[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 232 (Thursday, December 3, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66772-66774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32188]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 931
[SPATS No. NM-039-FOR]
New Mexico Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing on proposed amendment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is
announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the New Mexico regulatory
program (hereinafter, the ``New Mexico program'') under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed
amendment consists of revisions to or additions of rules pertaining to
the definitions of ``material damage'' and ``occupied residential
dwelling and associated structures,'' adjustment of bond amounts for
subsidence damage, subsidence control buffer zones, and impoundments
meeting the class B or C criteria for dams in Technical Release-60
published by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
The amendment is intended to revise the New Mexico program to be
consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.s.t., January
4, 1999. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will
be held
[[Page 66773]]
on December 28, 1998. Requests to present oral testimony at the hearing
must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.s.t., on December 18, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to
Willis L. Gainer at the address listed below.
Copies of the New Mexico program, the proposed amendment, 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 Albuquerque Field Office.
Willis L. Gainer, Chief, Albuquerque Field Office, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 505 Marquette Avenue, NW., Suite
1200, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102.
Mining and Minerals Division, New Mexico Energy & Minerals Department,
2040 South Pacheco Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, Telephone: (505)
827-5970.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Willis L. Gainer, Telephone: (505)
248-5096, Internet address: [email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the New Mexico Program
On December 31, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the New Mexico program. General background information on the
New Mexico program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition
of comments, and the conditions of approval of the New Mexico program
can be found in the December 31, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 86459).
Subsequent actions concerning New Mexico's program and program
amendments can be found at 30 CFR 931.11, 931.15, 931.16, and 931.30.
II. Proposed Amendment
By letter dated November 13, 1998, New Mexico submitted a proposed
amendment (administrative record No. NM-804) to its program pursuant to
SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). New Mexico submitted the proposed
amendment in response to the required program amendments at 30 CFR
931.16(w), (x), and (aa). The provisions of Title 19, Chapter 8, Part
2, of the New Mexico Administrative Code (19 NMAC 8.2) that New Mexico
proposes to revise or add are: 19 NMAC 8.2 107.M. (1), 107.O.(2),
909.E. (5), 2017.D through 2017.G, 2071.A through 2071.D, and 2072.
Specifically, New Mexico proposes to revise:
19 NMAC 8.2 107.M.(1) and 107.O.(2), the definitions of ``material
damage'' and ``occupied residential dwelling and associated
structures,'' by adding a reference in each definition to its rules at
2069 through 2072, concerning subsidence control;
19 NMAC 909.E.(5), concerning ponds, impoundments, banks, dams, and
embankments, by adding the requirement that if the structure meets the
Class B or C criteria for dams in TR-60 or meets the size or other
criteria of 30 CFR 77.216(a), each plan required under 909.B, C, and E
shall include a stability analysis of the structure;
19 NMAC 2017.D by adding the requirement that impoundments that
meet the Class B or C criteria for dams in TR-60 be certified by a
qualified registered professional engineer;
19 NMAC 2017.F.(2)(i), (ii), and (iii), by adding the requirement
that the minimum design precipitation event for a spillway be,
respectively, the: (1) 100-year 6-hour event for an impoundment meeting
the Class B or C criteria for dams in TR-60, (2) 25-year 6-hour event
for temporary impoundments not meeting the Class B or C criteria for
dams in TR-60, and (3) 50-year 6-hour event for permanent impoundments
not meeting the Class B or C criteria for dams in TR-60;
19 NMAC 2017.G(4) and (5), respectively, by correcting a
typographical error and by adding the requirement that impoundments
meeting the Class B or C criteria for dams in TR-60 be examined in
accordance with 30 CFR 77.216-3;
19 NMAC 2071, concerning subsidence buffer zones, by adding at
2071.A through 2071.D, the requirements, that: (1) Unless otherwise
approved, underground mining shall not be conducted beneath or adjacent
to any perennial stream or impoundment having a storage volume of 20
acre-feet or more, (2) underground mining activities beneath any
aquifer that serves as a significant source of water supply to a public
water system shall be conducted so as to avoid disruption of the
aquifer and consequent exchange of ground water between the aquifer and
other strata, (3) unless, otherwise approved, underground mining
activities shall not be conducted beneath or in close proximity to any
public buildings, and (4) underground mining shall be suspended under
urbanized areas, cities, towns, and communities and adjacent to
industrial or commercial buildings, major impoundments or permanent
streams, if imminent danger is found to inhabitants of urbanized areas,
cities, towns, or communities; and
19 NMAC 2072 by adding the requirement that when subsidence related
contamination, diminution, or interruption to a water supply protected
under 2069(a) through (d) occurs, the Director of the New Mexico
program must require the permittee to obtain additional performance
bond in the amount of the estimated costs of the repairs or of the
estimated cost to replace the protected water supply.
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 New Mexico program.
1. 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 Albuquerque Field Office will
not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in
the administrative record.
2. Public Hearing
Persons wishing to testify at the public hearing should contact the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m.,
m.s.t., on December 18, 1998. 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. The location
and time of the hearing will be arranged with those persons requesting
the hearing. If no one requests an opportunity to testify 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 testify have been heard. Persons in the audience
who have not been scheduled to testify, and who wish to do so, will be
heard following those who have been scheduled. The hearing will end
after all persons scheduled to testify and persons present in the
[[Page 66774]]
audience who wish to testify have been heard.
3. Public Meeting
If only one person requests an opportunity to testify 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 Determinations
1. 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).
2. 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 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 the Federal regulations at 30 CFR 730.11,
732.11, 732.15, and 732.17(h)(1), 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.
3. 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)).
4. 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.).
5. 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 that 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.
6. 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 931
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: November 24, 1998.
Russell F. Price,
Acting Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 98-32188 Filed 12-2-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
