[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 154 (Tuesday, August 11, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42774-42775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21528]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 902
[AK-007-FOR, Amendment No. VII]
Alaska 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 Alaska regulatory
program (hereinafter, the ``Alaska program'') under the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed amendment
consists of revisions to rules pertaining to general permitting
requirements, general permit application information requirements,
environmental resource information requirements, reclamation and
operation plan requirements, permitting for special categories of
mining, coal exploration, self-bonding requirements, performance
standards, and general provisions. The amendment is intended to revise
the Alaska program to provide additional safeguards, to clarify
ambiguities, and to improve operational efficiency.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t.,
September 10, 1998. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed
amendment will be held on September 8, 1998. Requests to present oral
testimony at the hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t., August
26, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to James
F. Fulton at the address listed below.
Copies of the Alaska 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 Denver Field Division.
James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver,
Colorado 80202-5733.
Robert Loeffler, Large Mine Project Manager, Alaska Division of Mining
and Water Management, 3601 C Street, Suite 800, Anchorage, Alaska
99503-5935, Telephone: 907-269-8627.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Telephone: 303-844-
1424; Internet address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Alaska Program
On March 23, 1983, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Alaska program. General background information on the
Alaska program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of
comments, and conditions of approval of the Alaska program can be found
in the March 23, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 12274).
Subsequent actions concerning Alaska's program and program
amendments can be found at 30 CFR 902.15 and 902.16.
II. Proposed Amendment
By letter dated July 30, 1998, Alaska submitted a proposed
amendment (amendment number VII, administrative record No. AK-07-01) to
its program pursuant to SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. Alaska submitted
the proposed amendment at its own initiative. The provisions of the
Alaska Surface Coal Mining Program Regulations that Alaska proposed to
revise were: 11 Alaska Administrative Code (AAC) 90.002(a), (b), and
(c), responsibilities, and 11 AAC 90.011[(a)] (1) and (2), permit fees,
as provided in Article 2, General Permitting Requirements; 11 AAC
90.025(a)(2), (b), and (c), authority to enter and ownership
information, as provided in Article 3, General Permit Application
Information Requirements; 11 AAC 90.045(a)(1) and (2), geology
description, and 11 AAC 90.049[(a)], [(a)](1), (2), and [(a)](2)(C)
through (H) surface water information, as provided in Article 4,
Environmental Resource Information Requirements; 11 AAC 90.083(b)(9)
and (11), reclamation plan general requirements, and 11 AAC 90.097,
transportation facilities, as provided in Article 5, Reclamation and
Operation Plan; 11 AAC 90.149(d) and (d)(1), operations near alluvial
valley floors, as provided in Article 7, Permitting for Special
Categories of Mining; 11 AAC 90.163(a) and (d), exploration that
substantially disturbs the natural land surface or occurs in an area
designated unsuitable for surface coal mining, as provided in Article
8, Exploration; 11 AAC 90.207(f), self-bonding requirements, as
provided in Article 10, Bonding; 11 AAC 90.337(f), impoundment
inspection, 11 AAC 90.375(f), public notice of blasting, 11
[[Page 42775]]
AAC 90.391(h)(1) and (2) and (s), disposal of excess spoil and coal
mine waste, 11 AAC 90.401(e), coal mine waste, refuse piles, 11 AAC
90.407(e), coal mine waste, dams and embankments, 11 AAC 90.423(b) and
(h), protection of fish and wildlife, 11 AAC 90.443(d)(1), (k), and
(k)(1) and (2), backfilling and grading, and 11 AAC 90.491(e), (f), and
(f)(1) and (2), construction and maintenance of roads, transportation
and support facilities, and utility installations, as provided in
Article 11, Performance Standards; and 11 AAC 90.901(e), applicability,
11 AAC 90.907(c) and (j), public participation, and 11 AAC 90.911(92),
definition of ``road,'' as provided in Article 17, General Provisions.
Alaska is proposing numerous editorial changes and recodifications
for the purpose of clarity and in order to be consistent with the
requirements of the State's ``Drafting Manual for Administrative
Regulations'' (1995 edition). In addition, Alaska specifically proposes
at 11 AAC 90.049[(a)](2)(G) to require that water quality data show
acidity information if there is potential for acid drainage from the
proposed mining operation, and at 11 AAC 90.207(f)(2) to apply certain
provisions for self-bonding, including criteria that must be met by the
self-bond guarantor.
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 Alaska 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 Denver Field Office will not
necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in the
administrative record.
2. Public Hearing
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., August 26, 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.
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 heard.
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 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
1. 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).
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. 192(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 902
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: August 4, 1998.
Russell F. Price,
Acting Regional Director,
Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 98-21528 Filed 8-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M