[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13858-13860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6226]
[[Page 13857]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part VII
Department of the Interior
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
_______________________________________________________________________
30 CFR Part VII
Establishment of an Advisory Committee to Negotiate Regulations;
Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 1995 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 13858]]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part VII
Establishment of an Advisory Committee to Negotiate Regulations
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Secretary of the Interior is
administratively establishing an advisory committee to be known as the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Negotiated
Rulemaking Committee on Coal Refuse Disposal. This notice is published
in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), and the
Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990. The notice is attached as an
appendix.
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)
seeks comments on the establishment of the advisory committee chartered
to negotiate a rule on Coal Refuse Disposal, and nominations for its
membership. Issues to be considered by the advisory committee include
general permits, baseline hydrologic studies and hydrologic
requirements at refuse sites, the application of valid existing rights
to coal refuse sites, the collection of Abandoned Mine Land fees from
companies processing coal refuse for reuse, and other environmental
protection standards. OSM anticipates that the negotiation process will
help resolve at least some of these outstanding issues.
DATES: Interested parties may file comments and/or nominations for
Committee Membership on or before April 13, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Written Comments: Hand-deliver to the Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Administrative Record, room 660,
800 North Capitol Street, Washington, DC: or mail to the Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Administrative Record, room
660 NC, 1951 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20240. Comments
may also be sent electronically through the Internet to:
[email protected]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Wilson, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1951 Constitution Avenue NW., room
52, Washington, DC 20240, (202) 208-4609. For the hearing impaired,
contact TTD (202) 208-2737.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Negotiated Rulemaking
II. Subject and Scope of Rule for Negotiated Rulemaking
III. How Does Negotiated Rulemaking Work?
IV. What is the Purpose of the Committee?
V. How are Committee Members Selected?
VI. Who Has Been Contacted to Participate in this Process?
VII. Will All of These Groups Participate in the Regulatory
Negotiation Process?
VIII. How Can You Participate in the Process?
I. Negotiated Rulemaking
The purpose of a negotiated rulemaking committee (or ``reg neg'' as
it is frequently called) is to develop a consensus on a proposed rule.
Before establishing such a committee, Sec. 583(a) of the Negotiated
Rulemaking Act directs the head of an agency to consider whether--
There is a need for the rule
There are a limited number of identifiable interests that
will be affected by the rule
There is a reasonable likelihood that a committee can be
convened with a balanced representation of persons who can adequately
represent those interests and are willing to negotiate in good faith to
reach a consensus on a proposed rule
There is a reasonable likelihood that a committee will
reach consensus on the proposed rule within a fixed period of time
The negotiated rulemaking will not unreasonably delay the
notice of proposed rulemaking and the issuance of the final rule
The agency has adequate resources and is willing to commit
such resources, including technical assistance, to the committee, and
The agency, to the maximum extent possible consistent with
the legal obligations, will use the consensus of the committee with
respect to the proposed rule as the basis for the rule proposed by the
agency for notice and comment.
``Consensus'' in tern means the unanimous concurrence among the
interests represented on the negotiated rulemaking committee unless the
committee explicitly adopts some other definition. Thus, under the
Negotiated Rulemaking Act, each interest on the committee has a veto:
nothing can be adopted by the committee over the dissent of an
interest. That has served to provide important protection for the
parties and to help the parties focus on developing an entire
regulation. This definition also means that the agency itself
participates in the negotiations in a manner similar to that of any
other party.
Negotiated rulemaking has been used quite successfully to address
highly controversial subjects in a practical manner. For that reason,
OSM thought it would be an appropriate process to use for the coal
refuse rule.
II. Subject and Scope of Rule for Negotiated Rulemaking
Numerous coal refuse piles exist throughout the coal fields in the
eastern United States. These piles are a major source of aesthetic and
environmental degradation. A significant number of these piles,
however, still contain large, potentially marketable quantities of
coal. Modern technology enables the recovery of the coal in these
piles, and in some cases the direct utilization of the material, for
example in refuse burning power plants, electric power generation and
co-generation facilities.
Under current law and policies, permitting and performance
standards are the same for refuse pile operations as for any other
mining operations. Section 2503 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992
requires the publication of new regulations on permitting and
performance standards that distinguish between (1) operations that
reprocess abandoned coal refuse on-site and (2) those that completely
remove abandoned coal refuse from a site for the direct use of such
coal refuse or for the reprocessing of such coal refuse at another
location. These standards must recognize the distinct differences
between these operations and other surface coal mining operations.
The committee will try to reach consensus on the major issues that
could not be resolved in the draft rulemaking, specifically:
Environmental protection standards
Permits
The application of valid existing rights to coal refuse
sites
Abandoned mine land fees
If the committee is able to reach consensus on these issues, the
committee will propose a rule on coal refuse.
In addition, the committee may also address other appropriate
remining issues that may arise from the discussion of coal refuse.
III. How Does Negotiated Rulemaking Work?
Negotiated Rulemaking typically occurs in two stages:
1. The Convening Stage. During this stage, an outside neutral party
assists the agency in selecting participants to ensure balanced
representation and helps the agency identify which specific issues
should be negotiated. He or she educates the participants about the
[[Page 13859]] negotiation process and attempts to get the parties to
commit to the product that will be produced. Convening typically takes
one or two months.
