[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 101 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12863]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 26, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
30 CFR Part 918
Louisiana Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing on proposed amendment.
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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the
Louisiana regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Louisiana program'')
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).
The proposed amendment consists of revisions to the Louisiana Surface
Mining Regulations (LSMR) pertaining to revegetation success standards
regarding tree and shrub stocking and ground cover for forest land. The
amendment is intended to specify revegetation success standards for
areas with a postmining land use of forestry.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4 p.m., c.d.t. June 27,
1994. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will be
held on June 20, 1994. Requests to present oral testimony at the
hearing must be received by 4 p.m., c.d.t. on June 10, 1994. 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.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to James
H. Moncrief at the address listed below.
Copies of the Louisiana 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 Tulsa Field Office.
James H. Moncrief, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 5100 East Skelly Drive, suite 550,
Tulsa, OK 74135-6548.
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, P.O.
Box 94275, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9275, Telephone: (504) 342-
5540.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James H. Moncrief Telephone: (918) 581-6430.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Louisiana Program
On October 10, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Louisiana program. General background information on the
Louisiana program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition
of comments, and the conditions of approval of the Louisiana program
can be found in the October 10, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 67340).
Subsequent actions concerning Louisiana's program and program
amendments can be found at 30 CFR 918.15.
II. Proposed Amendment
By letter dated May 3, 1994, Louisiana submitted a proposed
amendment to its program pursuant to SMCRA (administrative record No.
LA-348). Louisiana submitted the proposed amendment at its own
initiative. The provision of LSMR that Louisiana proposes to revise is
Sec. 53123.B.4, standards for success of revegetation at final bond
release on reclaimed lands developed for forestry.
Specifically, Louisiana proposes to review Sec. 53123.B.4 to
require that the success standards for (1) ``live stems per acre''
shall be
450 well-distributed free-to-grow live pine trees per acre of the
same age or 250 well-distributed live hardwood trees per acre of the
same age. Countable stems shall be a minimum of 3 years old.
and (2) ``vegetative ground cover'' shall be not less than 70 percent.
Louisiana also proposed to define at Sec. 53123.B.4, ``well-
distributed'' to mean uniform stocking levels over an entire planting
site, ``free-to-grow'' to mean pine seedlings or saplings without
significant hardwood competition, and to require that
Competing vegetation shade the pine's crown on less than 30% of
the crown's circumference and the pines are judged to have better
than a 90% chance of capturing a place in the crown canopy.
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 Louisiana 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 the Tulsa 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 p.m., c.d.t.
on June 10, 1994. 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
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 12778
The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required
by section 2 of Executive Order 12778 (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 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 12550) and the Federal regulations at 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.
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. 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.
V. List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 918
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: May 20, 1994.
Linda M. Wagner,
Acting Assistant Director, Western Support Center.
[FR Doc. 94-12863 Filed 5-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
