[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 169 (Thursday, September 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21584]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 1, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 906
Colorado Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening and extension of public comment period
on proposed amendment.
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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of revisions and additional
explanatory information pertaining to a previously proposed amendment
to the Colorado regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Colorado
program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
(SMCRA). The revisions and additional explanatory information for
Colorado's proposed rules pertain to criteria for release of
performance bonds on prime farmland; requirements for the demonstration
of success of productivity on prime farmland; and a waiver from the
requirement for vegetative ground cover on lands with both a premining
and postmining land use of industrial or commercial. The amendment is
intended to revise the Colorado program to be consistent with the
corresponding Federal regulations.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 a.m., m.d.t. September
16, 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
Thomas E. Ehmett at the address listed below.
Copies of the Colorado 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 received one free copy of the proposed amendment by
contacting OSM's Albuquerque Field Office.
Thomas E. Ehmett, Acting Director, Albuquerque Field Office, Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 505 Marquette Avenue, NW.,
Suite 1200, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102. Telephone (505) 766-1486.
Division of Minerals and Geology, Department of Natural Resources,
Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado 80203,
Telephone: (303) 866-3567
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas E. Ehmett, Telephone: (505)
766-1486.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Colorado Program
On December 15, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Colorado program. General background information on the
Colorado program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition
of comments, and the conditions of approval of the Colorado program can
be found in the December 15, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 82173).
Subsequent actions concerning Colorado's program and program amendments
can be found at 30 CFR 906.11, 906.15, 906.16, and 906.30.
II. Proposed Amendment
By letter dated April 18, 1994, Colorado submitted a proposed
amendment to its program pursuant to SMCRA (administrative record No.
CO-611). Colorado submitted the proposed amendment in response to the
May 7, 1986, and March 22, 1990, letters (administrative record Nos.
CO-282 and CO-496) that OSM sent to Colorado in accordance with 30 CFR
732.17(c), and at its own initiative. The provisions of 2 Code of
Colorado Regulations 407-2, the rules and regulations of the Colorado
Mined Land Reclamation Board, that Colorado proposed to revise were:
Rule 1.04, definitions; Rule 3.02, performance bond requirements for
surface coal mining and reclamation operations; Rule 3.03, release of
performance bonds; Rule 3.06, special bonding requirements for
construction of mine drainage control facilities; and Rule 4.15.10,
revegetation success criteria for areas to be developed for industrial,
commercial, or residential use.
OSM announced receipt of the proposed amendment in the May 13, 1994
Federal Register (59 FR 24998), provided an opportunity for a public
hearing or meeting on its substantive adequacy, and invited public
comment on its adequacy (administrative record No. CO-617). Because no
one requested a public hearing or meeting, none was held. The public
comment period ended on June 13, 1994.
During its review of the amendment, OSM identified concerns
relating to (1) Rule 3.03.1(2)(b), requirements for Phase II bond
release on prime farmlands, and (2) Rule 4.15.10(3), retention of mine
support facilities on lands reclaimed for use as commercial or
industrial. OSM notified Colorado of the concerns by letter dated July
12, 1994 (administrative record No. CO-631). Colorado responded in a
letter dated July 28, 1994, by submitting additional revisions and
explanatory information (administrative record No. CO-635).
Colorado proposes revisions and additional explanatory information
for Rule 3.03.1(3)(b), concerning criteria for release of performance
bonds on prime farmlands; Rule 4.25.5(3)(a), concerning the
requirements for the demonstration of success of productivity on prime
farmlands for bond release; and Rule 4.15.10(3), concerning a waiver
from the requirement for vegetative ground cover on lands with both a
premining and postmining land use designation of industrial or
commercial.
Specifically, Colorado proposes to revise (1) Rule 3.03.1(3)(b) to
require that no more than 60 percent of the bond amount on prime
farmland may be released until revegetation success required by Rule
4.25.5(3)(a) has been demonstrated; (2) Rule 4.25.5(3)(a) to specify,
for both Phase II or Phase III bond release, that the demonstration for
success of productivity on prime farmland must be based on an average
of three successive crop years; and (3) Rule 4.15.10(3) to clarify
that, before a waiver from the vegetative ground cover requirements of
Rule 4.15.10(2) can be approved on lands with a premining and
postmining land use of commercial or industrial, the permittee must
demonstrate that the mine support facilities proposed for retention
will support the approved postmining land use.
III. Public Comment Procedures
OSM is reopening the comment period on the proposed Colorado
program amendment to provide the public an opportunity to reconsider
the adequacy of the proposed amendment in light of the additional
materials submitted. 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 Colorado
program.
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 Albuquerque Field Office
will not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included
in 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 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 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. 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.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 906
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: August 23, 1994.
Russell F. Price,
Acting Assistant Director, Western Support Center.
[FR Doc. 94-21584 Filed 8-31-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