2. The Negotiation Stage. This stage typically takes six to eight
months. Again, a neutral outside party is often used to facilitate
group meetings, which are generally held once a month. The goal of this
stage is to produce regulatory language and, if possible, preamble
text.
IV. What is the Purpose of the Committee?
The purpose of the Committee is to provide a forum to discuss the
regulatory and reclamation issues of concern to the public, primacy
States which regulate surface coal mining, environmental groups, coal
mine region residents, industry, the Congress, and other State and
Federal agencies.
V. How Are Committee Members Selected?
The Secretary of the Interior will appoint 20-25 members to the
Committee to represent a cross-section of those who are interested in
and directly affected by this proposed rulemaking. OSM has sought the
advice of an outside neutral professional convener in an effort to
carefully monitor membership to ensure that there is a balance among
those interests affected by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Members will represent the
following segments of the population in appropriate mix and balance for
the task at hand.
Categories of Members
Environmental groups
Representatives from the coal refuse removal and
reprocessing industry
Primary states with responsibility for regulating surface
coal mining operations
General coal mining industry
Citizens/residents of areas with significant deposits of
coal refuse
VI. Who Has Been Contacted to Participate in this Process?
The following parties were identified as potentially affected
interests and were contacted during the convening stage of the process.
Environmental Groups
Citizen's Coal Council
Kentucky Resources Council, Inc.
National Wildlife Federation
Western Pennsylvania Land Conservancy
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy
Armstrong Conservation District
Industry
Inter-Power/AHICon Partners
Western Kentucky Coal Association
Kentucky Coal Association
Pennsylvania Coal Association
WV Mining & Reclamation Assoc.
Gilberton Power Company
Inter-Power Development Corporation
National Coal Association
American Mining Congress
Consol, Inc.
States
Interstate Mining Compact Commission
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Pennsylvania Department of Reclamation
Illinois Division of Land Reclamation
Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation Council
Kentucky Department for Surface Mining
Federal
Office of Surface Mining
Environmental Protection Agency
VII. Will All of These Groups Participate in the Regulatory Negotiation
Process?
No. First, the Secretary of the Interior will select committee
members based on whether the entity will be substantially affected by
this rule. Second, some of the groups, for various reasons, may decide
not to participate in this specific regulatory negotiation.
VIII. How Can You Participate in the Process?
If you believe that your interests may not have been adequately
represented by any of the parties listed above you may apply for, or
nominate another entity for membership on the committee to represent
your interests. Each application for nomination must include:
1. The name of the applicant or nominee and a description of the
interests the entity will represent.
2. Evidence that the applicant or nominee is authorized to
represent parties related to the interests the entity proposes to
represent.
3. A written commitment that the applicant or nominee shall
actively participate in good faith in the development of the rule under
consideration.
4. The reasons that the entities specified above do not adequately
represent the interests of the entity submitting the application or
nomination.
The OSM will advise the Secretary whether that entity should be
added to the group. The decision will be based on whether the entity
would be substantially affected by the rule and whether that entity is
already adequately represented in the negotiating group.
IX. What Happens After the Committee Members are Selected?
Once membership in the Committee has been selected, an
organizational meeting will be held to develop the specific issues and
groundrules for how the negotiation will be conducted. The location and
dates of future meetings will be published in the Federal Register.
Meetings will be open to the public unless specifically noted as being
closed in the Federal Register, as authorized by FACA.
X. Conclusion
OSM requests public comment on whether: (1) It should establish a
Federal Advisory Commission, (2) it has properly identified the
interests that are significantly affected by the key issues listed
above, (3) the suggested committee membership reflects a balanced
representation of these interests, and (4) regulatory negotiation is
appropriate for this rulemaking.
Dated: March 2, 1995.
Bob Armstrong,
Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
Appendix
This notice is published in accordance with Section 9(a) (2) of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. (1988).
Following consultation with the General Services Administration and
the Office of the Management and Budget, notice is hereby given that
the Secretary of the Interior is administratively establishing an
advisory committee to be known as the Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Coal
Refuse Disposal.
The purpose of the Committee is to provide a forum to discuss a
variety of regulatory and reclamation issues of concern to the
public, primacy States which regulate surface coal mining,
environmental groups, coal mine region residents, industry, the
Congress, and other State and Federal agencies.
The Secretary of the Interior will appoint 20-25 members to the
Committee to represent a cross-section of those who are interested
in and directly affected by regulatory and reclamation activities.
OSM has sought the advice of an outside neutral professional
convener in an effort to carefully monitor membership to ensure that
there is a balance among those interests affected by the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).
Members will represent the following segments of the population in
appropriate mix and balance for the task at hand.
Categories of Members:
* Environmental groups; [[Page 13860]]
* Representatives from the coal refuse removal and reprocessing
industry;
* Primacy States with responsibility for regulating surface coal
mining operations;
* General coal mining industry; and
* Citizens/residents of areas with significant deposits of coal
refuse.
Certification
I hereby certify that the administrative establishment of the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Negotiated
Rulemaking Committee on Coal Refuse Disposal is necessary and in the
public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed
on the Department of the Interior by the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et. seq.).
Dated: August 18, 1994.
Bruce Babbitt,
Secretary of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 95-6226 Filed 3-13-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
