[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 145 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40384-40386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20262]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 950

[WY-028-FOR]


Wyoming Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public 
hearing on proposed amendment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) 
is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Wyoming regulatory 
program (hereinafter, the ``Wyoming program'') under the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed amendment 
consists of revisions to rules and statutes pertaining to: fish and 
wildlife habitat and resource information, shrub density, certification 
of maps by a registered professional engineer, geologic descriptions, 
topsoil substitutes, special bituminous coal mines, archaeological and 
historic resources, permit transfers, civil penalties, and 
miscellaneous changes to Appendix A, which concerns vegetation sampling 
methods and reclamation success standards for surface coal

[[Page 40385]]

mining operations. The amendment is intended to revise the Wyoming 
program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations, to 
clarify ambiguities, and to improve operational efficiency.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. August 
28, 1998. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will 
be held on August 24, 1998. Requests to present oral testimony at the 
hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on August 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to Guy 
Padgett at the address listed below.
    Copies of the Wyoming program, the proposed amendment, 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 Casper Field Office.

Guy Padgett, Field Office Director, Casper Field Office, Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 100 East ``B'' Street, 
Federal Building, Room 2128, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1918
Rick Chancellor, Administrator, Land Quality Division, Department of 
Environmental Quality, Herschler Building--3rd Floor West, 122 West 
25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, Telephone: 307-777-7046.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy Padgett, 307/261-6550; Internet: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Wyoming Program

    On November 26, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Wyoming program. General background information on the 
Wyoming program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and the conditions of approval of the Wyoming program can be 
found in the November 26, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 78637). 
Subsequent actions concerning Wyoming's program and program amendments 
can be found at 30 CFR 950.12, 950.15, and 950.16.

II. Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated July 13, 1998, Wyoming submitted a proposed 
amendment (administrative record No. WY-32-1) to its program pursuant 
to SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. Wyoming submitted the proposed 
amendment in response to the required program amendments at 30 CFR 
950.16 (b), (c), (g), (v), (x), (ii)(1), and (kk), and at its own 
initiative. The provisions of the Wyoming Coal Rules and Regulations 
that Wyoming proposed to revise were: (1) Chapter 1, section 2(ac), 
revises the definition of ``eligible land'' in the definitions section 
by adding the exact date of approval of the shrub density rule, August 
6, 1996; (2) Chapter 2, Section 1(e), revises the section delineating 
the contents of permit applications by deleting reference to the 
defunct State Conservation Commission; (3) Chapter 2, Section 
2(a)(vi)(G)(II), requires notification of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service by the Wyoming Administrator of the Land Quality Division if 
critical or crucial habitat disruption is likely; (4) Chapter 2, 
Section 2(a)(vi)(H), requires in the permit application a description 
of the areal and structural geology of the permit area and, by 
extrapolation, adjacent areas; (5) Chapter 2, Section 2(a)(vi)(J), 
corrects incorrect references to the Wyoming Statutes; (6) Chapter 2, 
Section 2(a)(vi)(J)(II), requires maps submitted in a permit 
application to depict the strike and dips of coal seams; (7) Chapter 2, 
Section 2(b)(iv)(C) revises the subsection on revegetation by deleting 
reference to the defunct State Conservation Commission; (8) Chapter 2, 
Section 2(b)(vi)(C), requires the submission of resource information 
when requested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; (9) Chapter 4, 
Section 2(c)(ix), allows the use of selected spoil material as a 
topsoil or subsoil substitute; (10) Chapter 4, Section 2(d)(x)(E)(I), 
revises the rule on shrub density to add the exact date of the approval 
of the rule, August 6, 1996; (11) Chapter 4, Section 2(d)(x)(E)(III), 
revises the rule to be consistent with the Wyoming Statute because the 
rule did not clarify that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department only has 
approval authority for revegetation standards on crucial habitat 
declared as such prior to the submittal of a permit application or any 
subsequent amendment; (12) Chapter 8, Section 3-4, revises the rules on 
special bituminous coal mines by establishing special alternative 
standards for new special bituminous surface coal mines; (13) Chapter 
12, Section 1(a)(v)(B), requires that the effect on properties on the 
National Register of Historic Places must be taken into account prior 
to permit approval; (14) Chapter 12, Section 1(a)(v)(C), revises the 
rule on permitting procedures by adding the word, ``any'' in front of 
``properties listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of 
Historic Places''; (15) Chapter 12, Section 1(b)(ii), revises the rule 
on permitting procedures by deleting, for permit transfers, the 
reference to the public participation requirements in Wyoming Statute 
35-11-406(g); (16) Chapter 16, Section 3 (c) and (f), corrects the 
reference to the Wyoming Statute concerning civil penalties; (17) 
Appendix A, Appendix IV, revises the rules by adding additional plants 
to the List of Threatened and Endangered Species in Wyoming; (18) 
Appendix A, Options I-IV, makes 11 minor changes to the shrub density 
option tables; (19) Appendix A, Section II.C.2.c, corrects the cross-
reference to the rule on cropland, hayland or pastureland; (20) 
Appendix A, Section II.C.3, removes the language referring to the 
approval of the shrub density rule and replaces it with the exact date 
of approval of that rule, August 6, 1996; (21) Appendix A, section 
VIII.E, removes the language referring to the approval of the shrub 
density rule with the exact date of the approval of that rule, August 
6, 1996.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    In accordance with 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 Wyoming program.

1. 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 Casper Field Office will not 
necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in the 
administrative record.

2. Public Hearings

    Persons wishing to testify at the public hearing should contact the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., 
m.d.t. on August 13, 1998. 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. The location 
and time of the hearing will be arranged with those persons requesting 
the hearing. If no one requests an opportunity to testify at the public 
hearing, the hearing will not be held.

[[Page 40386]]

    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 testify have been heard. Persons in the audience 
who have not been scheduled to testify, and who wish to do so, will be 
heard following those who have been scheduled. The hearing will end 
after all persons scheduled to testify and persons present in the 
audience who wish to testify have been hear.

3. Public Meeting

    If only one person requests an opportunity to testify 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 contracting 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

1. Executive Order 12866

    This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning Review).

2. 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 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 the Federal regulations at 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 of 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.

3. 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)).

4. 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.).

5. 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 that 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.

6. 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 950

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: July 22, 1998.
Peter A. Rutledge,
Acting Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 98-20262 Filed 7-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M