[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33508-33510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15936]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Proposed Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel Project in
Wyoming
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of application for grant funding; Public comment period
on request to fund the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel
project.
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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing its receipt of a grant application from the
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Abandoned Mine Land
Division (AMLD). Wyoming is requesting $10,000 from the Abandoned Mine
Reclamation Fund to pay approximately 51 percent of the cost of
building the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel Project in
Sweetwater County, Wyoming. In its application, the State proposes
paying for part of the reconstruction cost as a public facility project
that will benefit a community impacted by coal mining activities.
This notice describes when and where the Wyoming abandoned mine
land (AML) program and the grant application for funding the Rock
Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel project are available for you to
read. It also sets the time period during which
[[Page 33509]]
you may send written comment on the request to us.
DATES: We will accept written comments until 4 p.m., m.s.t., July 23,
1999.
ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand-deliver written comments to Guy V.
Padgett, Casper Field Office Director, at the address shown below. You
may read Wyoming's grant application for this proposed project during
normal business hours Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) at the
same address. Also, we will send one free copy of the grant application
to you if you contact OSM's Casper Field Office.
Guy V. Padgett, Director, Casper Field Office, Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, Federal Building, Rm. 2403, 100 East ``B''
Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1918
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy V. Padgett, Telephone: (307) 261-
6555.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on Title IV of SMCRA
Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA)
established an Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) program. The
purpose of the AMLR program is to reclaim and restore lands and waters
that were adversely affected by past mining. The program is funded by a
reclamation fee paid by active coal mining operations. Lands and waters
eligible for reclamation under Title IV are primarily those that were
mined, or affected by mining, and abandoned or inadequately reclaimed
before August 3, 1977, and for which there is no continuing reclamation
responsibility under State, Federal, or other laws.
Title IV of SMCRA allows States to submit AMLR plans to us. We, on
behalf of the Secretary, review those plans and consider any public
comments we receive about them. If we determine that a State has the
ability and necessary legislation to operate an AMLR program, the
Secretary can approve it. The Secretary's approval gives a State
exclusive authority to put its AMLR plan into effect.
Once the Secretary approves a State's AMLR plan, the State may
annually apply to us for money to fund specific projects that will
achieve the goals of its approved plan. We follow the requirements of
the Federal regulations at 30 CFR parts 874, 875, and 886 when we
review and approve such applications.
II. Background on the Wyoming AMLR Plan
The Secretary of the Interior approved Wyoming's AMLR plan on
February 14, 1983.
You can find background information on the Wyoming AML program,
including the Secretary's findings and our responses to comments, in
the February 14, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 6536). Wyoming changed
its plan a number of times since the Secretary first approved it. In
1984, we accepted the State's certification that it addressed all known
coal-related impacts in Wyoming that were eligible for funding under
its program. As a result, the State may now reclaim low priority non-
coal reclamation projects. You can read about the certification and
OSM's acceptance in the May 25, 1984, Federal Register (48 FR 22139).
At the same time, we also accepted Wyoming's proposal that it will ask
us for funds to reclaim any additional coal-related problems that occur
during the life of the Wyoming AML program as soon as it becomes aware
of them. In the April 13, 1992, Federal Register (57 FR 12731), we
announced our decision to accept other changes in Wyoming's plan that
describe how it will rank eligible coal, non-coal, and facility
projects for funding. Those changes also authorized the Governor of
Wyoming to elevate the priority of a project based upon the Governor's
determination of need and urgency. They also expanded the State's
ability to construct public facilities under section 411 of SMCRA. We
approved additional changes in Wyoming's plan concerning noncoal lien
authority and contractor eligibility that improve the efficiency of the
State's AML program. That approval is described in the February 21,
1996, Federal Register (61 FR 6537).
Once a State certifies that it has addressed all remaining
abandoned coal mine problems, and the Secretary concurs, then it may
request funds to undertake abandoned noncoal mine reclamation community
impact assistance, and public facilities projects under sections
411(b), (e), and (f), of SMCRA.
State law and regulations that apply to the proposed Rock Springs
funding request include Wyoming Statute 35-11-1202 and Wyoming
Abandoned Mine Land Regulations, Chapter VII, of the Wyoming Abandoned
Mine Program.
III. Wyoming's Request To Fund Part of the Cost of Building the
Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel Project
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality submitted to us a
grant application dated December 21, 1998. In that application, Wyoming
asked for $210,000 that it will use to pay for part of the cost of
building the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel. This drainage
project is a public facility in a community impacted by coal mining
activitive. The requested funding is 51 percent of the project's total
cost. Money for the balance of the project will come from the city of
Rock Springs (49%). The Governor of Wyoming certified the need and
urgency to fund the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel project
prior to completing the State's remaining inventory of non-coal
reclamation, as allowed by section 411(f) of SMCRA. That certification
says the project is in a community impacted by coal mining activities.
The project involves providing flood control to a community that
supports a large coal and trona industry. The project is designed to
mitigate impacts resulting from historic boom and bust cycles of the
mining industry and the overall growth of the community from mining. An
extensive flood event in an adjacent area (White Mountain/Belmont area)
resulted in property loss (residential and business) and business
disruption in 1991.
This project will mitigate the impacts of flooding and damage to
property. The Governor's certification states that the threat to public
health and safety is as great at these locations as at unreclaimed non-
coal mines. The potential health risks warrant funding this project
before the remaining non-coal projects.
IV. How We Will Review Wyoming's Grant Application
We will review this grant application with respect to the
regulations at 30 CFR 875.15, specifically Secs. 875.15(e) (1) through
(7). As stated in those regulations, the application must include the
following information: (1) The need or urgency for the activity or the
construction of the public facility; (2) the expected impact the
project will have on Wyoming's coal or minerals industry; (3) the
availability of funding from other sources and, if other funding is
provided, its percentage of the total costs involved; (4) documentation
from other local, State, and Federal agencies with oversight for such
utilities or facilities describing what funding they have available and
why their agency is
[[Page 33510]]
not fully funding this specific project; (5) the impact on the State,
the public, and the minerals industry if the facility is not funded;
(6) the reason why this project should be selected before a priority
project relating to the protection of the public health and safety or
the environment from the damages caused by past mining activities, and
(7) an analysis and review of the procedures Wyoming used to notify and
involve the public in this funding request, and a copy of all comments
received and their resolution by the State. Wyoming's application for
the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel Project contains the
information described in these seven subsections.
Section 875.15(f) requires us to evaluate all comments we receive
and determine whether the funding meets the requirements of
Secs. 875.15(e) (1) through (7) described above. It also requires us to
determine if the request is in the best interests of the State's AML
program. We will approve Wyoming's request to fund this project if we
conclude that it meets all the requirements of 30 CFR 875.15.
V. What To Do if You Want To Comment on the Proposed Project
We are asking for public comments on Wyoming's request for funds to
pay for part of the cost of building the Rock Springs Stormwater
Drainage Channel Project. You are welcome to comment on the project. If
you do, please send us written comments. Make sure your comments are
specific and pertain to Wyoming's funding request in the context of the
regulations at 30 CFR 875.15 and the provisions of section 411 of
SMCRA. You should explain any recommendations you make. If we receive
your comments after the time shown under DATES or at locations other
than the Casper Field Office, we will not necessarily consider them in
our final decision or include them in the administrative record.
Dated: June 11, 1999.
Guy Padgett,
Director, Casper Field Office.
[FR Doc. 99-15936 Filed 6-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
