The Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) will propose a rule which would make it easier for mining companies to search for coal on mountaintops and dump the waste into nearby valleys and streams, according to The New York Times. Currently, federal regulations prohibit most mountaintop mining activities within 100 feet of streams. The rules are regularly flaunted. According to Earthjustice, a nonprofit group focused on environmental law, "1,208 miles of streams in Appalachia were destroyed from 1992 to 2002." Instead of ramping up enforcement, OSMRE decided to change the rule in order to allow dumping. OSMRE issued a proposed rule to that effect in Jan. 2004. The proposal claimed the rule to be "not significant" because it would not have a substantial impact on the economy or the environment. Luckily, common sense prevailed. OSMRE decided to delay the rule and prepare a detailed environmental impact statement after the public expressed concern during the comment period. The general tenor of the concern was, "So you're saying that chopping off the top of a mountain and dumping it into a stream does not have an environmental impact…Wha?!?" Earthjustice has acquired a copy of the environmental impact statement. The news is not good. Ignoring the potential for severe environmental degradation, OSMRE will propose to allow most kinds of mining activities to occur within the stream buffer zone. OSMRE is expected to issue the proposed rule tomorrow. The priority of the rule has been changed from "not significant" to "other significant." Because of this change in designation, the White House had the opportunity to make edits before publication. It's hard to imagine the White House could have made this proposed rule much worse, but you never know. Stay tuned to Reg•Watch for more.