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Nominee Pledges to Tackle Years‑long Backlog of OSM Program Amendments
Summary
At a Senate committee hearing, Senator Justice pressed a nominee about a backlog of state program amendments awaiting approval at the Office of Surface Mining; the nominee pledged to be briefed day one and to look into the backlog.
Senator Justice pressed a nominee at a Senate committee hearing on longstanding delays in state program amendments at the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), saying, “In West Virginia this is from the coal association ... West Virginia has 9 program amendments pending approval at OSM today. The oldest is 16 years old.”
The senator framed the issue within broader energy policy and local economic concerns, saying, “Energy's everything. It's in every part of every single thing that we do.” He urged the nominees to consider coal miners and related communities when shaping regulatory outcomes.
The nominee, Mr. Erdos, responded that program amendments are an established problem at OSM and pledged action if confirmed. “Thank you for the question, senator. Yeah. Absolutely, I will,” he said, adding that he would be “briefed by staff day 1 relative to program amendments.” He also noted familiarity with similar backlogs in other states, saying, “Ohio has 1 probably 12 years old that's been sitting there.”
The exchange did not include a formal vote or a binding commitment beyond the nominee's pledge to review the backlog. Committee leaders were addressed at the start of the remarks but did not make separate statements on next steps in the excerpt provided.
The discussion combined the senator's appeals on behalf of state coal interests with a nominee assurance to prioritize the program amendment backlog, but the transcript does not record a schedule, specific corrective actions, or a timeline for resolving the pending amendments.
