[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 7, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48573-48574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23218]
[[Page 48573]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 901
[SPATS No. AL-070-FOR]
Alabama 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 an amendment to the Alabama regulatory program
(Alabama program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
of 1977 (SMCRA). Alabama proposes revisions to statutes concerning the
repair or compensation for material damage caused by subsidence,
resulting from underground coal mining operations, to any occupied
residential dwelling and related structures or any noncommercial
building. Alabama proposed to revise its program at its own initiative.
This document gives the times and locations that the Alabama
program and the 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 will be followed for
the public hearing, if one is requested.
DATES: We will accept written comments until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t., October
7, 1999. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment
on October 4, 1999. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing
until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on September 22, 1999.
ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and
requests to speak at the hearing to Arthur W. Abbs, Director,
Birmingham Field Office, at the address listed below.
You may review copies of the Alabama 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 Birmingham Field Office.
Arthur W. Abbs, Director, Birmingham Field Office, Office of Surface
Mining, 135 Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Homewood, Alabama 35209,
Telephone: (205) 290-7282.
Alabama Surface Mining Commission, 1811 Second Avenue, P.O. Box 2390,
Jasper, Alabama 35502-2390, Telephone (205) 221-4130.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arthur W. Abbs, Director, Birmingham
Field Office. Telephone: (205) 290-7282. Internet:
aabbs@balgw.osmre.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Alabama Program
On May 20, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Alabama program. You can find background information on
the Alabama program, including the Secretary's findings, the
disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the May 20,
1982, Federal Register (47 FR 22062). You can find later actions on the
Alabama program at 30 CFR 901.15 and 901.16.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated August 17, 1999 (Administrative Record No. AL-
0589), Alabama sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Alabama
sent the amendment at its own initiative. Alabama proposes to amend the
Alabama Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Below is a summary
of the changes proposed by Alabama. The full text of the program
amendment is available for your inspection at the locations listed
above under ADDRESSES.
A. Alabama proposes to revise section 9-16-91(e)(1) to read as
follows:
(1) Promptly repair or compensate for material damage to any
occupied residential dwelling and related structures or any
noncommercial building caused by surface subsidence resulting from
underground coal mining operations. Repair of damage shall include
rehabilitation, restoration, or replacement of the damaged occupied
residential dwelling and related structures or noncommercial
building. Compensation shall be provided to the owner of the damaged
occupied residential dwelling and related structures or
noncommercial building which shall be in the full amount of the
diminution in value resulting from subsidence caused damage.
Compensation may be accomplished by the purchase, prior to mining,
of a non-cancelable premium-prepaid insurance policy.
B. Alabama proposes to revise section 9-16-91(e)(3) to read as
follows:
(3) Promptly correct any material damage resulting from
subsidence caused to surface lands, to the extent technologically
and economically feasible, by restoring the land to a condition
capable of maintaining the value and reasonably foreseeable uses
that it was capable of supporting before subsidence.
C. Alabama proposes to revise section 9-16-91(e)(4) to read as
follows:
(4) The regulatory authority shall issue such notices or orders
and take such actions as necessary to compel compliance with these
requirements.
D. Alabama proposes to revise section 9-16-91(f) to read as
follows:
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter to the
contrary, the remedies prescribed in this section or any rule
promulgated under authority of this chapter pertaining to repair or
compensation for subsidence damage and replacement of water shall be
the sole and exclusive remedies available to the owner for such
damage and its effects. Neither punitive damages nor, except as
specifically prescribed in this section or any rule promulgated
under authority of this chapter pertaining to repair or compensation
for subsidence damage and replacement of water, compensatory damages
shall be awarded for subsidence damage caused by longwall mining or
other mining process employing a planned subsidence method and
conducted in substantial compliance with a permit issued under
authority of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit
agreements between the surface owner and the mineral owner or lessee
that establish the manner and means by which repair or compensation
for subsidence damage is to be provided. However, the remedies
prescribed for subsidence damage shall not be diminished or waived
by contrary provisions in deeds, leases, or documents (other than
such subsidence damage agreements) which leave the owner without
such prescribed remedies. Provided, however, the provisions of this
subsection do not apply to any actions brought for, and in which the
trier of the fact finds, intentional, willful, or wanton conduct;
provided further, that conduct in substantial compliance with
applicable mining permits may not be deemed to be intentional,
willful, or wanton.
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 Alabama program.
Written Comments
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of 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
[[Page 48574]]
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 Birmingham 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. AL-070-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 Birmingham Field Office at
(205) 290-7282.
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., c.d.t. on
September 22, 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 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 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 901
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: August 30, 1999.
Brent Wahlquist,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 99-23218 Filed 9-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
