Montana Regulatory Program

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 30 CFR Part 926 [SATS No. MT-047-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2025-0007; S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 256S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 25XS501520] AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public hearing on proposed amendment. SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Montana regulatory program (hereinafter, the Montana program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Montana ( printed page 36403) submitted this proposed amendment to us, on its own initiative, following the passage of Montana House Bill 616 (HB 616) during the 2025 legislative session. Montana proposes several changes to the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) generally related to the option for an permittee to include predictive modeling, along with monitoring data, in its bond release application to prove compliance with approved reclamation plans and allowing Montana to retain a portion of a bond for areas that are contributing suspended solids. This notice also allows for a public comment period and the possibility for a public hearing, if one is requested. DATES: We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4:00 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time (M.D.T.) September 3, 2025. If requested, we may hold a public h…