[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 214 (Monday, November 4, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56648-56649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-28255]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 943
[SPATS No. TX-030-FOR]
Texas Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing.
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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Texas
regulatory program (hereinafter the ``Texas program'') under the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The
proposed amendment consists of revisions to and an addition of
regulations pertaining to the replacement of water supply where it has
been adversely impacted by contamination, diminution, or interruption
resulting from surface mining activities. The amendment is intended to
revise the Texas program to be consistent with the corresponding
Federal regulations.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., c.s.t., December
4, 1996. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will
be held on November 29, 1996. Requests to speak at the hearing must be
received by 4:00 p.m., c.s.t. on November 19, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should
be mailed or hand delivered to Jack R. Carson, Acting Director, Tulsa
Field Office, at the address listed below.
Copies of the Texas program, the proposed amendment, a listing of
any scheduled public hearings, and all written comments received in
response to this document will be available for public review at the
addresses listed below during normal business hours, Monday through
Friday, excluding holidays. Each requester may receive one free copy of
the proposed amendment by contacting OSM's Tulsa Field Office.
Jack R. Carson, Acting Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 470,
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135-6547, Telephone: (918) 581-6430.
Railroad Commission of Texas, Surface Mining and Reclamation Division,
1701 North Congress Avenue, P.O. Box 12967, Austin, Texas 78711-2967,
Telephone: (512) 463-6900.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack R. Carson, Acting Director, Tulsa
Field Office, Telephone: (918) 581-6430.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Texas Program
On February 16, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Texas program. General background information on the Texas
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of
comments, and the conditions of approval can be found in the February
27, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 12998). Subsequent actions concerning
the Texas program can be found at 30 CFR 943.10, 943.15, and 943.16.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated October 21, 1996 (Administrative Record No. TX-
629), Texas submitted a proposed amendment to its program pursuant to
SMCRA. Texas submitted the proposed amendment in response to a July 8,
1996, letter (Administrative Record No. TX-618) that OSM sent to Texas
in accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(c). The provisions of the Texas Coal
Mining Regulations (TCMR) that Texas proposes to revise are: TCMR
701.008, Definitions: TCMR 779.130, Alternative water supply
information; and TCMR 816.352, Hydrologic balance--water rights and
replacement. Specifically, Texas proposes the following revisions to
these regulations.
1. Texas proposes to add the following new definition at TCMR
701.005(77) for replacement of water supply.
Replacement of water supply means, with respect to protected
water supplies contaminated, diminished, or interrupted by coal
mining operations, provision of water supply on both a temporary and
permanent basis equivalent to premining quantity and quality.
Replacement includes provision of an equivalent water delivery
system and payment of operation and maintenance costs in excess of
customary and reasonable delivery costs for premining water
supplies.
(a) Upon agreement by the permittee and the water-supply owner,
at any time prior to commencement of mining operations, the
obligation to pay such operation and maintenance costs may be
satisfied by a one-time payment in an amount which covers the
present worth of the increased annual operation and maintenance
costs for a period agreed to by the permittee and the water supply
owner.
(b) If the affected water supply was not needed for the land use
in existence at the time of loss, contamination, or diminution, and
if the supply is not needed to achieve the postmining land use,
replacement requirements may be satisfied by demonstrating that a
suitable alternative water source is available and could feasibly be
developed. If the latter approach is selected, written concurrence
must be obtained from the water supply owner.
2. Texas proposes to clarify its alternative water supply
requirements at TCMR 779.130 by replacing the words ``mine plan'' with
the word ``permit'' in the first sentence; adding the words ``which is
used'' after the words ``adjacent areas'' in the first sentence;
replacing the word ``description'' with the word ``application'' in the
second sentence; adding the word ``water'' after the word ``existing''
in the second sentence; and by adding the phrase ``including the
suitability of alternative water sources for existing premine uses and
approved postmine land uses'' at the end of the second sentence. The
revised provisions read as follows:
The application shall identify the extent to which the proposed
surface mining activities may proximately result in contamination,
diminution, or interruption of an underground or surface source of
water within the proposed permit or adjacent areas which is used for
domestic, agricultural, industrial, or other legitimate use. If
contamination, diminution, or interruption may result, then the
application shall identify the alternative sources of water supply
that could be developed to replace the existing water sources
including the suitability of alternative water sources for existing
premine uses and approved postmine land uses.
