[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 73 (Friday, April 16, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18857-18858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9619]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 935

[OH-246-FOR]


Ohio 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 Ohio 
regulatory program (Ohio program) under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Ohio is proposing revisions to section 
1501:13-1-04 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) as it relates to 
exemptions for coal extraction incidental to government-financed 
highway or other construction. The amendment is intended to revise the 
Ohio program to include counterparts to the recently promulgated ``AML 
Enhancement Rule,'' which revised the Federal regulations at 30 CFR 
707.5 and added a new provision, at 30 CFR 874.17.

DATES: If you submit written comments, they must be received by 4:00 
p.m., [E.D.T.] May 17, 1999. If requested, a public hearing on the 
proposed amendment will be held on May 11, 1999. Requests to speak at 
the hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., on May 3, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-deliver your written comments and requests to 
speak at the hearing to George Rieger, Manager, Oversight and 
Inspection Office, at the address listed below.
    You may review copies of the Ohio program, the proposed amendment, 
a listing of any scheduled public hearings, and all written comments 
received in response to this document at the addresses listed below 
during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding 
holidays. You may receive one free copy of the proposed amendment by 
contacting OSM's Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.

George Rieger, Manager, Oversight and Inspection Office, Appalachian 
Regional Coordinating Center
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 3 Parkway Center, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15220, Telephone: (412) 937-2153
Ohio Division of Mines and Reclamation, 1855 Fountain Square Court, 
Columbus, Ohio 43244, Telephone: (614) 265-1076.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Rieger, Manager, Oversight and 
Inspection Office, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center, Telephone: 
(412) 937-2153. Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Ohio Program

    On August 16, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Ohio program. You can find background information on the 
Ohio program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and the conditions of approval in the August 10, 1982, 
Federal Register (47 FR 34688). You can find later actions on 
conditions of approval and program amendments at 30 CFR 935.11, 935.15, 
and 935.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated March 16, 1999 (Administrative Record No. OH-2178-
00) Ohio submitted a proposed amendment to its program concerning 
exemptions for coal extraction incidental to government-financed 
highway or other construction. Ohio submitted the proposed amendment at 
its own initiative, in order to incorporate into its program the 
expanded exemption recently promulgated in the Federal regulations at 
30 CFR 707.5, as part of the ``AML Enhancement Rule.'' Under this rule, 
approved Title IV abandoned mine land (AML) projects under SMCRA which 
involve incidental coal extraction and are less than 50 percent 
government financed may qualify for exemption. Projects which qualify 
for this expanded exemption must also meet the newly promulgated 
requirements contained in 30 CFR 874.17. (64 FR 7470, February 12, 
1999). The changes proposed by Ohio in the amendment are discussed 
briefly below:
    In the existing Ohio regulations under OAC section 1501:13-1-04(B), 
the subject exemption is limited to coal extraction incidental to 
``government financed construction.'' ``Government financed 
construction'' is defined, in relevant part, as construction funded 50 
percent or more by funds appropriated from a government financing 
agency's budget or obtained from general revenue bonds. In the 
amendment, the State proposes to include within the exemption coal 
extraction incidental to construction that is government-funded at less 
than 50 percent when the construction is undertaken as an approved 
reclamation project under Section 1513.30 (state financed projects) or 
1513.37 (Federally funded AML projects) of the Revised Code. The 
proposed amendment also specifies requirements for approved reclamation 
projects with less than 50 percent government financing, such as 
procedures for determining whether a project qualifies for exemption, 
concurrence between the AML and regulatory program coordinators as to 
the limits and boundaries of incidental coal extraction, required 
documentation, and special requirements, including a requirement that 
projects be conducted in accordance with Ohio's approved AML program. 
Finally, the amendment requires a contractor to obtain a surface coal 
mining permit if it extracts coal beyond the limits which have been 
agreed upon by the AML and regulatory program coordinators.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    According to the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking 
comments on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the applicable 
program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we determine the 
amendment to be adequate, it will become part of the Ohio program.

[[Page 18858]]

Written Comments

    Your written comments should be specific, pertain only to the 
issues proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support 
of your recommendations. Comments received after the time indicated 
under DATES or at locations other than the Appalachian Regional 
Coordinating Center will not necessarily be considered in the final 
rulemaking or included in the Administrative Record.

Public Hearing

    If you wish to speak at the public hearing, you should contact the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., 
[E.D.T.] on May 3, 1999. 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 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 also allow us 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 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.

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

    In accordance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1501 
et seq.), this rule will not produce a Federal mandate of $100 million 
or greater in any year, i.e., it is not a ``significant regulatory 
action'' under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR 935

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: April 9, 1999.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 99-9619 Filed 4-15-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P