[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 145 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40384-40386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20262]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 950
[WY-028-FOR]
Wyoming 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: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)
is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Wyoming regulatory
program (hereinafter, the ``Wyoming program'') under the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed amendment
consists of revisions to rules and statutes pertaining to: fish and
wildlife habitat and resource information, shrub density, certification
of maps by a registered professional engineer, geologic descriptions,
topsoil substitutes, special bituminous coal mines, archaeological and
historic resources, permit transfers, civil penalties, and
miscellaneous changes to Appendix A, which concerns vegetation sampling
methods and reclamation success standards for surface coal
[[Page 40385]]
mining operations. The amendment is intended to revise the Wyoming
program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations, to
clarify ambiguities, and to improve operational efficiency.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. August
28, 1998. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will
be held on August 24, 1998. Requests to present oral testimony at the
hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on August 13, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to Guy
Padgett at the address listed below.
Copies of the Wyoming 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 Casper Field Office.
Guy Padgett, Field Office Director, Casper Field Office, Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 100 East ``B'' Street,
Federal Building, Room 2128, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1918
Rick Chancellor, Administrator, Land Quality Division, Department of
Environmental Quality, Herschler Building--3rd Floor West, 122 West
25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, Telephone: 307-777-7046.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy Padgett, 307/261-6550; Internet:
[email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Wyoming Program
On November 26, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Wyoming program. General background information on the
Wyoming program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of
comments, and the conditions of approval of the Wyoming program can be
found in the November 26, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 78637).
Subsequent actions concerning Wyoming's program and program amendments
can be found at 30 CFR 950.12, 950.15, and 950.16.
II. Proposed Amendment
By letter dated July 13, 1998, Wyoming submitted a proposed
amendment (administrative record No. WY-32-1) to its program pursuant
to SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. Wyoming submitted the proposed
amendment in response to the required program amendments at 30 CFR
950.16 (b), (c), (g), (v), (x), (ii)(1), and (kk), and at its own
initiative. The provisions of the Wyoming Coal Rules and Regulations
that Wyoming proposed to revise were: (1) Chapter 1, section 2(ac),
revises the definition of ``eligible land'' in the definitions section
by adding the exact date of approval of the shrub density rule, August
6, 1996; (2) Chapter 2, Section 1(e), revises the section delineating
the contents of permit applications by deleting reference to the
defunct State Conservation Commission; (3) Chapter 2, Section
2(a)(vi)(G)(II), requires notification of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service by the Wyoming Administrator of the Land Quality Division if
critical or crucial habitat disruption is likely; (4) Chapter 2,
Section 2(a)(vi)(H), requires in the permit application a description
of the areal and structural geology of the permit area and, by
extrapolation, adjacent areas; (5) Chapter 2, Section 2(a)(vi)(J),
corrects incorrect references to the Wyoming Statutes; (6) Chapter 2,
Section 2(a)(vi)(J)(II), requires maps submitted in a permit
application to depict the strike and dips of coal seams; (7) Chapter 2,
Section 2(b)(iv)(C) revises the subsection on revegetation by deleting
reference to the defunct State Conservation Commission; (8) Chapter 2,
Section 2(b)(vi)(C), requires the submission of resource information
when requested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; (9) Chapter 4,
Section 2(c)(ix), allows the use of selected spoil material as a
topsoil or subsoil substitute; (10) Chapter 4, Section 2(d)(x)(E)(I),
revises the rule on shrub density to add the exact date of the approval
of the rule, August 6, 1996; (11) Chapter 4, Section 2(d)(x)(E)(III),
revises the rule to be consistent with the Wyoming Statute because the
rule did not clarify that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department only has
approval authority for revegetation standards on crucial habitat
declared as such prior to the submittal of a permit application or any
subsequent amendment; (12) Chapter 8, Section 3-4, revises the rules on
special bituminous coal mines by establishing special alternative
standards for new special bituminous surface coal mines; (13) Chapter
12, Section 1(a)(v)(B), requires that the effect on properties on the
National Register of Historic Places must be taken into account prior
to permit approval; (14) Chapter 12, Section 1(a)(v)(C), revises the
rule on permitting procedures by adding the word, ``any'' in front of
``properties listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of
Historic Places''; (15) Chapter 12, Section 1(b)(ii), revises the rule
on permitting procedures by deleting, for permit transfers, the
reference to the public participation requirements in Wyoming Statute
35-11-406(g); (16) Chapter 16, Section 3 (c) and (f), corrects the
reference to the Wyoming Statute concerning civil penalties; (17)
Appendix A, Appendix IV, revises the rules by adding additional plants
to the List of Threatened and Endangered Species in Wyoming; (18)
Appendix A, Options I-IV, makes 11 minor changes to the shrub density
option tables; (19) Appendix A, Section II.C.2.c, corrects the cross-
reference to the rule on cropland, hayland or pastureland; (20)
Appendix A, Section II.C.3, removes the language referring to the
approval of the shrub density rule and replaces it with the exact date
of approval of that rule, August 6, 1996; (21) Appendix A, section
VIII.E, removes the language referring to the approval of the shrub
density rule with the exact date of the approval of that rule, August
6, 1996.
III. Public Comment Procedures
In accordance with 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 Wyoming 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 Casper Field Office will not
necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in the
administrative record.
2. Public Hearings
Persons wishing to testify at the public hearing should contact the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m.,
m.d.t. on August 13, 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.
[[Page 40386]]
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 hear.
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 contracting 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 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,
732.15, 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. 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 950
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: July 22, 1998.
Peter A. Rutledge,
Acting Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 98-20262 Filed 7-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
