Data / Federal rules / 2026-01569
Backfilling and Grading
The Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office published this final rule in the Federal Register on January 27, 2026. It took effect on March 30, 2026.
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What the agency says
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is delaying the effective date of the direct final rule "Backfilling and Grading," published on November 28, 2025. The direct final rule rescinded a regulation that prescribed time and distance performance standards for the completion of rough backfilling and grading for surface mining operations, which was suspended by the Secretary of the Interior in 1992 but never removed from the Code of Federal Regulations. During the comment period, OSM received comments that require further review and consideration to determine whether they are significant adverse comments warranting a response, withdrawal, or modification of the final rule.
Key facts
- Document number
- 2026-01569
- Type
- Final rule
- Action
- Direct final rule; delay of effective date
- Agency
- Interior Department; Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office
- Published
- January 27, 2026
- Takes effect
- March 30, 2026
- Dates
- As of January 27, 2026, the effective date of the direct final rule published November 28, 2025, at 90 FR 54573 is delayed until March 30, 2026.
- Docket
- Docket ID: OSM-2025-0025 S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 256S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 25XS501520
- Regulation ID (RIN)
- 1029-AD03
- Code of Federal Regulations
- 30 CFR 816
- Pages
- 1
Other documents from the Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office
| Document | Type | Published |
|---|---|---|
| Montana Regulatory Program 2026-17821 | Final rule | Sep 1 |
| Montana Regulatory Program 2026-17333 | Final rule | Aug 25 |
| Montana Regulatory Program 2026-17055 | Final rule | Aug 21 |
| North Dakota Regulatory Program 2026-16318 | Final rule | Aug 11 |
| Ohio Regulatory Program 2026-16136 | Final rule | Aug 7 |
| Montana Regulatory Program 2026-14245 | Final rule | Jul 15 |
| Montana Regulatory Program 2026-14244 | Final rule | Jul 15 |
| West Virginia Regulatory Program 2026-12482 | Final rule | Jun 22 |
Everything from the Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office · Published in January 2026
Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.