[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33508-33510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15936]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement


Proposed Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel Project in 
Wyoming

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

ACTION: Notice of application for grant funding; Public comment period 
on request to fund the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel 
project.

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing its receipt of a grant application from the 
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Abandoned Mine Land 
Division (AMLD). Wyoming is requesting $10,000 from the Abandoned Mine 
Reclamation Fund to pay approximately 51 percent of the cost of 
building the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel Project in 
Sweetwater County, Wyoming. In its application, the State proposes 
paying for part of the reconstruction cost as a public facility project 
that will benefit a community impacted by coal mining activities.
    This notice describes when and where the Wyoming abandoned mine 
land (AML) program and the grant application for funding the Rock 
Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel project are available for you to 
read. It also sets the time period during which

[[Page 33509]]

you may send written comment on the request to us.
DATES:  We will accept written comments until 4 p.m., m.s.t., July 23, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand-deliver written comments to Guy V. 
Padgett, Casper Field Office Director, at the address shown below. You 
may read Wyoming's grant application for this proposed project during 
normal business hours Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) at the 
same address. Also, we will send one free copy of the grant application 
to you if you contact OSM's Casper Field Office.

Guy V. Padgett, Director, Casper Field Office, Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement, Federal Building, Rm. 2403, 100 East ``B'' 
Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1918

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy V. Padgett, Telephone: (307) 261-
6555.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on Title IV of SMCRA

    Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) 
established an Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) program. The 
purpose of the AMLR program is to reclaim and restore lands and waters 
that were adversely affected by past mining. The program is funded by a 
reclamation fee paid by active coal mining operations. Lands and waters 
eligible for reclamation under Title IV are primarily those that were 
mined, or affected by mining, and abandoned or inadequately reclaimed 
before August 3, 1977, and for which there is no continuing reclamation 
responsibility under State, Federal, or other laws.
    Title IV of SMCRA allows States to submit AMLR plans to us. We, on 
behalf of the Secretary, review those plans and consider any public 
comments we receive about them. If we determine that a State has the 
ability and necessary legislation to operate an AMLR program, the 
Secretary can approve it. The Secretary's approval gives a State 
exclusive authority to put its AMLR plan into effect.
    Once the Secretary approves a State's AMLR plan, the State may 
annually apply to us for money to fund specific projects that will 
achieve the goals of its approved plan. We follow the requirements of 
the Federal regulations at 30 CFR parts 874, 875, and 886 when we 
review and approve such applications.

II. Background on the Wyoming AMLR Plan

    The Secretary of the Interior approved Wyoming's AMLR plan on 
February 14, 1983.
    You can find background information on the Wyoming AML program, 
including the Secretary's findings and our responses to comments, in 
the February 14, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 6536). Wyoming changed 
its plan a number of times since the Secretary first approved it. In 
1984, we accepted the State's certification that it addressed all known 
coal-related impacts in Wyoming that were eligible for funding under 
its program. As a result, the State may now reclaim low priority non-
coal reclamation projects. You can read about the certification and 
OSM's acceptance in the May 25, 1984, Federal Register (48 FR 22139). 
At the same time, we also accepted Wyoming's proposal that it will ask 
us for funds to reclaim any additional coal-related problems that occur 
during the life of the Wyoming AML program as soon as it becomes aware 
of them. In the April 13, 1992, Federal Register (57 FR 12731), we 
announced our decision to accept other changes in Wyoming's plan that 
describe how it will rank eligible coal, non-coal, and facility 
projects for funding. Those changes also authorized the Governor of 
Wyoming to elevate the priority of a project based upon the Governor's 
determination of need and urgency. They also expanded the State's 
ability to construct public facilities under section 411 of SMCRA. We 
approved additional changes in Wyoming's plan concerning noncoal lien 
authority and contractor eligibility that improve the efficiency of the 
State's AML program. That approval is described in the February 21, 
1996, Federal Register (61 FR 6537).
    Once a State certifies that it has addressed all remaining 
abandoned coal mine problems, and the Secretary concurs, then it may 
request funds to undertake abandoned noncoal mine reclamation community 
impact assistance, and public facilities projects under sections 
411(b), (e), and (f), of SMCRA.
    State law and regulations that apply to the proposed Rock Springs 
funding request include Wyoming Statute 35-11-1202 and Wyoming 
Abandoned Mine Land Regulations, Chapter VII, of the Wyoming Abandoned 
Mine Program.

