North Dakota Regulatory Program

We, the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), are approving an amendment to the North Dakota regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). North Dakota has made changes to the North Dakota Century Code and North Dakota Administrative Code resulting from actions initiated during both the 2017 and 2021 Legislative Sessions. Changes include altering the time required for scheduling and applying for select permit related actions, creation of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and a transfer of select responsibilities from the Department of Health, establishment of the Department of Water Resources, and the powers and duties of that agency and the state engineer.

This is a factual description of what was issued or decided, not an assessment of it.