[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 188 (Thursday, September 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-24132]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 29, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
30 CFR Part 913

 

Illinois Regulatory Program

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

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

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Illinois regulatory program (hereinafter the ``Illinois program'') 
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). 
The proposed amendment consists of revisions to the Illinois Surface 
Coal Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act (State Act) 
pertaining to small operator assistance, vegetation requirements for 
lands eligible for remining, and fees and civil penalties. The proposed 
amendment is intended to incorporate the additional flexibility 
afforded by SMCRA, as amended, and improve operational efficiency.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m. on October 31, 
1994. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will be 
held on October 24, 1994. Requests to speak at the hearing must be 
received by 4:00 p.m. on October 14, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should 
be mailed or hand delivered to Mr. James F. Fulton, Director, 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 Illinois program, the proposed amendment, a listing 
of any scheduled public hearings, 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 Springfield Field Office.

James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield Field Office, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 511 West Capitol, Suite 202, 
Springfield, Illinois 62704, Telephone: (217) 492-4495
Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals, 300 West Jefferson Street, 
Suite 300, Springfield, Illinois 62791, Telephone: (217) 782-4970

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield 
Field Office, Telephone: (217) 492-4495.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Illinois Program

    On June 1, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Illinois program. Background information on the Illinois 
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and the conditions of approval can be found in the June 1, 
1982, Federal Register (47 FR 23883). Subsequent actions concerning the 
conditions of approval and program amendments can be found at 30 CFR 
913.15, 913.16, and 913.17.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated September 9, 1994, (Administrative Record No. IL-
1550) Illinois submitted a proposed amendment to its program pursuant 
to SMCRA. Illinois submitted the proposed amendment at its own 
initiative. The proposed amendment incorporates statutory changes to 
the State Act at 225 ILCS 720/2.02, Contents of Permit Application; 
3.15, Vegetation; and 9.07, Fees and Forfeitures. The revised statutes 
were enacted through Public Act 88-599 (HB 2349), and they were signed 
into law by the Governor of Illinois on September 1, 1994.
    Public Act 88-599 amended 225 ILCS 720/2.02(b) of the State Act 
concerning small operator assistance for consistency with Section 
507(c) of SMCRA, as amended by Section 2513 of the Energy Policy Act of 
1992. At subsection (b), Illinois proposes raising the annual coal 
production cap from 100,000 to 300,000 tons at all locations for 
eligibility for its small operator assistance program (SOAP). 
Subsection (b) is also amended by deleting reference to the current 
services and adding the following new or enhanced services: (1) the 
determination of probable hydrologic consequences, including the 
engineering analyses and designs necessary for the determination; (2) 
the development of cross-section maps and plans; (3) the geologic 
drilling and statement of results of test borings and core samplings; 
(4) the collection of archaeological information and any other 
archaeological and historical information required by the Department, 
and the preparation of plans necessitated thereby; (5) pre-blast 
surveys; and (6) the collection of site-specific resource information 
and production of protection and enhancement plans for fish and 
wildlife habitats and other environmental values required by the 
Department under this Act. Subsection (b) if further amended by adding 
the following SOAP assistance reimbursement requirement: A coal 
operator that has received assistance pursuant to this subsection shall 
reimburse the regulatory authority for the cost of the services 
rendered if the program administrator finds that the operator's actual 
and attributed annual production of coal for all locations exceeds 
300,000 tons during the 12 months immediately following the date on 
which the operator is issued the surface coal mining and reclamation 
permit.
    Public Act 88-599 amended 225 ILCS 720/3.15 of the State Act by 
adding new subsection (e) concerning vegetation requirements for lands 
eligible for remining. Subsection (e) was added for consistency with 
Section 515(b) of SMCRA, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
    Proposed subsection (e) reads as follows: On lands eligible for 
remining, the operator shall assume the responsibility for successful 
revegatation for a period of 2 full years after the last year of 
augmented seeding, fertilizing, irrigation, or other work in order to 
assure compliance with the applicable standards of the Act. This does 
not preclude responsible land management practices on portions of the 
total area as deemed necessary and approved by the Department.
    Public Act 88-599 added 30 ILCS 105/6z-36 to the State Finance Act 
to establish the Coal Mine Regulatory Fund. It also amended 225 ILCS 
720/9.07 of the State Act by requiring all fees and civil penalties 
collected under the State Act be deposited into the Coal Mine 
Regulatory Fund. Section 6z-36 specifies that moneys in the Fund shall 
be annually appropriated to the Department of Mines and Minerals for 
the enforcement of coal mining regulatory laws and rules adopted by the 
Department under those laws.

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 Illinois program.

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 Springfield 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. on 
October 14, 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 who have been 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 
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

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 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 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.

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)).

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 
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 913

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 23, 1994.
Tim L. Dieringer,
Acting Assistant Director Eastern Support Center.
[FR Doc. 94-24132 Filed 9-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M