PART 870—ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND—FEE COLLECTION AND COAL PRODUCTION REPORTING Authority: 28 U.S.C. 1746, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq., Source: 47 FR 28593, June 30, 1982, unless otherwise noted. § 870.1 Scope. This part sets out our procedures to collect fees for the Fund and to report coal production. [73 FR 67631, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.5 Definitions. As used in this Part— Anthracite, bituminous and subbituminous coal Calendar quarter Excess moisture Expended Fee compliance officer In situ coal mining Inherent moisture Lignite coal Moist, Mn-Free Btu= (Bu−50S)/[100−(1.08A + 0.55S)] × 100 where: Mn = Mineral matter Btu = British thermal units per pound (calorific value) A = percentage of ash, and S = percentage of sulfur “Moist” refers to coal containing its natural inherent or bed moisture, but not including water adhering to the surface of the coal. Mineral owner Reclaimed coal Surface coal mining Ton Total moisture Underground coal mining Value [47 FR 28593, June 30, 1982, as amended at 53 FR 19726, May 27, 1988; 59 FR 28168, May 31, 1994; 60 FR 9980, Feb. 22, 1995; 62 FR 60142, Nov. 6, 1997; 73 FR 67631, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.10 Information collection. In accordance with 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., [73 FR 67631, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.11 Applicability. The regulations in this part apply to all surface and underground coal mining operations except— (a) The extraction of coal by a landowner for his own noncommercial use from land owned or leased by him; (b) The extraction of coal as an incidental part of Federal, State, or local government-financed highway or other construction; (c) The extraction of coal incidental to the extraction of other minerals where coal does not exceed 16 2/3 (1) In accordance with part 702 of this chapter for Federal program States and on Indian lands or (2) In any twelve consecutive months in a State with an approved State program until counterpart regulations pursuant to part 702 of this chapter have been incorporated into the State program and in accordance with such counterpart regulations, thereafter; and (d) The extraction of less than 250 tons of coal within twelve consecutive months. [47 FR 28593, June 30, 1982, as amended at 54 FR 52123, Dec. 20, 1989; 54 FR 52123, Dec. 20, 1989; 73 FR 67631, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.12 Reclamation fee. (a) The operator shall pay a reclamation fee on each ton of coal produced for sale, transfer, or use, including the products of in situ mining. (b) The fee shall be determined by the weight and value at the time of initial bona fide sale, transfer of ownership, or use by the operator. (1) The initial bona fide sale, transfer of ownership, or use shall be determined by the first transaction or use of the coal by the operator immediately after it is severed, or removed from a reclaimed coal refuse deposit. (2) The value of the coal shall be determined F.O.B. mine. (3) The weight of each ton shall be determined by the actual gross weight of the coal. (i) Impurities that have not been removed prior to the time of initial bona fide sale, transfer of ownership, or use by the operator, excluding excess moisture for which a reduction has been taken pursuant to § 870.18, shall not be deducted from the gross weight. (ii) Operators selling coal on a clean coal basis shall retain records that show run-of-mine tonnage, and the basis for the clean coal transaction. (iii) Insufficient records shall subject the operator to fees based on raw tonnage data. (c) If the operator combines surface mined coal, including reclaimed coal, with underground mined coal before the coal is weighed for fee purposes, the higher reclamation fee shall apply, unless the operator can substantiate the amount of coal produced by surface mining by acceptable engineering calculations or other reports which the Director may require. (d) The reclamation fee shall be paid after the end of each calendar quarter beginning with the calendar quarter starting October 1, 1977. [47 FR 28593, June 30, 1982, as amended at 53 FR 19726, May 27, 1988; 59 FR 28169, May 31, 1994; 69 FR 56130, Sept. 17, 2004] § 870.13 Fee rates. (a) Fees for coal produced for sale, transfer, or use from October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2034. Fees for coal produced for sale, transfer, or use from October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2034, are shown in the following table: Type of fee Type of coal Amount of fee (1) Surface mining fee Anthracite, bituminous, and subbituminous, including reclaimed (i) If value of coal is $2.24 per ton or more, fee is 22.4 cents per ton. (2) Underground mining fee Anthracite, bituminous, and subbituminous (i) If value of coal is $0.96 per ton or more, fee is 9.6 cents per ton. (3) Surface and underground mining fee Lignite (i) If value of coal is $3.20 per ton or more, fee is 6.4 cents per ton. (4) In situ coal mining fee All types other than lignite 9.6 cents per ton based on Btus per ton in place equated to the gas produced at the site as certified through analysis by an independent laboratory. (5) In situ coal mining fee Lignite 6.4 cents per ton based on the Btus per ton of coal in place equated to the gas produced at the site as certified through analysis by an independent laboratory. [47 FR 28593, June 30, 1982, as amended at 69 FR 56130, Sept. 17, 2004; 73 FR 67631, Nov. 14, 2008; 87 FR 2345, Jan. 14, 2022; 87 FR 51908, Aug. 24, 2022; 90 FR 54581, Nov. 28, 2025] § 870.14 Determination of percentage-based fees. (a) If you pay a fee based on a percentage of the value of coal, you must include documentation supporting the claimed coal value with your fee payment and production report. We may review this information and any additional documentation we may require, including examination of your books and records. We may accept the valuation you claim, or we may determine another value of the coal. (b) If we determine that a higher fee must be paid, you must pay the additional fee together with interest computed