[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 47 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12492-12493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5754]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 914

[SPATS No. IN-147-FOR]


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 revisions to its 
statutes that would allow the use of money from its post-1977 abandoned 
mine reclamation fund, under specified circumstances, to replace 
domestic water supplies disrupted or affected by surface coal mining 
and reclamation operations. Indiana intends to revise its program in 
order to provide additional protection to society and the environment 
from the adverse effects of surface coal mining operations.
    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., April 
10, 2000. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment 
on April 3, 2000. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing until 
4:00 p.m., e.s.t. on March 24, 2000.

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, and 914.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated February 25, 2000 (Administrative Record No. IND-
1686), Indiana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Indiana 
sent the amendment at its own initiative. Indiana proposes to revise 
the Indiana Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act at Indiana Code 
(IC) 14-34. The Indiana General Assembly amended IC 14-34-6-15, 
effective July 1, 1999 (House Enrolled Act No. 1568).

IC 14-34-6-15, Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund

    1. Indiana revised IC 14-34-6-15(b) by adding a new provision at 
subdivision (2) and reformatting the existing provisions. The revised 
subsection reads as follows:

    (b) The post-1977 abandoned mine reclamation fund is 
established. The fund consists of bond forfeiture money collected 
under section 16 of this chapter and the civil penalties described 
in IC 14-34-16-9. The fund may be used as follows:
    (1) To effect the restoration of land not otherwise eligible for 
federal funding on which there has been surface mining activity 
after August 3, 1977.
    (2) To replace domestic water supplies disrupted or affected by 
a surface coal mining and reclamation operation, including the 
disposal of coal combustion waste (as defined in IC 13-19-3-3), 
where the surface coal mining and reclamation operation has been 
completed and is no longer subject to IC 14-34.
    The money held for this purpose may not exceed an amount 
established by the department that is sufficient to enable the 
director to cover the anticipated cost of restoration.

    2. Indiana revised subsection (c) by adding the language ``or 
replacement of water.'' The revised subsection reads as follows:

    (c) At least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in the 
fund is dedicated as collateral for the bond pool under IC 14-34-8 
and may not be used for the restoration of land or replacement of 
water described in subsection (b).

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 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

[[Page 12493]]

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-147-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 
March 24, 2000. 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.
    To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we request 
that you provide us with a written copy of your testimony. 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: March 1, 2000.
John W. Coleman,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 00-5754 Filed 3-8-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P