[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27698-27700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13340]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 917

[KY-218-FOR]


Kentucky 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 
Kentucky regulatory program (hereinafter the ``Kentucky program'') 
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). 
The proposed amendment consists of revisions to the Kentucky statutes 
pertaining to bonding and permit renewal. The amendment is intended to 
revise the Kentucky program to be consistent with the corresponding 
Federal regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., [E.D.T.], June 
19, 1998. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will 
be held on June 15, 1998. Requests to speak at the hearing must be 
received by 4:00 p.m., [E.D.T.], on June 4, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should 
be mailed or hand delivered to William J. Kovacic, Director, at the 
address listed below.
    Copies of the Kentucky 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 Lexington Field Office.

William J. Kovacic, Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, 
Kentucky 40503. Telephone: (606) 233-2494.
Department of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2 Hudson 
Hollow Complex, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601. Telephone: (502) 564-6940.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William J. Kovacic, Director, Lexington Field Office, Telephone: (606) 
233-2494.

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Kentucky Program

    On May 18, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Kentucky program. Background information on the Kentucky 
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and the conditions of approval can be found in the May 18, 
1982, Federal Register (47 FR 21404). Subsequent actions concerning the 
conditions of approval and program amendments can be found at 30 CFR 
917.11, 917.13, 917.15, 917.16, and 917.17.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated April 23, 1998 (Administrative Record No. KY-1425), 
Kentucky submitted a proposed amendment to its program. House Bills 
(HB) 354, 498, and 593 (effective July 15, 1998) revise section 350 of 
the Kentucky Revised Statues (KRS) at 350.990(11), 350.131(2), 
350.139(1), 350.990(1), and 350.060(16).
    Specifically, Kentucky proposes to make the following changes. HB 
354 confirms Executive Order 97-714, June 11, 1997, which changed the 
name of the Division of Abandoned Lands to the Division of Abandoned 
Mine Lands and corrects the name in KRS 350.990(11). HB 498 completes 
the package of bonding reforms jointly recommended by the State, OSM, 
and others. It requires that when a bond is forfeited, and the entire 
forfeited amount is more than necessary to complete reclamation, the 
unused funds less any accrued interest shall be returned to the party 
from whom they were collected at KRS 350.131(2). It establishes the 
bond forfeiture supplemental fund at KRS 350.139(1) and requires that 
funds from forfeited reclamation bonds be placed in an interest-bearing 
account. The interest becomes a supplemental fund that can be used to 
reclaim any lands where a forfeited bond is insufficient to complete 
the necessary reclamation. No more that 25% of the supplemental fund 
can be expended on a single site, unless a larger expenditure is 
necessary to abate an imminent danger to public health or safety. At 
KRS 350.990(1), HB 498 provides for a potential second source of money 
for the supplemental fund. The first $800,000 of collected civil 
penalties for coal mining violations will be deposited into the General 
Fund. One-half of the excess will go to the new bond forfeiture 
supplemental fund, but only when the balance in the Bond Pool Fund 
(Fund) is above the maximum of the operating range necessary to ensure 
its solvency. No diversion of excess penalty income from the Fund to 
the supplemental fund will occur until the Fund balance reaches $16 
million, or a larger amount established by the most recent actuarial 
study of the Fund. If the Fund falls below $16 million (or higher 
amount established by the study), all excess moneys shall be deposited 
into the Fund until it reaches $16 million. HB 593 revises KRS 
350.060(16) to require that a notice of noncompliance be issued if a 
permit has expired or if a permit renewal application has not been 
timely filed and the operator or permittee wants to continue the mining 
operation. The notice of noncompliance shall be deemed to have been 
complied with, and the permit may be renewed, if a permit renewal 
application is received within 30 days of the receipt of the notice of 
noncompliance. Upon submittal of a permit renewal application, the 
operator or permittee shall be deemed to have timely filed the permit 
renewal application and shall be permitted to continue, under the terms 
of the expired permit, the mining operation, pending issuance of the 
permit renewal. Failure to comply with the remedial measures of the 
notice of noncompliance shall result in the cessation of the mining 
operation.

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 Kentucky 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 Lexington 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.D.T.] on June 4, 1998. 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 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 or 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

[[Page 27700]]

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.

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 917

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: May 13, 1998.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 98-13340 Filed 5-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M