[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54843-54845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26358]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 946

[VA-115-FOR]


Virginia Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program

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

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing the receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Virginia Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) Program (hereinafter 
referred to as the Virginia Program) under the Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq., as 
amended. The proposed amendment makes changes to the Ranking and 
Selection section by adding a subsection concerning reclamation 
projects receiving less than 50 percent government funding. The 
proposed amendment is intended to incorporate

[[Page 54844]]

the additional flexibility afforded by the revised Federal regulations.

DATES: Your written comments must be received on or before 4:00 p.m. on 
November 8, 1999. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed 
amendments will be held at 1:00 p.m. on November 2, 1999. Requests to 
present oral testimony at the hearing must be received on or before 
4:00 p.m. on October 25, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Your written comments and requests to testify at the hearing 
should be mailed or hand-delivered to Mr. Robert A. Penn, Director, Big 
Stone Gap Field Office at the first address listed below.
    Copies of the Virginia program, the proposed amendment, a listing 
of any scheduled public meetings or hearing, and all written comments 
received in response to this notice will be available for public review 
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 Big Stone Gap Field Office.
    Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Big Stone Gap 
Field Office, 1941 Neeley Road, Suite 201, Compartment 116, Big Stone 
Gap, Virginia 24219, Telephone: (540) 523-4303.
    Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation, P.O. Drawer 900, Big 
Stone Gap, Virginia 24219, Telephone: (540) 523-8100.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert A. Penn, Director, Big 
Stone Gap Field Office, Telephone: (540) 523-4303.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Virginia Program

    On December 15, 1981, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Virginia program. Background information on the Virginia 
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and the conditions of approval can be found in the December 
15, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 61085-61115). Subsequent actions 
concerning the conditions of approval and AMLR program amendments are 
identified at 30 CFR 946.20 and 946.25.

II. Discussion of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated September 10, 1999 (Administrative Record No. VA-
981), the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation (DMLR) submitted 
a proposed Program Amendment to the Virginia Program. This amendment is 
intended to revise the Virginia program to incorporate the additional 
flexibility afforded by the revised Federal regulations.
    The proposed amendment revises the ``Ranking and Selection 
884.13(c)(2)'' section by adding a subsection entitled ``Reclamation 
Projects Receiving Less Than 50% Government Funding.'' The proposed 
amendments are as follows.

Reclamation Projects Receiving Less Than 50% Government Funding

    An abandoned mine land reclamation project may be considered for 
government-financed construction under Virginia program Sec. 4 VAC 25-
130 Part 707. If the level of government funding for the construction 
will be less than fifty percent of the total cost because of planned 
coal extraction, the procedures of this section apply. Such coal 
removal will be conducted in conformity with Virginia program Sec. 4 
VAC 25-130 Part 707 and the regulatory definitions for the terms 
``extraction of coal as an incidental part,'' ``government financing 
agency,'' and ``government-financed construction'' contained within the 
Virginia regulatory program regulations at Sec. 4-VAC-25-700.5.
    In considering such AML construction, the DMLR AML Section (Title 
IV authority) will consult with the DMLR Reclamation Services Section 
(Title V authority) to make the following determinations:
    1. The likelihood of the coal being mined under a Title V permit. 
The determination will take into account available information such as:
     Coal reserves from existing mine maps or other sources;
     Existing environmental conditions;
     All prior mining activity on or adjacent to the site;
     Current and historic coal production in the area; and
     Any known or anticipated interest in mining the site.
    2. The likelihood that nearby or adjacent mining activities might 
create new environmental problems or adversely affect existing 
environmental problems at the site.
    3. The likelihood that reclamation activities at the site might 
adversely affect nearby or adjacent mining activities.
    After the above consultation, if it is decided that a government-
financed reclamation project is to proceed, then the DMLR AML Section 
and DMLR Reclamation Services Section must concur to in the following 
determinations:
    1. The limits on any coal refuse, coal waste, or other coal 
deposits which can be extracted under Sec. 4-VAC-25-130 Part 707 and 
the Virginia regulatory definition of ``government-financed 
construction'' at Sec. 4-VAC-25-130-700.5; and
    2. The delineation of the boundaries of the AML project.
    All of the above determinations, the information taken into account 
in making the determinations, and the names of the parties making the 
determinations will be documented in the AML project file. For each 
project, DMLR AML Section will:
     Characterize the site in terms of mine drainage, active 
slides and slide-prone areas, erosion and sedimentation, vegetation, 
toxic material, and hydrologic balance;
     Ensure that the reclamation project is conducted in 
accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR Subchapter R;
     Develop specific-site reclamation requirements, including 
performance bonds when appropriate in accord with State procedures; and
     Require the contractor conducting the reclamation to 
provide prior to the time reclamation begins applicable documents that 
clearly authorize the extraction of coal and payment of royalties.
    The contractor shall be required to obtain a coal surface mining 
permit under the Virginia Coal Surface Mining Reclamation Regulations 
(Title 4 of the Virginia Administrative Code) for any coal extracted 
beyond the limits of the incidental coal specified in the AML project 
file.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 884.15, OSM is now 
seeking comment on whether the amendment proposed by Virginia satisfies 
the applicable requirements for the approval of State AMLR program 
amendments. If the amendment is deemed adequate, it will become part of 
the Virginia 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 rulemaking [or administrative] record, 
which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be 
circumstances in which we would withhold from the rulemaking [or 
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

[[Page 54845]]

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.
    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 Big Stone Gap Field Office 
will not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included 
in the Administrative Record.

Public Hearing

    If you wish to comment at the public hearing, you should contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by close of 
business on October 25, 1999. If no one requests an opportunity to 
comment at a public hearing, the hearing will not be held.
    To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we request 
that, if possible, each person who testifies at a public hearing 
provide us with a written copy of his or her testimony. The public 
hearing will continue on the specified date until all persons scheduled 
to comment 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 comment at a hearing, 
a public meeting, rather than a public hearing, may be held. If you 
wish to meet with OSM representatives to discuss the proposed 
amendments you may request a meeting at the Big Stone Gap Field Office 
by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 
All such meetings will be open to the public and, if possible, notices 
of the meetings will be posted in advance at the locations listed above 
under ADDRESSES. A summary of meeting will be included in 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

    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 946

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 29, 1999.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 99-26358 Filed 10-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P