Montana Regulatory Program

Document 2026-10722 is a Final Rule published by the Department of Interior in the Federal Register on May 29, 2026, with an effective date of June 29, 2026. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is APPROVING an amendment to the Montana regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Montana submitted this proposed amendment to OSM on its own initiative in response to a State law passed by the Montana Legislature House Bill 587 (HB 587). The proposed amendment provides a new definition of "Material damage" with respect to the hydrologic balance, alluvial valley floors, and subsidence. It also creates an option for a permit applicant to provide self-collected information related to its determination of probable hydrologic consequences, if an appropriate Federal or State agency cannot provide such information. Finally, HB 587 includes contingencies that apply to the proposed amendment but are not codified into the Montana Code Annotated (MCA): a severability clause, a contingent voidness clause, an effective date clause, and a retroactive applicability clause. View the original at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10722/montana-regulatory-program.

No. Document 2026-10722 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.