Mined Land Reclamation Board kicks off 2025–26 rulemaking to align hard‑rock and construction‑materials regulations

Good morning. My name is Russ Means. I'm the minerals program director, and, I'd like to welcome you to, the kickoff meeting for the, 20 25, 26, rulemaking, for both hard rock and construction materials. Today, our objective and stuff is just primarily to outline our process and stuff of what we're looking, to do and stuff over, this next period of time.

Why it matters: At the meeting, Division staff said the rulemaking is being driven by Senate Bill 25‑54 (the Legacy Mining Modernization Act), signed by Governor Polis on 05/16/2025 and set to take effect on Aug. 14, 2025, and by a desire to remove inconsistencies that have developed between the hard‑rock and construction‑materials regulations. Staff described three primary goals: incorporate new statutory language created by SB 25‑54 (including a reclamation‑only 110r hard‑rock permit), harmonize language and procedures between the two rule sets, and modernize filings through electronic…