[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 106 (Friday, June 3, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13504]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 3, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 917

 

Kentucky Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

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

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: OSM is announcing the receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Kentucky Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) Plan (hereinafter 
referred to as the Kentucky plan) under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The amendment deletes reference to the 
Kentucky Advisory Committee for Abandoned land Reclamation and 
establishes informal procedures for coordination of activities with the 
Rural Abandoned Mine Program (RAMP) administered by the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service (SCS). The amendment is 
intended to improve operational efficiency.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 4 p.m., E.D.T., 
on July 5, 1994. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed 
amendment will be held at 10 a.m. on June 28, 1994. Requests to speak 
at the hearing must be received on or before 4 p.m., E.D.T., on June 
20, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should 
be mailed or hand delivered to: William J. Kovacic, Director, Lexington 
Field Office at the address listed below.
    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.
    Copies of the Kentucky plan, the proposed amendment, a listing of 
any scheduled hearings, and all written comments received in response 
to this document will be available for review at the addresses listed 
below, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., E.D.T., excluding 
holidays. Each requestor may receive one free copy of the proposed 
amendment by contacting OSM's Lexington Field Office.

William J. Kovacic, Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, 
Kentucky 40503, Telephone: (606) 233-2896.
Department of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, No. 2 Hudson 
Hollow Complex, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Telephone: (502) 564-6940.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:William J. Kovacic, Director, Lexington 
Field Office, Telephone: (606) 233-2896.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Kentucky Plan

    Title IV of SMCRA established an AMLR program for the purposes of 
reclaiming and restoring lands and water resources adversely affected 
by past mining. This program is funded by a reclamation fee imposed 
upon the production of coal. As enacted in 1977, lands and waters 
eligible for reclamation were those that were mined or affected by 
mining and abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation status prior 
to August 3, 1977, and for which there was no continuing reclamation 
responsibility under State or Federal law. The Abandoned Mine Land 
(AML) Reclamation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508, Title VI, Subtitle A, 
Nov. 5, 1990, effective October 1, 1991) amended SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1231 
et seq., to provide changes in the eligibility of project sites for AML 
expenditures. Title IV of SMCRA now provides for reclamation of certain 
mine sites where the mining occurred after August 3, 1977. These 
include interim program sites where bond forfeiture proceeds were 
insufficient for adequate reclamation and sites affected any time 
between August 4, 1977, and November 5, 1990, for which there were 
insufficient funds for adequate reclamation due to the insolvency of 
the bond surety. Title IV provides that a State with an approved AMLR 
program has the responsibility and primary authority to implement the 
program.
    On May 18, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior approved the 
Kentucky plan. Background information on the plan including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments and a detailed 
explanation of approval can be found in the May 18, 1982, Federal 
Register (47 FR 21435). Subsequent actions concerning the conditions of 
approval and amendments to the plan can be found at 30 CFR 917.21.
    The Secretary adopted regulations at 30 CFR part 884 that specify 
the content requirements of a State reclamation plan and the criteria 
for plan approval. The regulations provide that a state may submit to 
the Director proposed amendments or revisions to the approved 
reclamation plan. If the amendments or revisions change the scope of 
major policies followed by the State in the conduct of its reclamation 
program, the Director must follow the procedures in 30 CFR 884.14 when 
approving or disapproving an amendment or revision.

II. Discussion of Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated May 5, 1994 (Administrative Record No. K-64), 
Kentucky submitted a proposed amendment to revise procedures for 
coordinating with the RAMP, Indian, and other reclamation programs 
contained in Chapter 5 of the Kentucky Plan. This amendment was 
initiated in part due to a finding by the Kentucky Auditor of Public 
Accounts in the Statewide Audit for the period ended June 30, 1992, 
that the Division of Abandoned lands (DAL) was not operating in 
compliance with the Kentucky Plan. Chapter 5 of the plan establishes a 
``Kentucky Advisory Committee for Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation'' to 
facilitate coordination of program activities with the RAMP program 
administered by the SCS. The Auditor determined that the processes 
established for the Advisory Committee to coordinate with RAMP were not 
being followed. The Advisory Committee had proven difficult to 
assemble, was cumbersome in operation, and had been disbanded. The 
proposed AMLR program amendment describes new, more informal 
coordination procedures. The annual meeting of the Kentucky Advisory 
Committee is to be replaced with an informal annual meeting between DAL 
and SCS staffs. During the annual meeting, SCS will present overall 
RAMP plans and goals, including scheduled reclamation sites, and 
results of past reclamation with emphasis on experience with various 
reclamation techniques. DAL will provide the SCS with its project 
proposals through the Kentucky State Clearinghouse process. SCS will 
provide DAL with copies of RAMP documentation provided to OSM. Contacts 
between DAL and RAMP staff management will be initiated by either party 
on an as needed basis.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 884.14 and 884.15(a), 
OSM is seeking comment on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the 
applicable plan approval criteria of 30 CFR 884.14. If the amendment is 
deemed adequate, it will become part of the Kentucky plan.

Written Comments

    Written comments should be specific, pertain only to the issues 
proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of the 
commentor's recommendations. Comments received after the time indicated 
under DATES or at locations other than the Lexington Field Office will 
not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in 
the Administrative Record.

Public Hearing

    Persons wishing to speak at the public hearing should contact the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., 
E.D.T., on June 20, 1994. The location and time of the hearing will be 
arranged with those persons requesting the hearing. If no one requests 
an opportunity to speak 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 speak have been heard. Persons in the audience who 
have not been scheduled to speak, and who wish to do so, will be heard 
following those scheduled. The hearing will end 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. Persons 
wishing to meet with OSM representatives to discuss the proposed 
amendments 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

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).

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, 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 and Tribal abandoned mine land reclamation plans and revisions 
thereof since each such plan is drafted and adopted by a specific State 
or Tribe, not by OSM. Decisions on proposed State AMLR plans and 
revisions thereof submitted by a State are based on a determination of 
whether the submittal meets the requirements of Title IV of SMCRA (30 
U.S.C. 1231-1243) and the Federal regulations at 30 CFR Parts 884 and 
888.

National Environmental Policy Act

    No environmental impact statement is required for this rule since 
agency decisions on proposed State AMLR plans and revisions thereof are 
categorically excluded from compliance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332) by the Manual of the Department of the 
Interior (516 DM 6, appendix 8, paragraph 8.4B(29)).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule does not contain information collection requirements that 
require approval by the 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 
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 
established by SMCRA or 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 in the analyses for the 
corresponding Federal regulations.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 917

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: May 27, 1994.
Robert J. Biggi,
Acting Assistant Director, Eastern Support Center.
[FR Doc. 94-13504 Filed 6-2-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M