3. Texas proposes to clarify its regulation for water rights and
replacement at TCMR 816.352 by
[[Page 56649]]
replacing the word ``affected'' with the words ``adversely impacted''
and by adding the following new provision:
Baseline hydrologic information required in Sections 779.126,
779.130, and 780.146, of the Regulations shall be used to determine
the extent of the impact of mining upon ground water and surface
water.
III. Public Comment Procedures
In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), OSM is
seeking comments on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the
applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If the amendment
is deemed adequate, it will become part of the Texas program.
Written Comments
Written comments should be specific, pertain only to the issues
proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of the
commenter's recommendations. Comments received after the time indicated
under DATES or at locations other than the Tulsa Field Office will not
necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in the
Administrative Record.
Public Hearing
Persons wishing to speak at the public hearing should contact the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m.,
c.s.t. on November 19, 1996. The location and time of the hearing will
be arranged with those persons requesting the hearing. Any disabled
individual who has need for a special accommodation to attend a public
hearing should contact the individual listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. If no one requests an opportunity to speak at the
public hearing, the hearing will not be held.
Filing of a written statement at the time of the hearing is
requested as it will greatly assist the transcriber. Submission of
written statements in advance of the hearing will allow OSM officials
to prepare adequate responses and appropriate questions.
The public hearing will continue on the specified date until all
persons scheduled to speak have been heard. Persons in the audience who
have not been scheduled to speak, and who wish to do so, will be heard
following those who have been scheduled. The hearing will end after all
persons scheduled to speak and persons present in the audience who wish
to speak have been heard.
Public Meeting
If only one person requests an opportunity to speak at a hearing, a
public meeting, rather than a public hearing, may be held. Persons
wishing to meet with OSM representatives to discuss the proposed
amendment may request a meeting by contacting the person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All such meetings will be open to the
public and, if possible, notices of meetings will be posted at the
locations listed under ADDRESSES. A written summary of each meeting
will be made a part of the Administrative Record.
IV. Procedural Determination
Executive Order 12866
This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and
Review).
Executive Order 12988
The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required
by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform) and has
determined that, to the extent allowed by law, this rule meets the
applicable standards of subsections (a) and (b) of that section.
However, these standards are not applicable to the actual language of
State regulatory programs and program amendments since each such
program is drafted and promulgated by a specific State, not by OSM.
Under sections 503 and 505 of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1253 and 1255) and 30
CFR 730.11, 732.15, and 732.17(h)(10), decisions on proposed State
regulatory programs and program amendments submitted by the States must
be based solely on a determination of whether the submittal is
consistent with SMCRA and its implementing Federal regulations and
whether the other requirements of 30 CFR Parts 730, 731, and 732 have
been met.
National Environmental Policy Act
No environmental impact statement is required for this rule since
section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that agency
decisions on proposed State regulatory program provisions do not
constitute major Federal actions within the meaning of section
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
4332(2)(C)).
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not contain information collection requirements that
require approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3507 et seq.).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Department of the Interior has determined that this rule will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
The State submittal which is the subject of this rule is based upon
counterpart Federal regulations for which an economic analysis was
prepared and certification made that such regulations would not have a
significant economic effect upon a substantial number of small
entities. Accordingly, this rule will ensure that existing requirements
previously promulgated by OSM will be implemented by the State. In
making the determination as to whether this rule would have a
significant economic impact, the Department relied upon the data and
assumptions for the counterpart Federal regulations.
Unfunded Mandates
This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any
given year on any governmental entity or the private sector.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 943
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: October 25, 1996.
Brent Wahlquist,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 96-28255 Filed 11-1-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
