After three and a half years, the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) has released the Final Rule Notice regarding the repurposing of inert decommissioned wind turbine blades and towers in Wyoming.
“It has been a long wait, but Wyoming is thrilled to finally see this innovative answer to the disposal needs of inert decommissioned wind turbine materials approved,” stated Todd Parfitt, Wyoming’s Director of the WDEQ.
Wyoming House Bill 0129 was approved in 2020, including rules and regulations to reclaim retired blades and towers as backfill in end-walls and final pit voids at surface coal mines.
“Repurposing these blades and towers as backfill as part of a reclamation plan was a novel answer for both the coal industry that needed backfill to accelerate final reclamation and for the wind industry that needed disposal answers. Rather than sit on the sideline, Wyoming, once again, is leading the…
