[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 101 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12863]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 26, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
30 CFR Part 918

 

Louisiana Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), 
Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public 
hearing on proposed amendment.

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Louisiana regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Louisiana program'') 
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). 
The proposed amendment consists of revisions to the Louisiana Surface 
Mining Regulations (LSMR) pertaining to revegetation success standards 
regarding tree and shrub stocking and ground cover for forest land. The 
amendment is intended to specify revegetation success standards for 
areas with a postmining land use of forestry.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4 p.m., c.d.t. June 27, 
1994. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will be 
held on June 20, 1994. Requests to present oral testimony at the 
hearing must be received by 4 p.m., c.d.t. on June 10, 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 James 
H. Moncrief at the address listed below.
    Copies of the Louisiana 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 Tulsa Field Office.

James H. Moncrief, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 5100 East Skelly Drive, suite 550, 
Tulsa, OK 74135-6548.
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, P.O. 
Box 94275, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9275, Telephone: (504) 342-
5540.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James H. Moncrief Telephone: (918) 581-6430.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Louisiana Program

    On October 10, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Louisiana program. General background information on the 
Louisiana program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition 
of comments, and the conditions of approval of the Louisiana program 
can be found in the October 10, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 67340). 
Subsequent actions concerning Louisiana's program and program 
amendments can be found at 30 CFR 918.15.

II. Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated May 3, 1994, Louisiana submitted a proposed 
amendment to its program pursuant to SMCRA (administrative record No. 
LA-348). Louisiana submitted the proposed amendment at its own 
initiative. The provision of LSMR that Louisiana proposes to revise is 
Sec. 53123.B.4, standards for success of revegetation at final bond 
release on reclaimed lands developed for forestry.
    Specifically, Louisiana proposes to review Sec. 53123.B.4 to 
require that the success standards for (1) ``live stems per acre'' 
shall be

450 well-distributed free-to-grow live pine trees per acre of the 
same age or 250 well-distributed live hardwood trees per acre of the 
same age. Countable stems shall be a minimum of 3 years old.

and (2) ``vegetative ground cover'' shall be not less than 70 percent.
    Louisiana also proposed to define at Sec. 53123.B.4, ``well-
distributed'' to mean uniform stocking levels over an entire planting 
site, ``free-to-grow'' to mean pine seedlings or saplings without 
significant hardwood competition, and to require that

    Competing vegetation shade the pine's crown on less than 30% of 
the crown's circumference and the pines are judged to have better 
than a 90% chance of capturing a place in the crown canopy.

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 Louisiana 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 Tulsa 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 p.m., c.d.t. 
on June 10, 1994. 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 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 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. 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.

V. List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 918

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: May 20, 1994.
Linda M. Wagner,
Acting Assistant Director, Western Support Center.
[FR Doc. 94-12863 Filed 5-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M