West Virginia Regulatory Program

Document 2025-14193 is a Final Rule published by the Department of Interior in the Federal Register on July 28, 2025, with an effective date of August 27, 2025. We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are approving an amendment to the West Virginia regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The amendment revises the West Virginia Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (WVSCMRA) as contained in House Bill 4758 of 2022. The revisions require the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) to develop and maintain a database to track reclamation liabilities, including water treatment, at coal mining operations in the state of West Virginia that were permitted after August 3, 1977, and for which the SMCRA permit has yet to be completely released. The database of reclamation liabilities will serve to inform management and operation of WVDEP's Special Reclamation Program. View the original at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/28/2025-14193/west-virginia-regulatory-program.

No. Document 2025-14193 is not classified as economically significant under Executive Order 12866. Economically significant rules require OIRA review and are estimated to have impacts of $100 million or more per year.