The Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Should More Fully Recover or Eliminate Its Costs of Regulating Coal Mining
RCED-85-33
Published: May 28, 1985. Publicly Released: Jun 07, 1985.
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Highlights
GAO reported on: (1) the costs that the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining (OSM) incurs for regulating coal mining; (2) measures which OSM could use to recover or reduce these costs; and (3) the impact that recovering these costs would have on coal production and demand.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| If Congress believes that support costs should be recovered, it may wish to consider enacting a special tax on coal operators. The tax would be based on a formula calculated to recover the costs incurred by Interior in overseeing state programs, providing technical assistance, and for its other support activities. | Congress has not indicated whether it plans to recover the support costs. No bills have been introduced for consideration. This recommendation is more than 2 years old; therefore, Congress is not likely to take action. GAO work would have to be fully updated to justify keeping this recommendation open. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should require the Director, OSM, to: (1) monitor the actual costs of reviewing, administering, and enforcing individual permits; and (2) assess these costs against mine operators through permit fees. |
Interior continues to believe that, if implemented, this recommendation would not be sound public policy. Therefore, GAO plans no further action.
|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should work with the states on how to phase out cooperative agreement grants. Sufficient time should be given to the states to adopt legislation or regulations necessary to raise their permit fees or to appropriate revenues that will provide adequate program resources and personnel. |
Interior continues to believe that, if implemented, this recommendation would not be sound public policy. Therefore, GAO plans no further action.
|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should work with the states on how to phase out grants for administration and enforcement of state regulatory programs. At the end of this transition period, if the Secretary chooses to continue support for small operators on state and private lands, the grants should be limited to this purpose. |
Interior continues to believe that, if implemented, this recommendation would not be sound public policy. Therefore, GAO plans no further action.
|
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Topics
Coal miningCost controlEnergy suppliesEnvironmental policiesstate relationsFeesGrants to statesSurface mining land reclamationCoalMining