under § 870.21. [73 FR 67632, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.15 Reclamation fee payment. (a) You must pay the reclamation fee based on calendar quarter tonnage no later than 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. (b) Along with any fee payment due, you must submit to us a completed Coal Sales and Reclamation Fee Report (OSM-1 Form). You can file the OSM-1 Form either in paper format or in electronic format as specified in § 870.17. On the OSM-1 Form, you must report: (1) The tonnage of coal sold, used, or transferred; (2) The name and address of any person or entity who is the owner of 10 percent or more of the mineral estate for a given permit; and (3) The name and address of any person or entity who purchases 10 percent or more of the production from a given permit, during the applicable quarter. (c) If no single mineral owner or purchaser meets the 10 percent criterion in paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this section, then you must report the name and address of the largest single mineral owner and purchaser. If several persons have successively transferred the mineral rights, you must include on the OSM-1 Form information on the last owner(s) in the chain before the permittee, i.e. the person or persons who have granted the permittee the right to extract the coal. (d) At the time of reporting, you may designate the information required by paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section as confidential. [73 FR 67632, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.16 Acceptable payment methods. (a) If you owe total quarterly reclamation fees of $500 or more for one or more mines, you must: (1) Use an electronic fund transfer mechanism approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury; (2) Forward payments by electronic transfer; (3) Include the applicable Master Entity No.(s) (Part 1-Block 3 on the OSM-1 Form), and OSM Document No.(s) (Part 1-upper right corner of the OSM-1 Form) with the electronic payment; and (4) Use our approved form or approved electronic form to report coal tonnage sold, used, or for which ownership was transferred to the address indicated in the Instructions for Completing the OSM-1 Form. (b) If you owe less than $500 in quarterly reclamation fees for one or more mines, you may: (1) Forward payments by electronic transfer in accordance with the procedures specified in paragraph (a) of this section; or (2) Submit a check or money order payable to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in the same envelope with the OSM-1 Form to the address indicated in the Instructions for Completing the OSM-1 Form. [73 FR 67632, Nov. 14, 2008, as amended at 89 FR 8073, Feb. 6, 2024] § 870.17 Filing the OSM-1 Form. (a) Filing an OSM-1 Form electronically. (1) Maintain a properly notarized paper copy of the identical OSM-1 Form for review and approval by our Fee Compliance auditors (in order to comply with the notary requirement in SMCRA); or (2) Submit an electronically signed and dated statement made under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the OSM-1 Form is true and correct. (b) Filing a paper OSM-1 Form. (1) Submit a properly notarized copy of the OSM-1 Form; or (2) Submit the OSM-1 Form with a signed and dated statement made under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the form is true and correct. Under the unsworn statement option, you must sign the following statement: “I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on [date].” [73 FR 67632, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.18 General rules for calculating excess moisture. If you are an operator who mined coal after June 1988, you may deduct the weight of excess moisture in the coal to determine reclamation fees you owe under 30 CFR 870.12(b)(3)(i). Excess moisture is the difference between total moisture and inherent moisture. To calculate excess moisture in HIGH-rank coal, follow § 870.19. To calculate excess moisture in LOW-rank coal, follow § 870.20. Report your calculations on the OSM-1 form, Coal Reclamation Fee Report, for every calendar quarter in which you claim a deduction. Some cautions: (a) You or your customer may do any test required by §§ 870.19 and 870.20. But whoever does a test, you are to keep test results and all related records for at least six years after the test date. (b) If OSM disallows any or all of an allowance for excess moisture, you must submit an additional fee plus interest computed according to § 870.21(a) and penalties computed according to § 870.21(c). (c) The following definitions are applicable to §§ 870.19 and 870.20. ASTM standards D4596-93, Standard Practice for Collection of Channel Samples of Coal in a Mine; Standard Practice for Collection of Coal Samples from Core; Standard Test Method for Equilibrium Moisture of Coal at 96 to 97 Percent Relative Humidity and 30 °C Federal Register. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. (1) As-shipped coal (2) Blended coal (3) Channel sample (4) Commingled coal (5) Core sample (6) Correction factor (7) Equilibrium moisture (8) High-rank coals (9) Low-rank coals (10) Slurry pond (11) Tipple coal [62 FR 60142, Nov. 6, 1997, as amended at 73 FR 67633, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.19 How to calculate excess moisture in HIGH-rank coals. Here are the requirements for calculating the excess moisture in high-rank coals for a calendar quarter. ASTM standards D2234-89, Standard Test Methods for Collection of a Gross Sample of Coal Standard Test Method for Total Moisture in Coal Standard Practice for Collection of Coal Samples from Core Standard Test Method for Equilibrium Moisture of Coal at 96 to 97 Percent Relative Humidity and 30 °C Standard Practice for Collection of Channel Samples of Coal in a Mine Federal Register. