[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 169 (Thursday, September 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21584]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 1, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 906

 

Colorado Regulatory Program

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening and extension of public comment period 
on proposed amendment.

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of revisions and additional 
explanatory information pertaining to a previously proposed amendment 
to the Colorado regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Colorado 
program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 
(SMCRA). The revisions and additional explanatory information for 
Colorado's proposed rules pertain to criteria for release of 
performance bonds on prime farmland; requirements for the demonstration 
of success of productivity on prime farmland; and a waiver from the 
requirement for vegetative ground cover on lands with both a premining 
and postmining land use of industrial or commercial. The amendment is 
intended to revise the Colorado program to be consistent with the 
corresponding Federal regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 a.m., m.d.t. September 
16, 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 
Thomas E. Ehmett 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 received one free copy of the proposed amendment by 
contacting OSM's Albuquerque Field Office.

Thomas E. Ehmett, Acting Director, Albuquerque Field Office, Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 505 Marquette Avenue, NW., 
Suite 1200, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102. Telephone (505) 766-1486.
Division of Minerals and Geology, Department of Natural Resources, 
Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado 80203, 
Telephone: (303) 866-3567

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas E. Ehmett, Telephone: (505) 
766-1486.

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, 906.16, and 906.30.

II. Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated April 18, 1994, Colorado submitted a proposed 
amendment to its program pursuant to SMCRA (administrative record No. 
CO-611). Colorado submitted the proposed amendment in response to the 
May 7, 1986, and March 22, 1990, letters (administrative record Nos. 
CO-282 and CO-496) that OSM sent to Colorado in accordance with 30 CFR 
732.17(c), and at its own initiative. The provisions of 2 Code of 
Colorado Regulations 407-2, the rules and regulations of the Colorado 
Mined Land Reclamation Board, that Colorado proposed to revise were: 
Rule 1.04, definitions; Rule 3.02, performance bond requirements for 
surface coal mining and reclamation operations; Rule 3.03, release of 
performance bonds; Rule 3.06, special bonding requirements for 
construction of mine drainage control facilities; and Rule 4.15.10, 
revegetation success criteria for areas to be developed for industrial, 
commercial, or residential use.
    OSM announced receipt of the proposed amendment in the May 13, 1994 
Federal Register (59 FR 24998), provided an opportunity for a public 
hearing or meeting on its substantive adequacy, and invited public 
comment on its adequacy (administrative record No. CO-617). Because no 
one requested a public hearing or meeting, none was held. The public 
comment period ended on June 13, 1994.
    During its review of the amendment, OSM identified concerns 
relating to (1) Rule 3.03.1(2)(b), requirements for Phase II bond 
release on prime farmlands, and (2) Rule 4.15.10(3), retention of mine 
support facilities on lands reclaimed for use as commercial or 
industrial. OSM notified Colorado of the concerns by letter dated July 
12, 1994 (administrative record No. CO-631). Colorado responded in a 
letter dated July 28, 1994, by submitting additional revisions and 
explanatory information (administrative record No. CO-635).
    Colorado proposes revisions and additional explanatory information 
for Rule 3.03.1(3)(b), concerning criteria for release of performance 
bonds on prime farmlands; Rule 4.25.5(3)(a), concerning the 
requirements for the demonstration of success of productivity on prime 
farmlands for bond release; and Rule 4.15.10(3), concerning a waiver 
from the requirement for vegetative ground cover on lands with both a 
premining and postmining land use designation of industrial or 
commercial.
    Specifically, Colorado proposes to revise (1) Rule 3.03.1(3)(b) to 
require that no more than 60 percent of the bond amount on prime 
farmland may be released until revegetation success required by Rule 
4.25.5(3)(a) has been demonstrated; (2) Rule 4.25.5(3)(a) to specify, 
for both Phase II or Phase III bond release, that the demonstration for 
success of productivity on prime farmland must be based on an average 
of three successive crop years; and (3) Rule 4.15.10(3) to clarify 
that, before a waiver from the vegetative ground cover requirements of 
Rule 4.15.10(2) can be approved on lands with a premining and 
postmining land use of commercial or industrial, the permittee must 
demonstrate that the mine support facilities proposed for retention 
will support the approved postmining land use.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    OSM is reopening the comment period on the proposed Colorado 
program amendment to provide the public an opportunity to reconsider 
the adequacy of the proposed amendment in light of the additional 
materials submitted. 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.
    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 Albuquerque Field Office 
will not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included 
in 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 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 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. 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 counterpart Federal regulations.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 906

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: August 23, 1994.
Russell F. Price,
Acting Assistant Director, Western Support Center.
[FR Doc. 94-21584 Filed 8-31-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M