[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 106 (Friday, June 3, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13504]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 3, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 917
Kentucky Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan
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 the receipt of a proposed amendment to the
Kentucky Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) Plan (hereinafter
referred to as the Kentucky plan) under the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The amendment deletes reference to the
Kentucky Advisory Committee for Abandoned land Reclamation and
establishes informal procedures for coordination of activities with the
Rural Abandoned Mine Program (RAMP) administered by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service (SCS). The amendment is
intended to improve operational efficiency.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 4 p.m., E.D.T.,
on July 5, 1994. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed
amendment will be held at 10 a.m. on June 28, 1994. Requests to speak
at the hearing must be received on or before 4 p.m., E.D.T., on June
20, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should
be mailed or hand delivered to: William J. Kovacic, Director, Lexington
Field Office at the address listed below.
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.
Copies of the Kentucky plan, the proposed amendment, a listing of
any scheduled hearings, and all written comments received in response
to this document will be available for review at the addresses listed
below, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., E.D.T., excluding
holidays. Each requestor may receive one free copy of the proposed
amendment by contacting OSM's Lexington Field Office.
William J. Kovacic, Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington,
Kentucky 40503, Telephone: (606) 233-2896.
Department of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, No. 2 Hudson
Hollow Complex, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Telephone: (502) 564-6940.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:William J. Kovacic, Director, Lexington
Field Office, Telephone: (606) 233-2896.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Kentucky Plan
Title IV of SMCRA established an AMLR program for the purposes of
reclaiming and restoring lands and water resources adversely affected
by past mining. This program is funded by a reclamation fee imposed
upon the production of coal. As enacted in 1977, lands and waters
eligible for reclamation were those that were mined or affected by
mining and abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation status prior
to August 3, 1977, and for which there was no continuing reclamation
responsibility under State or Federal law. The Abandoned Mine Land
(AML) Reclamation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508, Title VI, Subtitle A,
Nov. 5, 1990, effective October 1, 1991) amended SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1231
et seq., to provide changes in the eligibility of project sites for AML
expenditures. Title IV of SMCRA now provides for reclamation of certain
mine sites where the mining occurred after August 3, 1977. These
include interim program sites where bond forfeiture proceeds were
insufficient for adequate reclamation and sites affected any time
between August 4, 1977, and November 5, 1990, for which there were
insufficient funds for adequate reclamation due to the insolvency of
the bond surety. Title IV provides that a State with an approved AMLR
program has the responsibility and primary authority to implement the
program.
On May 18, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior approved the
Kentucky plan. Background information on the plan including the
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments and a detailed
explanation of approval can be found in the May 18, 1982, Federal
Register (47 FR 21435). Subsequent actions concerning the conditions of
approval and amendments to the plan can be found at 30 CFR 917.21.
The Secretary adopted regulations at 30 CFR part 884 that specify
the content requirements of a State reclamation plan and the criteria
for plan approval. The regulations provide that a state may submit to
the Director proposed amendments or revisions to the approved
reclamation plan. If the amendments or revisions change the scope of
major policies followed by the State in the conduct of its reclamation
program, the Director must follow the procedures in 30 CFR 884.14 when
approving or disapproving an amendment or revision.
II. Discussion of Proposed Amendment
By letter dated May 5, 1994 (Administrative Record No. K-64),
Kentucky submitted a proposed amendment to revise procedures for
coordinating with the RAMP, Indian, and other reclamation programs
contained in Chapter 5 of the Kentucky Plan. This amendment was
initiated in part due to a finding by the Kentucky Auditor of Public
Accounts in the Statewide Audit for the period ended June 30, 1992,
that the Division of Abandoned lands (DAL) was not operating in
compliance with the Kentucky Plan. Chapter 5 of the plan establishes a
``Kentucky Advisory Committee for Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation'' to
facilitate coordination of program activities with the RAMP program
administered by the SCS. The Auditor determined that the processes
established for the Advisory Committee to coordinate with RAMP were not
being followed. The Advisory Committee had proven difficult to
assemble, was cumbersome in operation, and had been disbanded. The
proposed AMLR program amendment describes new, more informal
coordination procedures. The annual meeting of the Kentucky Advisory
Committee is to be replaced with an informal annual meeting between DAL
and SCS staffs. During the annual meeting, SCS will present overall
RAMP plans and goals, including scheduled reclamation sites, and
results of past reclamation with emphasis on experience with various
reclamation techniques. DAL will provide the SCS with its project
proposals through the Kentucky State Clearinghouse process. SCS will
provide DAL with copies of RAMP documentation provided to OSM. Contacts
between DAL and RAMP staff management will be initiated by either party
on an as needed basis.
III. Public Comment Procedures
In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 884.14 and 884.15(a),
OSM is seeking comment on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the
applicable plan approval criteria of 30 CFR 884.14. If the amendment is
deemed adequate, it will become part of the Kentucky plan.
Written Comments
Written comments should be specific, pertain only to the issues
proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of the
commentor's recommendations. Comments received after the time indicated
under DATES or at locations other than the Lexington 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.,
E.D.T., on June 20, 1994. The location and time of the hearing will be
arranged with those persons requesting the hearing. 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 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
amendments 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
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 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, 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 and Tribal abandoned mine land reclamation plans and revisions
thereof since each such plan is drafted and adopted by a specific State
or Tribe, not by OSM. Decisions on proposed State AMLR plans and
revisions thereof submitted by a State are based on a determination of
whether the submittal meets the requirements of Title IV of SMCRA (30
U.S.C. 1231-1243) and the Federal regulations at 30 CFR Parts 884 and
888.
National Environmental Policy Act
No environmental impact statement is required for this rule since
agency decisions on proposed State AMLR plans and revisions thereof are
categorically excluded from compliance with the National Environmental
Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332) by the Manual of the Department of the
Interior (516 DM 6, appendix 8, paragraph 8.4B(29)).
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not contain information collection requirements that
require approval by the 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
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
established by SMCRA or 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 in the analyses for the
corresponding Federal regulations.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 917
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: May 27, 1994.
Robert J. Biggi,
Acting Assistant Director, Eastern Support Center.
[FR Doc. 94-13504 Filed 6-2-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
