Rescission of Portions of Permanent Program Performance Standards Related to Siltation Structures

This direct final rule revises the Federal regulations to remove paragraphs that required that all surface drainage from the disturbed area pass through a siltation structure before leaving the permit area. These paragraphs were struck down on judicial review because the court found that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) had not articulated a sufficient basis for the rule under the Administrative Procedure Act and that OSMRE had not sufficiently demonstrated that siltation structures were the best technology currently available.