Opinion ID: 501787
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Contemporaneous Reclamation

Text: 232 Section 515(b)(16) of the Act directs mine operators to reclaim land as contemporaneously as practicable [to the] mining operations. In 1979, the Secretary had issued both a general instruction that reclamation occur as contemporaneously as practicable with mining operations, 30 C.F.R. Sec. 816.100 (1982), 59 and specific time and distance standards for backfilling and grading spoil at contour and area strip mines, 30 C.F.R. Sec. 816.101 (1982). 60 The Secretary at that time addressed the difficulty of issuing nationwide standards in view of varying mine conditions. He declined to adopt a timetable for backfilling and grading at open pit mines, or for additional reclamation steps at any mine. Furthermore, the time and distance standards he adopted were waivable on a case by case basis. Also, he explained in his regulatory preamble that these standards afforded adequate time to backfill and grade under any of the varying local conditions. 44 FED.REG. 15226 (1979). 233 The 1983 revision retained the general prescription in Sec. 816.100, 61 but eliminated Sec. 816.101 entirely. See supra note 60. To support his deletion, the Secretary commented that 'contemporaneous reclamation' is a relative term which must be interpreted by each State on the basis of the mining conditions in its territory. 48 FED.REG. 23357-58 (1983); see also id. at 24649. ([T]he regulatory authority can establish a time table, one which is more in keeping with conditions within the State, and can probably reduce the number of waiver requests received from operators.). Because Sec. 816.101 was devised to account for local differences, we do not find entirely satisfying, as an explanation for scrapping the regulation entirely, the observation that  'contemporaneous reclamation' is a relative term whose precise meaning depends on local conditions. The core deficiency, however, is that the Secretary has published barely more than a conclusion that the variety of mining conditions across the nation made Sec. 816.101 of the regulations infeasible. State Farm requires a satisfactory explanation, one that informs us why he drew his conclusion. The Secretary, in other words, if he determines there is no need to flesh out the statute, must flesh out his explanation so that we can review the rationality of his decision. 234