III. Wyoming's Request To Fund Part of the Cost of Building the 
Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel Project

    The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality submitted to us a 
grant application dated December 21, 1998. In that application, Wyoming 
asked for $210,000 that it will use to pay for part of the cost of 
building the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel. This drainage 
project is a public facility in a community impacted by coal mining 
activitive. The requested funding is 51 percent of the project's total 
cost. Money for the balance of the project will come from the city of 
Rock Springs (49%). The Governor of Wyoming certified the need and 
urgency to fund the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel project 
prior to completing the State's remaining inventory of non-coal 
reclamation, as allowed by section 411(f) of SMCRA. That certification 
says the project is in a community impacted by coal mining activities. 
The project involves providing flood control to a community that 
supports a large coal and trona industry. The project is designed to 
mitigate impacts resulting from historic boom and bust cycles of the 
mining industry and the overall growth of the community from mining. An 
extensive flood event in an adjacent area (White Mountain/Belmont area) 
resulted in property loss (residential and business) and business 
disruption in 1991.
    This project will mitigate the impacts of flooding and damage to 
property. The Governor's certification states that the threat to public 
health and safety is as great at these locations as at unreclaimed non-
coal mines. The potential health risks warrant funding this project 
before the remaining non-coal projects.

IV. How We Will Review Wyoming's Grant Application

    We will review this grant application with respect to the 
regulations at 30 CFR 875.15, specifically Secs. 875.15(e) (1) through 
(7). As stated in those regulations, the application must include the 
following information: (1) The need or urgency for the activity or the 
construction of the public facility; (2) the expected impact the 
project will have on Wyoming's coal or minerals industry; (3) the 
availability of funding from other sources and, if other funding is 
provided, its percentage of the total costs involved; (4) documentation 
from other local, State, and Federal agencies with oversight for such 
utilities or facilities describing what funding they have available and 
why their agency is

[[Page 33510]]

not fully funding this specific project; (5) the impact on the State, 
the public, and the minerals industry if the facility is not funded; 
(6) the reason why this project should be selected before a priority 
project relating to the protection of the public health and safety or 
the environment from the damages caused by past mining activities, and 
(7) an analysis and review of the procedures Wyoming used to notify and 
involve the public in this funding request, and a copy of all comments 
received and their resolution by the State. Wyoming's application for 
the Rock Springs Stormwater Drainage Channel Project contains the 
information described in these seven subsections.
    Section 875.15(f) requires us to evaluate all comments we receive 
and determine whether the funding meets the requirements of 
Secs. 875.15(e) (1) through (7) described above. It also requires us to 
determine if the request is in the best interests of the State's AML 
program. We will approve Wyoming's request to fund this project if we 
conclude that it meets all the requirements of 30 CFR 875.15.

V. What To Do if You Want To Comment on the Proposed Project

    We are asking for public comments on Wyoming's request for funds to 
pay for part of the cost of building the Rock Springs Stormwater 
Drainage Channel Project. You are welcome to comment on the project. If 
you do, please send us written comments. Make sure your comments are 
specific and pertain to Wyoming's funding request in the context of the 
regulations at 30 CFR 875.15 and the provisions of section 411 of 
SMCRA. You should explain any recommendations you make. If we receive 
your comments after the time shown under DATES or at locations other 
than the Casper Field Office, we will not necessarily consider them in 
our final decision or include them in the administrative record.

    Dated: June 11, 1999.
Guy Padgett,
Director, Casper Field Office.
[FR Doc. 99-15936 Filed 6-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M