# 2026-02982: North Dakota Allows Land as Collateral for Coal Mining Bonds Now

2026-02982, North Dakota Regulatory Program, is a Federal Register rule from Interior Department, Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office published 2026-02-13, effective 2026-03-16 (as of 2026-06-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-02982
- As of: 2026-06-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-02982
- Title: North Dakota Regulatory Program
- Type: Rule
- Agencies: Interior Department; Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office
- Citation: 91 FR 6770
- Published: 2026-02-13
- Effective: 2026-03-16
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-11

## In one line

North Dakota Allows Land as Collateral for Coal Mining Bonds Now

## Summary

North Dakota updated its rules for surface coal mining to include new ways to use real property as collateral bonds. These changes, approved by the federal government, affect mining companies and landowners by adding clearer rules on pledging property for mining guarantees. The new rules kick in on March 16, 2026, helping keep mining safe and responsible without extra costs.

## Abstract

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are approving an amendment to the North Dakota regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). North Dakota proposed amendments to its program based on changes to the North Dakota Century Code made by the State legislature that resulted in changes to the North Dakota Administrative Code for surface coal mining and reclamation operations. The changes added a perfected lien or security interest in real property to the definition of collateral bond. The changes also added conditions that must be met for real property pledged as collateral bond.

## Effects PRIA read

- Real property can serve as collateral: benefit, low. North Dakota now allows a perfected, first-lien security interest in real property to be used as a form of collateral bond (added to NDAC 69-05.2-01-02). This change was approved by the Office of Surface Mining and takes effect on March 16, 2026.
- Rules and conditions for pledged property: cost, medium. North Dakota added three conditions for real property pledged as collateral under NDAC 69-05.2-12-04(3)(a)-(c): (1) the applicant must grant the commission a first mortgage, first deed of trust, or perfected first-lien security interest with the right to sell or dispose of the property on foreclosu…

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## Sources
- [2026-02982 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/02/13/2026-02982/north-dakota-regulatory-program)
- [2026-02982 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-02-13/pdf/2026-02982.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-02981, Montana Regulatory Program](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-02981)
- [Next: 2026-03002, Section 3 Project Threshold Updates for Creating Economic Opportunities for Low…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-03002)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-02982 (as of 2026-06-11).