violations because, under the Utah program, the alleged violations cited <br /> did not exist. Even though OSMRE concluded,in both the 733 and TDN determinations, that <br /> further action was not warranted under either 30 C.F.R. Part 733 or through the TDN process, the <br /> results of OSMRE's internal technical findings identified separate,minor programmatic <br /> implementation problems that form the basis of this Action Plan. <br /> The Utah program was conditionally approved by the Secretary of the Interior on January 21, <br /> 1981.1 Utah's approved State program consists of the Utah Coal Mining and Reclamation Act <br /> (UCMRA) and the Utah Administrative Code Rules("UAC" or"the Utah rules").2 The Utah <br /> rules outlining Utah's bonding requirements are codified at R645-301-800. <br /> 46 Fed,Reg. 5899(Jan.21, 1981). <br /> Utah Code Ann. §§40-10-1 to-30 and UAC R645-100 to-403. <br /> 1 <br />