[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 14, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53275-53277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27066]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 946
[VA-111-FOR]
Virginia Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing the receipt of a proposed amendment to the
Virginia Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) Program (hereinafter
referred to as the Virginia Program) under the Surface Mining Control
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq., as
amended. The proposed amendment makes changes to the Ranking and
Selection section and to the AML Water Project Evaluation form. The
proposed amendment is intended to revise the Virginia program to be
consistent with SMCRA, and to improve the efficiency of the Virginia
program.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 4:00 p.m. on
November 13, 1997. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed
amendments will be held at 1:00 p.m. on November 10, 1997. Requests to
present oral testimony at the hearing must be received on or before
4:00 p.m. on October 29, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to testify at the hearing
should be mailed or hand-delivered to Mr. Robert A. Penn, Director, Big
Stone Gap Field Office at the first address listed below.
Copies of the Virginia program, the proposed amendment, a listing
of any scheduled public meetings or hearing, and all written comments
received in response to this notice will be available for public review
at the address listed below during normal business hours, Monday
through Friday, excluding holidays:
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement:
Big Stone Gap Field Office, P.O. Drawer 1217, Powell Valley Square
Shopping Center, Room 220, Route 23, Big Stone Gap, Virginia 24219,
Telephone: (703) 523-4303.
Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation, P.O. Drawer 900, Big
Stone Gap, Virginia 24219, Telephone: (703) 523-8100.
Each requester may receive, free of charge, one copy of the
proposed amendment by contacting the OSM Big Stone Gap Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert A. Penn, Director, Big
Stone Gap Field Office, Telephone: (703) 523-4303.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Virginia Program
On December 15, 1981, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Virginia program. Background on the Virginia program,
including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and
the conditions of approval can be found in the December 15, 1981
Federal Register (46 FR 61085-61115). Subsequent actions concerning the
conditions of approval and AMLR program amendments are identified at 30
CFR 946.20 and 946.25.
II. Discussion of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated September 19, 1997 (Administrative Record No. VA-
926), the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation (DMLR) submitted
a proposed Program Amendment to the Virginia Program. This amendment is
intended to revise the Virginia program to be consistent with SMCRA at
section 402(g)(6), and to improve the efficiency of the Virginia
program.
The proposed amendments are as follows.
Ranking and Selection 884.13(c)(2)
In this section, Virginia proposes to change the heading of the
paragraph titled ``Acid Mine Drainage Abatement--Treatment'' to read
``Set Aside Funds,'' and to revise the language of that subsection to
include the provisions of part A of section 402(g)(6) of SMCRA.
The revised language is as follows:
Set Aside Funds
In accordance with Section 402(g)(6) of SMCRA, Virginia may,
without regard to the 3 year limitation referred to in Section
402(g)91)(D) of SMCRA, receive and retain up to 10 percent of the total
grants made annually under Section 402(g) (1) and (5) of SMCRA by the
Secretary for deposit into either:
A. A special trust fund established under State law pursuant to
which such amounts (together with all interest earned on such amounts)
are expended by Virginia solely to achieve the priorities stated in
section 403(a) of SMCRA after September 30, 1995, or
B. An acid mine drainage abatement and treatment fund established
under State law as provided for under 30 CFR Part 876. An interest
bearing acid mine drainage abatement and treatment fund will be
utilized by Virginia, in consultation with the Natural Resources
Conservation Service, to implement acid mine drainage abatement-
treatment plans approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
These plans shall provide for the comprehensive abatement of the
causes and treatment of the effects of acid mine drainage within
qualified hydrologic units affected by coal mining practices. The plan
shall include, but shall not be limited to, each of the following:
(a) An identification of the qualified hydrologic unit.
(b) The extent to which acid mine drainage is affecting the water
quality and biological resources within the hydrologic unit.
(c) An identification of the sources of acid mine drainage within
the hydrologic unit.
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(d) An identification of individual projects and the measures
proposed to be undertaken to abate and treat the causes or effects of
acid mine drainage within the hydrologic unit.
(e) The cost of undertaking the proposed abatement and treatment
measures.
(f) An identification of existing and proposed sources of funding
for such measures.
(g) An analysis of the cost-effectiveness and environmental
benefits of abatement and treatment measures.
Under this program, the term qualified hydrologic unit means a
hydrologic unit:
(a) In which the water quality has been significantly affected by
acid mine drainage from coal mining practices in a manner which
adversely impacts biological resources; and
(b) Which contains lands and water that are:
1. Eligible pursuant to Section 404 and include any of priorities
stated in SMCRA paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of Section 403(a); and
2. Proposed to be the subject of the expenditures by the State from
amounts available from the forfeiture of bonds required under Section
509 or from other State sources to mitigate acid mine drainage.
AML Water Project Evaluation Form
The AML Water Project Evaluation form is currently part of the
approved Virginia program. Virginia is proposing to change four
sections and has provided the following rationale for the changes.
Appropriate Project Costs (Cost Per Connection)
This was revised to more realistically reflect the cost/hook-ups
being experienced. most cost/hook-ups now reflect a 10,000-20,000
range. This is because of the high cost for construction due to the
distance between households, and he mountainous terrain.
Affordability
``Costs for 4,200 gal. of treated water'' was changed to read
``Costs for 3,500 gal. of treated water'' to show the average use and
to match usage rates used by other funding agencies as reflected in the
review manual application.
Level of Commitment of Non-AML Funds
The points award were modified to encourage local funding and
leverage AML funding to the maximum extent possible.
AML Bonus Award
This new review category is meant to promote and encourage awards
to proposed projects which incorporate regionalization and consolidated
management. Regionalization of water systems reduces costs and promotes
efficiency in providing water to the greatest number of households.
Points awarded for this will be between 1-5, and a total perfect score
will now be 105. The average score on projects is 60-80.
In addition to the above changes to the form, Virginia requested
that the AML Water Project Evaluation form--figure 2 be removed from
the AML State Reclamation Plan and placed into the Administrative
Record since additional changes to the form may be necessary in the
future.
The full text of proposed program amendment submitted by Virginia
is available for public inspection at the addresses listed above. The
Director now seeks public comment on whether the proposed amendment is
no less effective than the Federal regulations. If approved, the
amendment will become part of the Virginia program.
III. Public Comment Procedures
In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 884.15, OSM is now
seeking comment on whether the amendment proposed by Virginia satisfies
the applicable requirements for the approval of State AMLR program
amendments. If the amendment is deemed adequate, it will become part of
the Virginia 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 Big Stone Gap Field Office
will not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included
in the Administrative Record.
Public Hearing
Persons wishing to comment at the public hearing should contact the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by close of
business on October 29, 1997. If no one requests an opportunity to
comment at a 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 comment have been heard. Persons in the audience
who have not been scheduled to comment and who wish to do so will be
heard following those scheduled. The hearing will end after all persons
who desire to comment have been heard.
Public Meeting
If only one person requests an opportunity to comment 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 at the Big Stone Gap Field Office by
contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All
such meetings will be open to the public and, if possible, notices of
the meetings will be posted in advance at the locations listed above
under ADDRESSES. A summary of meeting will be included in 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 12988
The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required
by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (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 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
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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.
Unfunded Mandates
This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any
given year on any governmental entity or the private sector.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 946
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: October 2, 1997.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 97-27066 Filed 10-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M