[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.

[[Page 53276]]

    (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

[[Page 53277]]

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