[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 10, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47722-47724]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22967]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 906
[SPATS No. CO-030-FOR]
Colorado 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.
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SUMMARY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is
announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Colorado regulatory
program (hereinafter, the ``Colorado program'') under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed
amendment consists of revisions to Colorado's statutory provisions
pertaining to (1) definitions, (2) development of rules no more
stringent than SMCRA, (3) requirements for permit applications, (4)
material damage resulting from subsidence caused by underground coal
mining operations, (5) improvidently issued permits, (6) release of
performance bonds, (7) entities and operations which are or are not
subject to the requirements of the act, (8) authority to apply for
funds the administration and fulfillment of the requirements of an
abandoned mine reclamation program, and (9) creation of a Colorado coal
mine subsidence protection program. to clarify ambiguities and improve
operational efficiency.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., M.D.T., October
10, 1996. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will
be held on October 7, 1996. Requests to present oral testimony at the
hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., M.D.T., on September 25, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to
James F. Fulton 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 receive one free copy of
the proposed amendment by contacting OSM's Denver Field Division.
James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320,
Denver, Colorado 80202-5733
Michael B. Long, Director, Division of Minerals and Geology,
Department of Natural Resources, 1313 Sherman St., Room 215, Denver,
Colorado 80203, Telephone: (303) 866-3567
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James F. Fulton, Telephone: (303) 844-1424.
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, and 906.16.
II. Proposed Amendment
By letters dated August 13 and 27, 1996, Colorado submitted a
proposed amendment (administrative record No. CO-680) to its program
pursuant to SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Colorado submitted the
proposed amendment at its own initiative. Colorado proposed to revise
the following provisions of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining
Reclamation Act, Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.):
C.R.S. 34-33-103(1), definition of ``Administrator,'' to mean the
head of the Office of Mined Land Reclamation in the Division of
Minerals and Geology in the Department of Natural Resources;
C.R.S. 34-33-103(7), definition of ``Division,'' to mean the
Division of Minerals and Geology in the Department of Natural
Resources;
C.R.S. 34-33-103(13.5), definition of ``Office,'' to mean the
Office of Mined Land Reclamation;
C.R.S. 34-33-103(14), the definition of ``Operator,'' to include
any person who intends to remove more than two hundred and fifty tons
of coal from coal mine waste disposal facilities;
C.R.S. 34-33-103(21), the definition of ``Person,'' to include (1)
an Indian Tribe conducting surface coal mining and reclamation
operations outside Indian lands, and (2) any agency, unit, or
instrumentality of Federal, State or local government, including any
publicly owned utility or publicly owned corporation of Federal, State,
or local government;
C.R.S. 34-33-103(26)(a), the definition of ``Surface coal mining
operations,'' to (1) include removal of coal from coal mine waste
disposal facilities, and (2) delete the exemption for the extraction of
coal incidental to the extraction of other minerals where coal does not
exceed sixteen and two-thirds percent of the tonnage of minerals
removed for purposes of commercial use or sale;
[[Page 47723]]
C.R.S. 34-33-108 (1) and (2), concerning the authority of the Mined
Land Reclamation Board (MLRB) to promulgate rules and regulations, to
(1) state that Colorado rules and regulations shall be no more
stringent than required to be as effective as the counterpart Federal
regulations, unless MLRB makes a specific finding that either
protection of the public safety or the environment requires a more
stringent, and (2) provide ninety days prior to automatic repeal of a
State rule after its counterpart Federal regulation has been repealed
and allow, upon request, prior to repeal of the State rule, a rule-
making hearing;
C.R.S. 34-33-110(4), concerning the requirement that an applicant
file a copy of a permit application with the county clerk and recorder
of the county where the operations are proposed to occur, to authorize
MLRB to specify by rule any other public office;
C.R.S. 34-33-115(1)(c), to allow an application for extension of
the area covered by a permit, except incidental boundary revisions, to
be made by an application for either a permit revision or a new permit;
C.R.S. 34-33-121(2)(a) (II) and (III), by (1) adding the
requirement for an operator, if there is material damage resulting from
subsidence caused by underground coal mining operations, to either
promptly repair the damage by rehabilitating, restoring, or replacing
the damaged occupied residential dwelling and related structures or
non-commercial building, or compensate the owner in the full amount of
the diminution in value; and (2) stating that nothing in this section
shall be construed to prohibit or interrupt underground coal mining
operations (rather than the standard method of room and pillar mining);
C.R.S. 34-33-123(13) (a) and (b), by adding language (1) that
authorizes Colorado, when it determines that a permit has been
improvidently issued, to implement remedial measures, including
development of a cooperative plan with the permittee, imposition of a
condition on the permit, or issuance of an order to the permittee to
show cause why the permit should not be suspended or revoked; and, (2)
that requires a show cause order to include the reasons for the finding
that the permit was improvidently issued and to provide an opportunity
for a public hearing;
C.R.S. 34-33-125 (4) and (8), concerning bond release, to require
that Colorado (1) provide written notification to the permittee of its
proposed decision within sixty days from the date of the required bond
release and evaluation, and (2) hold an informal conference to resolve
written comments or objections on the request for bond release if the
conference concludes by the sixtieth day following the required bond
release inspection and evaluation;
C.R.S. 34-33-127 and 34-33-129 (a) and (b), concerning entities or
operations which must comply with Colorado's act, to (1) include any
publicly owned corporation of the Federal government, (2) exempt the
extraction of coal by a landowner for his own use from land owned or
leased by such landowner, and (3) delete the exemption from the act for
extraction of coal that effects 2-acres or less;
C.R.S. 34-33-133(2)(a), concerning abandoned mine land reclamation,
to provide full authority for Colorado to apply for money or other
funds for the development, administration, and fulfillment of the
requirements of an abandoned mine reclamation program; and
C.R.S. 34-33-133.5 (1) and (2), by adding language that authorizes
MLRB to issue rules and regulations to develop a Colorado mine
subsidence protection program, assess and expend fees collected from
participants who are insured under the program, and expend interest
earned on such fee as necessary to defray administrative costs of the
program.
In addition, Colorado proposes editorial revisions throughout
C.R.S. 34-33-104 through 126 to (1) replace the term ``division'' with
the term ``office'' and (2) replace the terms ``he'' and ``his'' with
gender neutral terms.
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 Colorado 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 Denver 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 4:00 p.m.,
M.D.T., on September 25, 1996. 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.
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 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
[[Page 47724]]
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 counter part 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 906
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: September 3, 1996.
Richard J. Seibel,
Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 96-22967 Filed 9-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M
