[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
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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