[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 242 (Monday, December 19, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31094]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 19, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 901

 

Alabama 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.

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Alabama abandoned mine land reclamation plan (hereinafter referred to 
as the ``Alabama plan'') under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed amendment consists of 
revisions and additions to the Alabama plan pertaining to the 
incorporation of contractor bidder eligibility screening under OSM's 
Applicant Violator System for the reclamation of coal and noncoal 
sites; exclusion of certain noncoal sites from reclamation; requirement 
of submission of Form OSM-76 upon project completion; and, removal of 
the fourth priority for noncoal reclamation sites. These changes would 
be applicable to reclamation of both nonemergency and emergency 
Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) projects. The amendment is 
intended to revise the Alabama plan to be consistent with the 
corresponding Federal regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., E.S.T. January 
18, 1995. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will 
be held on January 13, 1995. Requests to speak at the hearing must be 
received by 4:00 p.m., E.S.T. on January 3, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should 
be mailed or hand delivered to Jesse Jackson, Jr., Director, Birmingham 
Field Office, at the address listed below.
    Copies of the Alabama plan, 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 Birmingham Field Office:

Jesse Jackson, Jr., Director, Birmingham Field Office, Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Birmingham Field Office, 
135 Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Birmingham, Alabama 35209, Telephone: 
(205) 290-7287
Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, Abandoned Mine Lands 
Program, 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36130, Telephone: (205) 
242-8265

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Director, 
Birmingham Field Office, Telephone: (205) 290-7287.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Alabama 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 AML Reclamation Act of 
1990 (Pub. L. 101-508, title VI, Subtitle A, Nov. 5, 1990, effective 
Oct. 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 plan has the responsibility and 
primary authority to implement the program.
    On May 20, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Alabama 
plan. Background information on the Alabama plan, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the approval of 
the plan can be found in the May 20, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 
22062). Subsequent actions concerning the conditions of approval and 
amendments to the plan can be found at 30 CFR 901.25.
    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 set out in 30 CFR 
884.14 in approving or disapproving an amendment or revision.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated December 5, 1994 (Administrative Record No. AL-
512), Alabama submitted a proposed amendment to its plan pursuant to 
SMCRA. Alabama submitted the proposed amendment in response to a 
September 26, 1994, letter (Administrative Record No. AL-511) that OSM 
sent to Alabama in accordance with 30 CFR 884.15(d). The provisions of 
the Alabama plan proposed for revision are ``Administrative and 
Management Structure of the Alabama Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation 
Program Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 884.13(d)'' to incorporate contractor 
bidder eligibility screening under OSM's Applicant Violator System for 
the reclamation of coal and noncoal sites; and ``Ranking and Selection 
Procedures Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 884.13(c)(2)'' to exclude certain 
noncoal sites from reclamation; to require submission of Form OSM-76 
upon project completion; and, to remove the fourth priority for noncoal 
reclamation sites. The changes would be applicable to reclamation of 
both nonemergency and emergency AMLR projects.

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 Alabama 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 Birmingham 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.S.T. on January 3, 1995. 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.
    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.

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 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 and Tribal abandoned mine land reclamation 
plans and revisions thereof submitted by a State or Tribe as 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 and Tribal abandoned mine land 
reclamation 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 Office of Management and Budget 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 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. Accordingly, this rule will ensure that existing requirements 
previously promulgated by OSM will be implemented. 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 901

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: December 13, 1994.
Richard J. Seibel,
Acting Assistant Director, Eastern Support Center.
[FR Doc. 94-31094 Filed 12-16-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M