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. (a)(1) Calculate the excess moisture percentage using one of these equations: (2) EM equals excess moisture percentage. TM equals total as-shipped moisture percentage calculated according to Table 1 of this section. IM equals inherent moisture percentage calculated according to Table 2 of this section. (b) Multiply the excess moisture percentage by the tonnage from the bonafide sales, transfers of ownership, or uses by the operator during the quarter. [62 FR 60143, Nov. 6, 1997] § 870.20 How to calculate excess moisture in LOW-rank coals. Here are the requirements for calculating the excess moisture in low-rank coals for a calendar quarter. ASTM standards D2234-89, Standard Test Methods for Collection of a Gross Sample of Coal; Standard Test Method for Total Moisture in Coal; Standard Test Method for Equilibrium Moisture of Coal at 96 to 97 Percent Relative Humidity and 30 °C Federal Register. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. (a)(1) Calculate the excess moisture percentage using one of these equations: (2) EM equals excess moisture percentage. TM equals total as-shipped moisture percentage calculated according to Table 1 of this section. IM equals inherent moisture percentage calculated according to Tables 2 and 3 of this section. (b) Multiply the excess moisture percentage by the tonnage from the bona fide sales, transfers of ownership, or uses by the operator during the quarter. [62 FR 60146, Nov. 6, 1997, as amended at 75 FR 60276, Sept. 29, 2010] § 870.21 Late payments. (a) Fee payments postmarked later than 30 days after the calendar quarter for which the fee was owed are subject to interest. Late reclamation fee payments are subject to interest at the rate established by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for late charges on payments to the Federal Government. The Treasury current value of funds rate is published annually in the Federal Register (b) We will charge interest on unpaid reclamation fees from the 31st day following the end of the calendar quarter for which the fee payment is owed to the date of payment. If you are delinquent, we will bill you monthly and initiate whatever action is necessary to collect full payment of all fees and interest. (c) When a reclamation fee debt is more than 91 days overdue, a 6 percent annual penalty on the amount owed for fees will begin and will run until the date of payment. This penalty is in addition to the interest described in paragraph (a) of this section. (d) For all delinquent fees, interest, and penalties, you must pay a processing and handling charge that we will set based upon the following components: (1) For debts referred to a collection agency, the amount charged to us by the collection agency; (2) For debts we processed and handled, a standard amount we set annually based upon similar charges by collection agencies for debt collection; (3) For debts referred to the Office of the Solicitor within the U.S. Department of the Interior, but paid before litigation, the estimated average cost to prepare the case for litigation as of the time of payment; (4) For debts referred to the Office of the Solicitor within the U.S. Department of the Interior, and litigated, the estimated cost to prepare and litigate a debt case as of the time of payment; and (5) If not otherwise provided for, all other administrative expenses associated with collection, including, but not limited to, billing, recording payments, and follow-up actions. (e) We will not charge prejudgment interest on any processing and handling charges. [73 FR 67633, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.22 Maintaining required production records. (a) If you engage in or conduct a surface coal mining operation, you must maintain up-to-date records that contain at least the following information: (1) The tons of coal you produced, bought, sold, or transferred, the amount of money you received per ton, the name of person to whom you sold or transferred the coal, and the date of each sale or transfer; (2) The tons of coal you used and your date of your consumption; (3) The tons of coal you stockpiled or inventoried that are not classified as sold for fee computation purposes under § 870.12; and (4) For in situ coal mining operations, the total Btu value of gas you produced, the Btu value of a ton of coal in a place certified at least semiannually by an independent laboratory, and the amount of money you received for gas sold, transferred, or used. (b) We must have access to your records of any surface coal mining operation for review. Your records must be available to us at reasonable times. (c) We may inspect and copy any of your books or records that are necessary to substantiate the accuracy of your OSM-1 Form and payments. If the fee is paid at the maximum rate, we will not copy information relative to price. We will protect all copied information as authorized or required by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). (d) You must maintain your books and records for 6 years from the end of the calendar quarter in which the fee was due or paid, whichever is later. (e) If you do not maintain or make available your books and records as required in this section, we will estimate the fee due under this part through use of average production figures based upon the nature and acreage of your coal mining operation. (1) We will assess the fee at the amount we estimate plus an additional 20 percent to account for possible error in our fee liability estimate. (2) After you receive our fee liability estimate, you may request that we revise that estimate based upon your information. However, you must demonstrate that our fee liability estimate is incorrect. You may do this by providing adequate documentation that we find to be acceptable and comparable to the information required in § 870.19(a). [73 FR 67633, Nov. 14, 2008] § 870.23 Consequences of noncompliance. If you do not maintain adequate records, provide us with access to records of a surface coal mining operation, or pay overdue reclamation fees, including interest on late payments or underpayments, we may take one or more of the following actions: (a) Start a legal action against you; (b) Report you to the Internal Revenue Service; (c) Report you to State agencies responsible for taxation; (d) Report you to credit bureaus; (e) Refer you to collection agencies; or (f) Take some other appropriate action against you. [73 FR 67633, Nov. 14, 2008]