# 2025-20830: Burying Ghost Funds in Mining Reclamation Rules

2025-20830, 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/2025-20830
- As of: 2026-06-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-20830
- Title: Prior Balance Replacement Funds
- Type: Rule
- Agencies: Interior Department; Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office
- Citation: 90 FR 52855
- Published: 2025-11-24
- Effective: 2026-01-23
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: 1029-AC95
- Last updated: 2026-06-11

## In one line

Burying Ghost Funds in Mining Reclamation Rules

## Summary

Starting January 23, 2026, the government will stop giving out special replacement funds that were meant to cover old State or Tribal money not approved by Congress before 2007. This change affects States and Tribes who were expecting these funds, and it means no new money will be handed out under these old rules. If anyone has big concerns, they can speak up by December 24, 2025, before the rule kicks in.

## Abstract

This direct final rule revises the Federal regulations to rescind provisions that required the distribution and awarding of 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.

## Effects PRIA read

- Stops Prior Balance Replacement Payments: cost, medium. The Department of the Interior is removing 30 CFR 872.30, which ends the distribution of prior balance replacement funds that replaced State or Tribal share funds allocated before October 1, 2007 but never appropriated by Congress. The rescission is effective January 23, 2026 unless significant adv…
- Unspent Funds Kept Under Original Rules: benefit, low. If a State or Tribe still has unspent prior balance replacement funds, those funds will remain governed by the regulations that were in place at the time the initial grant award was made. The rescission does not change how any existing unspent funds are managed under the original grant rules.

## 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
- [2025-20830 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/24/2025-20830/prior-balance-replacement-funds)
- [2025-20830 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-11-24/pdf/2025-20830.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-20828, Prior Balance Replacement Funds](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20828)
- [Next: 2025-20831, Prior Balance Replacement Funds](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20831)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20830 (as of 2026-06-11).