CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration on Wednesday announced plans to beef up federal strip-mining inspections and reviews of mining permits issued by state regulators like West Virginia's Department of Environmental Protection.

Interior Department officials said these steps are among its "immediate actions" to improve oversight of state mining regulators and "better protect streams affected by surface coal mining operations."

Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement also announced it plans national initiatives focused on the approximate original contour, or AOC, reclamation rule and on ensuring mine operators post adequate mine cleanup bonds.

"Through tougher oversight and stronger enforcement ... we are putting all hands on deck to ensure that Appalachian communities are protected," said OSM Director Joseph Pizarchik.

At the same time, though, OSM confirmed that it planned to take a significant amount of time -- until at least early 2011 -- to rewrite the Bush administration's changes to the federal stream "buffer zone" rule.

OSM is starting the regulatory process over, with an advance notice of proposed rule-making, rather than taking the quicker route of simply publishing and accepting comments on a proposed rule.

Under the 1977 federal strip-mining law, states get permission from OSM to regulate their own mining industries. OSM is then supposed to make sure the states are doing a good job.

But several policy changes -- along with major cuts in staff during the Clinton administration -- eroded OSM's ability to oversee state mining regulators across the nation's coalfields.

Today, OSM has about 525 employees, half the number it had in 1990. OSM has 47 active oversight inspectors, compared with 107 in the 1990s. As a result, OSM inspections have dropped from a high of 4,000 a year in the 1990s to fewer than 1,500.

Over the years, OSM has always invited state inspectors to go along when it visits and examines strip-mine sites. That would change under the actions announced Wednesday. OSM would begin doing its own, independent inspections.

"In the interest of improving the credibility of oversight evaluations findings, we believe that OSM should have the flexibility to conduct some inspections on a completely independent basis without prior notification to the state," OSM said in policy papers released Wednesday.

Also, OSM said it plans to "place greater emphasis on reducing the off-site impacts of mining" and will "review more state-issued surface coal mining permits and state permitting processes in an effort to improve state permitting decisions."

"America's vast coal resources are a vital component of our energy future and our economy, but we have a responsibility to ensure that development is done in a way that protects public health and safety and the environment," said Wilma Lewis, assistant Interior secretary for land and minerals management.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.

Interior Department officials said these steps are among its "immediate actions" to improve oversight of state mining regulators and "better protect streams affected by surface coal mining operations."

Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement also announced it plans national initiatives focused on the approximate original contour, or AOC, reclamation rule and on ensuring mine operators post adequate mine cleanup bonds.

"Through tougher oversight and stronger enforcement ... we are putting all hands on deck to ensure that Appalachian communities are protected," said OSM Director Joseph Pizarchik.

At the same time, though, OSM confirmed that it planned to take a significant amount of time -- until at least early 2011 -- to rewrite the Bush administration's changes to the federal stream "buffer zone" rule.

OSM is starting the regulatory process over, with an advance notice of proposed rule-making, rather than taking the quicker route of simply publishing and accepting comments on a proposed rule.

Under the 1977 federal strip-mining law, states get permission from OSM to regulate their own mining industries. OSM is then supposed to make sure the states are doing a good job.

But several policy changes -- along with major cuts in staff during the Clinton administration -- eroded OSM's ability to oversee state mining regulators across the nation's coalfields.

Today, OSM has about 525 employees, half the number it had in 1990. OSM has 47 active oversight inspectors, compared with 107 in the 1990s. As a result, OSM inspections have dropped from a high of 4,000 a year in the 1990s to fewer than 1,500.

Over the years, OSM has always invited state inspectors to go along when it visits and examines strip-mine sites. That would change under the actions announced Wednesday. OSM would begin doing its own, independent inspections.

"In the interest of improving the credibility of oversight evaluations findings, we believe that OSM should have the flexibility to conduct some inspections on a completely independent basis without prior notification to the state," OSM said in policy papers released Wednesday.

Also, OSM said it plans to "place greater emphasis on reducing the off-site impacts of mining" and will "review more state-issued surface coal mining permits and state permitting processes in an effort to improve state permitting decisions."

"America's vast coal resources are a vital component of our energy future and our economy, but we have a responsibility to ensure that development is done in a way that protects public health and safety and the environment," said Wilma Lewis, assistant Interior secretary for land and minerals management.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.