# 2025-20828: Interior Department Quietly Rescinds Forgotten Prior Balance Replacement Fund Rules

2025-20828, Prior Balance Replacement Funds, is a Federal Register rule from Interior Department, Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office published 2025-11-24, effective 2026-01-23 (as of 2026-06-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20828
- As of: 2026-06-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-20828
- Title: Prior Balance Replacement Funds
- Type: Rule
- Agencies: Interior Department; Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office
- Citation: 90 FR 52856
- Published: 2025-11-24
- Effective: 2026-01-23
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: 1029-AC94
- Last updated: 2026-06-11

## In one line

Interior Department Quietly Rescinds Forgotten Prior Balance Replacement Fund Rules

## Summary

This new rule wipes out old regulations about 'prior balance replacement funds'—money meant to replace State or Tribal funds promised before 2007 but never actually given by Congress. States and Tribes affected by these funds will see these rules disappear starting January 23, 2026, unless people speak up by December 24, 2025. No new money changes, just a cleanup to make things clearer and simpler!

## Abstract

This direct final rule revises the Federal regulations to rescind regulations related to prior balance replacement funds, which are moneys from the United States Treasury's General Fund that replaced State or Tribal share funds that were allocated before October 1, 2007, but never appropriated by Congress. Additionally, this rule will rescind the regulations that detail how prior balance replacement funds may be used.

## Effects PRIA read

- Rescinds Prior Balance Rules Jan 23, 2026: benefit, low. The rule removes Federal regulations 30 CFR 872.29 and 30 CFR 872.31 that defined and restricted prior balance replacement funds. The rescission is effective January 23, 2026 unless significant adverse comments are received by December 24, 2025.
- Unspent Funds Follow Original Grant Rules: mixed, low. If a State or Tribe still has any unspent prior balance replacement funds, those funds will be governed by the regulations that were in place at the time of the initial grant award. The rule notes the original distribution covered seven years beginning October 1, 2008, and that the distributions ar…

## Related documents

- [2025-21443](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-21443): Rescission of Fee Rates, 2025-11-28
- [2026-21726](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21726): Agency Information Collection Activities; 30 CFR 822-Special Permanent Program Performance Standards-Operations in Alluvial Valley Floors, 2026-10-26
- [2026-21835](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21835): Wyoming Regulatory Program, 2026-10-26
- [2026-21807](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21807): Ohio Regulatory Program, 2026-10-26
- [2026-17821](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-17821): Montana Regulatory Program, 2026-09-01
- [2026-17333](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-17333): Montana Regulatory Program, 2026-08-25

## Sources
- [2025-20828 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/24/2025-20828/prior-balance-replacement-funds)
- [2025-20828 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-11-24/pdf/2025-20828.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-20827, Prior Balance Replacement Funds](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20827)
- [Next: 2025-20830, Prior Balance Replacement Funds](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20830)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20828 (as of 2026-06-11).