[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50026-50028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-24061]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 914

[SPATS No. IN-146-FOR; State Program Amendment No. 98-3]


Indiana 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 a proposed amendment to the Indiana regulatory 
program (Indiana program) under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Indiana proposes to add a new section 
to its rules. The new section requires coal mine operators to submit an 
annual

[[Page 50027]]

report of affected areas to the director of the Indiana Department of 
Natural Resources (IDNR). Indiana intends to revise its program to 
improve operational efficiency.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Indiana 
program and 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 we will follow for 
the public hearing, if one is requested.

DATES: We will accept written comments until 4:00 p.m., e.s.t., October 
15, 1999. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment 
on October 12, 1999. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing 
until 4:00 p.m., e.s.t. on September 30, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and 
requests to speak at the hearing to Andrew R. Gilmore, Director, 
Indianapolis Field Office, at the address listed below.
    You may review copies of the Indiana 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 Indianapolis Field Office.

Andrew R. Gilmore, Director, Indianapolis Field Office, Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Minton-Capehart Federal 
Building, 575 North Pennsylvania Street, Room 301, Indianapolis, IN 
46204, Telephone: (317) 226-6700.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Mine Reclamation, 
402 West Washington Street, Room W-295, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, 
Telephone: (317) 232-1291.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, R.R. 
2, Box 129, Jasonville, Indiana 47438-9517, Telephone: (812) 665-2207.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew R. Gilmore, Director, 
Indianapolis Field Office. Telephone: (317) 226-6700. Internet: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Indiana Program

    On July 29, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Indiana program. You can find background information on 
the Indiana program, including the Secretary's findings, the 
disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the July 26, 
1982, Federal Register (47 FR 32107). You can find later actions on the 
Indiana program at 30 CFR 914.10, 914.15, 914.16, and 914.17.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated August 31, 1999 (Administrative Record No. IND-
1668), Indiana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Indiana 
sent the amendment at its own initiative. Indiana proposes to amend the 
Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) by adding 310 IAC 12-5-159. Below is 
a summary of the new section proposed by Indiana. The full text of the 
proposed program amendment is available for your inspection at the 
locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

310 IAC 12-5-159 Annual Report

    Indiana proposes the following definition of ``mined land'' at 
subsection (a):

    As used in this section, ``mined land'' means the following:
    (1) Land from which coal has been extracted.
    (2) Land from which overburden has been removed.
    (3) Land upon which overburden or spoil has been deposited to 
facilitate surface coal mining activities. Mined land does not 
include land where only auger mining has occurred as reported in 
subsection (c)(3)(D).

    Indiana proposes to define ``surface disturbed land'' at subsection 
(b). As used in 310 IAC 12-5-159, ``surface disturbed land'' means 
land, other than mined land, that is disturbed by surface coal mining 
and reclamation operations. It includes areas where only topsoil is 
removed. Various examples of surface disturbed land are listed. When 
the surface disturbance will be reaffected by future overburden removal 
or deposition, the permittee need not report surface disturbed land in 
advance of the highwall.
    At subsection (c), permittees must submit an annual report of 
affected areas for each permit for surface coal mining and reclamation 
operations. The reporting period is from November 1 through October 31 
of each year. The report must be submitted to the Director of IDNR no 
later than 90 days after October 31 of each year. The report must 
document the acres affected annually as of October 31 of the reporting 
year. It must include the name and address of the permittee and, if 
different from the permittee, the name and address of the person or 
persons conducting the mining. It must also include the permit number 
and a summary of acres mined and disturbed during the reporting period. 
The acreage summary must include acres of mined land, acres of surface 
disturbed land, total permit acres, and acres of auger mining and 
highwall mining.
    At subsection (d), Indiana requires a dated aerial photograph of 
the surface coal mining and reclamation operation taken between 
September 1 and December 31 of the reporting year to be included with 
the report. The photograph must be of the same scale as the permit 
maps. The photograph or a certified map must show the location of the 
permit boundary; acres reported; section, township, and range lines; 
all public roads within the permit area that are not permanently 
closed; all areas where coal has been removed by surface, auger, or 
highwall mining methods; and the highwall face as of November 1 of the 
reporting year.
    At subsection (e), Indiana requires that the last report, after the 
permittee has completed all mining, include a summary of pre-mining 
land use acreage for the mined and surface disturbed area when the 
acres are available on a computer-aided design (CAD) or other digital 
data format.
    At subsection (f), any associated map, whether separate from or 
created upon the photograph, must be prepared by or under the direction 
of and certified by a qualified registered professional engineer or 
certified professional geologist with assistance from experts in 
related fields such as land surveying or landscape architecture.
    At subsection (g), permits issued and land affected before the 
effective date of 310 IAC 12-5-159 and for which a Report of Affected 
Area has not been filed, the initial photograph must show all areas 
disturbed since permit issuance. No distinction between mined land and 
surface disturbed land is required on the report form, photograph, or 
map. When available, the extent of auger areas must be shown.
    At subsection (h), no report is necessary after the initial report 
is submitted if no additional acres have been disturbed during the 
reporting year.

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 Indiana program.

Written Comments

    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of

[[Page 50028]]

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 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 Indianapolis 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. IN-146-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 Indianapolis Field Office 
at (317) 226-6700.

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., e.s.t. on 
September 30, 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 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 914

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 8, 1999.
Brent Wahlquist,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 99-24061 Filed 9-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P