Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement June 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are reopening the public comment period and providing an opportunity for a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the Illinois regulatory program (Illinois program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act) published on May 1, 2019. The public comment period is being reopened and an opportunity for a public hearing is being provided at the request of three Illinois citizen's organizations. The granting of this request affords the public additional time to provide written comment and the opportunity to request to speak at a public hearing. Illinois proposes revisions to its regulations, including allowing the extraction of coal as an incidental part of a government-financed construction project, revising its Ownership and Control rules, and clarifying land use changes requiring a significant permit revision. Illinois intends to revise its program to be as effective as the Federal regulations. This document gives the times and locations where the Illinois program documents and this proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, establishes the new comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and describes the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.