[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 7, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48573-48574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23218]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 901

[SPATS No. AL-070-FOR]


Alabama Regulatory Program

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

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

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SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) 
is announcing receipt of an amendment to the Alabama regulatory program 
(Alabama program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 
of 1977 (SMCRA). Alabama proposes revisions to statutes concerning the 
repair or compensation for material damage caused by subsidence, 
resulting from underground coal mining operations, to any occupied 
residential dwelling and related structures or any noncommercial 
building. Alabama proposed to revise its program at its own initiative.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Alabama 
program and the amendment to that program are available for your 
inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written 
comments on the amendment, and the procedures that will be followed for 
the public hearing, if one is requested.

DATES: We will accept written comments until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t., October 
7, 1999. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment 
on October 4, 1999. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing 
until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on September 22, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and 
requests to speak at the hearing to Arthur W. Abbs, Director, 
Birmingham Field Office, at the address listed below.
    You may review copies of the Alabama program, the 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 amendment by contacting 
OSM's Birmingham Field Office.

Arthur W. Abbs, Director, Birmingham Field Office, Office of Surface 
Mining, 135 Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Homewood, Alabama 35209, 
Telephone: (205) 290-7282.
Alabama Surface Mining Commission, 1811 Second Avenue, P.O. Box 2390, 
Jasper, Alabama 35502-2390, Telephone (205) 221-4130.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arthur W. Abbs, Director, Birmingham 
Field Office. Telephone: (205) 290-7282. Internet: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Alabama Program

    On May 20, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Alabama program. You can find background information on 
the Alabama program, including the Secretary's findings, the 
disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the May 20, 
1982, Federal Register (47 FR 22062). You can find later actions on the 
Alabama program at 30 CFR 901.15 and 901.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated August 17, 1999 (Administrative Record No. AL-
0589), Alabama sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Alabama 
sent the amendment at its own initiative. Alabama proposes to amend the 
Alabama Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Below is a summary 
of the changes proposed by Alabama. The full text of the program 
amendment is available for your inspection at the locations listed 
above under ADDRESSES.
    A. Alabama proposes to revise section 9-16-91(e)(1) to read as 
follows:

    (1) Promptly repair or compensate for material damage to any 
occupied residential dwelling and related structures or any 
noncommercial building caused by surface subsidence resulting from 
underground coal mining operations. Repair of damage shall include 
rehabilitation, restoration, or replacement of the damaged occupied 
residential dwelling and related structures or noncommercial 
building. Compensation shall be provided to the owner of the damaged 
occupied residential dwelling and related structures or 
noncommercial building which shall be in the full amount of the 
diminution in value resulting from subsidence caused damage. 
Compensation may be accomplished by the purchase, prior to mining, 
of a non-cancelable premium-prepaid insurance policy.

    B. Alabama proposes to revise section 9-16-91(e)(3) to read as 
follows:

    (3) Promptly correct any material damage resulting from 
subsidence caused to surface lands, to the extent technologically 
and economically feasible, by restoring the land to a condition 
capable of maintaining the value and reasonably foreseeable uses 
that it was capable of supporting before subsidence.

    C. Alabama proposes to revise section 9-16-91(e)(4) to read as 
follows:

    (4) The regulatory authority shall issue such notices or orders 
and take such actions as necessary to compel compliance with these 
requirements.

    D. Alabama proposes to revise section 9-16-91(f) to read as 
follows:

    (f) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter to the 
contrary, the remedies prescribed in this section or any rule 
promulgated under authority of this chapter pertaining to repair or 
compensation for subsidence damage and replacement of water shall be 
the sole and exclusive remedies available to the owner for such 
damage and its effects. Neither punitive damages nor, except as 
specifically prescribed in this section or any rule promulgated 
under authority of this chapter pertaining to repair or compensation 
for subsidence damage and replacement of water, compensatory damages 
shall be awarded for subsidence damage caused by longwall mining or 
other mining process employing a planned subsidence method and 
conducted in substantial compliance with a permit issued under 
authority of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit 
agreements between the surface owner and the mineral owner or lessee 
that establish the manner and means by which repair or compensation 
for subsidence damage is to be provided. However, the remedies 
prescribed for subsidence damage shall not be diminished or waived 
by contrary provisions in deeds, leases, or documents (other than 
such subsidence damage agreements) which leave the owner without 
such prescribed remedies. Provided, however, the provisions of this 
subsection do not apply to any actions brought for, and in which the 
trier of the fact finds, intentional, willful, or wanton conduct; 
provided further, that conduct in substantial compliance with 
applicable mining permits may not be deemed to be intentional, 
willful, or wanton.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are requesting 
comments on whether the amendment satisfies the applicable program 
approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve the amendment, it 
will become part of the Alabama program.

Written Comments

    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their home address from the administrative record, which we will honor 
to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in 
which we would withhold from the administrative record a respondent's 
identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name 
and/or address, you must state this

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prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not 
consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
    Your written comments should be specific and pertain only to the 
issues proposed in this rulemaking. You should explain the reason for 
any recommended change. In the final rulemaking, we will not 
necessarily consider or include in the Administrative Record any 
comments received after the time indicated under DATES or at locations 
other than the Birmingham Field Office.
    Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use 
of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include 
``Attn: SPATS No. AL-070-FOR'' and your name and return address in your 
Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have 
received your Internet message, contact the Birmingham Field Office at 
(205) 290-7282.

Public Hearing

    If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on 
September 22, 1999. We will arrange the location and time of the 
hearing with those persons requesting the hearing. If you are disabled 
and need special accommodations to attend a public hearing, contact the 
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The hearing 
will not be held if no one requests an opportunity to speak at the 
public hearing.
    You should file a written statement at the time you request the 
hearing. This will 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. If 
you are in the audience and have not been scheduled to speak and wish 
to do so, you will be allowed to speak after those who have been 
scheduled. We will end the hearing after all persons scheduled to speak 
and persons present in the audience who wish to speak have been heard.

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. If you wish 
to meet with us to discuss the amendment, request a meeting by 
contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All 
such meetings are open to the public and, if possible, we will post 
notices of meetings at the locations listed under ADDRESSES. We also 
make a written summary of each meeting a part of the Administrative 
Record.

IV. Procedural Determinations

Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) exempts this rule from 
review 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 State regulatory 
programs and program amendments 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

    This rule does not require an environmental impact statement since 
section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that agency 
decisions on 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 
corresponding 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. Therefore, this rule will ensure that existing requirements 
previously published 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 corresponding Federal regulations.

Unfunded Mandates

    OSM has determined and certifies under the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq.) that this rule will not impose a cost of 
$100 million or more in any given year on local, state, or tribal 
governments or private entities.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 901

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: August 30, 1999.
Brent Wahlquist,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 99-23218 Filed 9-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P