[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16731-16732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9429]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 935

[OH-236-FOR]


Ohio 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 Ohio 
abandoned mine land reclamation plan (hereinafter the ``Ohio plan'') 
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), 
30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq., as amended. The proposed amendment consists of 
changes to provisions of the Ohio plan pertaining to the acid mine 
drainage set-aside program, water quality improvement, project 
eligibility, and remining incentives. The amendment is intended to 
revise the Ohio plan to be consistent with SMCRA, as amended.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., [E.S.T.], May 
17, 1996. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will 
be held on May 13, 1996. Requests to speak at the hearing must be 
received by 4:00 p.m., [E.S.T.], on May 2, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should 
be mailed or hand delivered to George Rieger, Field Branch Chief, 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 Ohio 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 Appalachian Regional 
Coordinating Center.

George Rieger, Field Branch Chief, Appalachian Regional Coordinating 
Center
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 3 Parkway Center, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15220, Telephone: (412) 937-2153
Ohio Division of Mines and Reclamation, 1855 Fountain Square Court, 
Columbus, Ohio, 43224, Telephone: (614) 265-1076

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
George Rieger, Field Branch Chief, Appalachian Regional Coordinating 
Center, Telephone: (412) 937-2153.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Ohio Plan

    On August 10, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Ohio 
plan. Background information on the Ohio plan, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions 
of approval can be found in the April 15, 1994, Federal Register (59 FR 
17930). Subsequent actions concerning the conditions of approval and 
program amendments can be found at 30 CFR 935.25.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated March 19, 1996, (Administrative Record No. OH-2163) 
Ohio submitted a proposed amendment to its program pursuant to SMCRA at 
its own initiative. The provisions of the Ohio plan that it proposes to 
amend are: acid mine drainage set-aside program, water quality 
improvement, project eligibility, and remining incentives.
    Specifically, Ohio proposes the following changes. At section 4.1, 
subsection G is added to (1) provide for the reclamation of areas 
causing acid mine drainage (AMD) such that: AMD problems are eliminated 
as a component of a high priority reclamation project; AMD areas 
causing a ``general welfare'' impact to the public will be eligible for 
abatement; and AMD areas impacting watersheds will be abated in 
accordance with AMD set-aside criteria; and (2) encourage the remining 
of areas causing AMD within certain areas through the funding of AMD 
remediation projects and studies necessary to authorize mining 
activities on certain previously mined areas.
    At section 4.5, the requirement that research and demonstration 
projects be submitted to OSM independent of work plan submissions is 
deleted. At section 4.5.3, the project selection process is revised to 
include AMD projects under certain conditions, such as the AMD set-
aside, AMD associated with other high priority projects, AMD associated 
with general welfare, and AMD associated with remining operations.

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 Ohio plan.

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 Appalachian Regional 
Coordinating Center 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 May 2, 1996. 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

[[Page 16732]]

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 (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 reclamations plan and revisions 
since each plan is drafted and promulgated by a specific State or 
Tribe, not by OSM. Decisions on proposed abandoned mine land 
reclamation plans submitted by a State or Tribe must be based solely on 
a determination of whether the submittal is consistent with Title IV of 
SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1231-1243) and whether the other requirements of 30 
CFR Parts 884 and 888 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 935

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: April 4, 1996.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 96-9429 Filed 4-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M