[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50026-50028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24061]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 914
[SPATS No. IN-146-FOR; State Program Amendment No. 98-3]
Indiana Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)
is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Indiana regulatory
program (Indiana program) under the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Indiana proposes to add a new section
to its rules. The new section requires coal mine operators to submit an
annual
[[Page 50027]]
report of affected areas to the director of the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources (IDNR). Indiana intends to revise its program to
improve operational efficiency.
This document gives the times and locations that the Indiana
program and amendment to that program are available for your
inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written
comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for
the public hearing, if one is requested.
DATES: We will accept written comments until 4:00 p.m., e.s.t., October
15, 1999. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment
on October 12, 1999. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing
until 4:00 p.m., e.s.t. on September 30, 1999.
ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and
requests to speak at the hearing to Andrew R. Gilmore, Director,
Indianapolis Field Office, at the address listed below.
You may review copies of the Indiana program, the amendment, a
listing of any scheduled public hearings, and all written comments
received in response to this document at the addresses listed below
during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding
holidays. You may receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting
OSM's Indianapolis Field Office.
Andrew R. Gilmore, Director, Indianapolis Field Office, Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Minton-Capehart Federal
Building, 575 North Pennsylvania Street, Room 301, Indianapolis, IN
46204, Telephone: (317) 226-6700.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Mine Reclamation,
402 West Washington Street, Room W-295, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204,
Telephone: (317) 232-1291.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, R.R.
2, Box 129, Jasonville, Indiana 47438-9517, Telephone: (812) 665-2207.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew R. Gilmore, Director,
Indianapolis Field Office. Telephone: (317) 226-6700. Internet:
[email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Indiana Program
On July 29, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Indiana program. You can find background information on
the Indiana program, including the Secretary's findings, the
disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the July 26,
1982, Federal Register (47 FR 32107). You can find later actions on the
Indiana program at 30 CFR 914.10, 914.15, 914.16, and 914.17.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated August 31, 1999 (Administrative Record No. IND-
1668), Indiana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Indiana
sent the amendment at its own initiative. Indiana proposes to amend the
Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) by adding 310 IAC 12-5-159. Below is
a summary of the new section proposed by Indiana. The full text of the
proposed program amendment is available for your inspection at the
locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
310 IAC 12-5-159 Annual Report
Indiana proposes the following definition of ``mined land'' at
subsection (a):
As used in this section, ``mined land'' means the following:
(1) Land from which coal has been extracted.
(2) Land from which overburden has been removed.
(3) Land upon which overburden or spoil has been deposited to
facilitate surface coal mining activities. Mined land does not
include land where only auger mining has occurred as reported in
subsection (c)(3)(D).
Indiana proposes to define ``surface disturbed land'' at subsection
(b). As used in 310 IAC 12-5-159, ``surface disturbed land'' means
land, other than mined land, that is disturbed by surface coal mining
and reclamation operations. It includes areas where only topsoil is
removed. Various examples of surface disturbed land are listed. When
the surface disturbance will be reaffected by future overburden removal
or deposition, the permittee need not report surface disturbed land in
advance of the highwall.
At subsection (c), permittees must submit an annual report of
affected areas for each permit for surface coal mining and reclamation
operations. The reporting period is from November 1 through October 31
of each year. The report must be submitted to the Director of IDNR no
later than 90 days after October 31 of each year. The report must
document the acres affected annually as of October 31 of the reporting
year. It must include the name and address of the permittee and, if
different from the permittee, the name and address of the person or
persons conducting the mining. It must also include the permit number
and a summary of acres mined and disturbed during the reporting period.
The acreage summary must include acres of mined land, acres of surface
disturbed land, total permit acres, and acres of auger mining and
highwall mining.
At subsection (d), Indiana requires a dated aerial photograph of
the surface coal mining and reclamation operation taken between
September 1 and December 31 of the reporting year to be included with
the report. The photograph must be of the same scale as the permit
maps. The photograph or a certified map must show the location of the
permit boundary; acres reported; section, township, and range lines;
all public roads within the permit area that are not permanently
closed; all areas where coal has been removed by surface, auger, or
highwall mining methods; and the highwall face as of November 1 of the
reporting year.
At subsection (e), Indiana requires that the last report, after the
permittee has completed all mining, include a summary of pre-mining
land use acreage for the mined and surface disturbed area when the
acres are available on a computer-aided design (CAD) or other digital
data format.
At subsection (f), any associated map, whether separate from or
created upon the photograph, must be prepared by or under the direction
of and certified by a qualified registered professional engineer or
certified professional geologist with assistance from experts in
related fields such as land surveying or landscape architecture.
At subsection (g), permits issued and land affected before the
effective date of 310 IAC 12-5-159 and for which a Report of Affected
Area has not been filed, the initial photograph must show all areas
disturbed since permit issuance. No distinction between mined land and
surface disturbed land is required on the report form, photograph, or
map. When available, the extent of auger areas must be shown.
At subsection (h), no report is necessary after the initial report
is submitted if no additional acres have been disturbed during the
reporting year.
III. Public Comment Procedures
Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are requesting
comments on whether the amendment satisfies the applicable program
approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve the amendment, it
will become part of the Indiana program.
Written Comments
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of
[[Page 50028]]
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours.
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address
from the administrative record, which we will honor to the extent
allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would
withhold from the administrative record a respondent's identity, as
allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address,
you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment.
However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
Your written comments should be specific and pertain only to the
issues proposed in this rulemaking. You should explain the reason for
any recommended change. In the final rulemaking, we will not
necessarily consider or include in the Administrative Record any
comments received after the time indicated under DATES or at locations
other than the Indianapolis Field Office.
Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use
of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include
``Attn: SPATS No. IN-146-FOR'' and your name and return address in your
Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have
received your Internet message, contact the Indianapolis Field Office
at (317) 226-6700.
Public Hearing
If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., e.s.t. on
September 30, 1999. We will arrange the location and time of the
hearing with those persons requesting the hearing. If you are disabled
and need special accommodations to attend a public hearing, contact the
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The hearing
will not be held if no one requests an opportunity to speak at the
public hearing.
You should file a written statement at the time you request the
hearing. This will allow us 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. If
you are in the audience and have not been scheduled to speak and wish
to do so, you will be allowed to speak after those who have been
scheduled. We will end the hearing 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. If you wish
to meet with us to discuss the amendment, request a meeting by
contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All
such meetings are open to the public and, if possible, we will post
notices of meetings at the locations listed under ADDRESSES. We also
make a written summary of each meeting a part of the Administrative
Record.
IV. Procedural Determinations
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) exempts this rule from
review under Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review).
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, 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 regulatory programs and program amendments since each 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 30 CFR 730.11,
732.15, and 732.17(h)(10), decisions on State regulatory programs and
program amendments 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.
National Environmental Policy Act
This rule does not require an environmental impact statement since
section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that agency
decisions on 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)).
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.).
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
corresponding 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. Therefore, this rule will ensure that existing requirements
previously published 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 corresponding Federal regulations.
Unfunded Mandates
OSM has determined and certifies under the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act (2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq.) that this rule will not impose a cost of
$100 million or more in any given year on local, state, or tribal
governments or private entities.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 914
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: September 8, 1999.
Brent Wahlquist,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 99-24061 Filed 9-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
