OSMRE

🏆Now accepting nominations for OSMRE’s 2026 Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Awards through May 10! These awards honor the nation’s top reclamation work restoring mined lands and supporting communities. Submit questions about the awards by emailing awards@osmre.gov. For more information about the awards, eligibility, and the nomination process and requirements, visit osmre.gov/news/2026/soli…

As stewards of America’s lands, we’re committed to protecting communities while restoring abandoned mine lands and legacy sites. From advanced mapping to improved water treatment, modern mine reclamation is transforming challenges into long term community benefits. Discover how our unique American innovative framework shapes the future of surface mining: osmre.gov/news/stories/i…

Funding from reclamation fees and congressional appropriations supports eligible states and tribes in carrying out projects that can create jobs and improve infrastructure. This investment reinforces the resiliency of coalfield communities and strengthens local economies. Learn more: osmre.gov/news/stories/1…

🍀 Need a little extra luck this St. Patrick’s Day? Here at the NMMR, we’re hoping the Good Luck Mine, the Shamrock Mine and the Rainbow Mine send some Luck o’ the Irish your way! 🌈 Wishing everyone a safe and lucky St. Patrick’s Day! #minemaps #freedom250

Innovation does not only happen in laboratories. It happens across the American landscape, where OSMRE and its partners are shaping the future of responsible resource management. Read the full story: osmre.gov/news/stories/i…

Post #3 is Inventory! Every map that enters NMMR is first inventoried. Our team checks if it’s a duplicate or new addition. If it’s new, we assign a unique NMMR ID in our database & place the number on the back of the map to keep our collection organized & preserved. #howitsdone

⏰OSMRE has opened a 30-day public comment period on federal oversight of active surface coal mining. We invite you to suggest oversight review topics and speak directly with OSMRE Field Offices. If you are interested in taking part in this process within a specific State or Tribe, please contact your representative from the specific OSMRE Regional or Field Office. You can also contact the Title V Regulatory Program for each state or tribe directly. Learn more about regulating active coal: osmre.gov/programs/regul…

American researchers at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology have developed a new way to extract rare earth elements from coal mining waste. 📚Backed by $200,000 in applied science funding from OSMRE and supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of the Interior, this research could help transform coal waste into a domestic source of critical materials. Using physical, chemical, and biological processes, the team led by Dr. Venkataramana Gadhamshetty and Dr. Purushotham Tukkaraja uses microorganisms to absorb and concentrate valuable elements like dysprosium, yttrium, and erbium.

New commercial spaces, more jobs, and recreational activity in Lee County, Kentucky. $1.25 million in AMLER funding and $35,000 additional funding from the City of Beattyville will launch economic development in the City of Beattyville and the Kentucky River Area Development District with a hiking and biking trailhead along Crystal Creek. The project constructed bathrooms, a picnic pavilion, a playground, mountain bike ramps, a parking area, and a massive AMD treatment facility at the trailhead. Project partners estimate that the Town Square market venue will create 115 construction and business startup jobs and increase travel expenditure by 20% over five years.

This week, @SecretaryBurgum touched down in Venezuela, launching talks over a rare earth minerals partnership that could reshape the global supply chain.

We Have Invested Billions in Restoring Land and Water to help coal communities to address environmental damage caused by mining conducted before 1977. Curious how it all comes together? Learn more: osmre.gov/news/stories/1…

At Kayenta Mine Complex, Director Lanny E. Erdos recognized the team’s high impact reclamation efforts: “A model for the industry.” The 65,000-acre site is being restored to safe, stable, productive use. 🗞️Read more: osmre.gov/news/stories/2…

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From abandoned mine land to river access and outdoor recreation. In Pennsylvania, $3.26 million in AMLER funds helped reclaim land along the Lackawanna River and create a public fishing and paddling access used by hundreds of people each day.

Abandoned mines can be dangerous. OSMRE and partners reclaim them, making lands safer for communities today and future generations. Learn more: ow.ly/VToi50Yp5a2

Now accepting nominations for OSMRE’s 2026 Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Awards through May 10! These awards honor the nation’s top reclamation work restoring mined lands and supporting communities. ✉️Submit questions about the awards by emailing awards@osmre.gov For more information about the awards, eligibility, and the nomination process and requirements, visit osmre.gov/news/2026/soli…

@USGS Happy Birthday! 🥳

Happy 147th birthday to us! 🎉 We know, we know...we don’t look a day over 146 — but hey, that’s super young in geologic time! Mapping, measuring, and discovering since 1879. 🌎 #Freedom250 #America250

This week, Interior announced sweeping reforms to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Led by @SecretaryBurgum, the Department rescinded more than 80% of its prior NEPA regulations to cut red tape, speed up approvals, and restore NEPA to its intended role.

Approximately 60,000 plant species are used for medicine, and about 6,000 tree species have medicinal or aromatic uses. For World Wildlife Day, let’s celebrate the ways OSMRE’s ARRI uses the Forestry Reclamation Approach to restore forests on mine lands. Learn more: osmre.gov/programs/arri

#BREAKING | OSMRE has opened a 30-day public comment period on federal oversight of active surface coal mining. We invite you to suggest oversight review topics and speak directly with OSMRE Field Offices. If you are interested in participating in this process within a specific State or Tribe, please contact your representative from the specific OSMRE Regional or Field Office. You can also contact the Title V Regulatory Program for each state or tribe directly.  Learn more about regulating active coal mine:osmre.gov/programs/regul…