[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 63 (Friday, March 31, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17213-17215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8010]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 936

[SPATS No. OK-027-FOR]


Oklahoma Regulatory Program

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

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

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Oklahoma regulatory program (Oklahoma program) under the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Oklahoma proposes 
revisions to and/or additions of rules concerning restrictions on the 
financial interests of State employees, specifically, authority, where 
to file, what to report, and resolving prohibited interests. Oklahoma 
intends to revise its program to clarify the responsibilities of the 
Director of the Oklahoma Department of Mines, advisory board members, 
commissions, and employees regarding restrictions on the financial 
interest of State employees.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Oklahoma 
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 we will follow for 
the public hearing, if one is requested.

DATES: We will accept written comments until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t., May 1, 
2000. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment on 
April 25, 2000. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing until 
4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on April 17, 2000.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and 
requests to speak at the hearing to Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa 
Field Office, at the address listed below.
    You may review copies of the Oklahoma program, the proposed 
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 Tulsa Field Office.

Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface 
Mining, 5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 470, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135-6547, 
Telephone: (918) 581-6430.
Oklahoma Department of Mines, 4040 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 107, 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105, Telephone: (405) 521-3859.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa 
Field Office. Telephone: (918) 581-6430. Internet: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Oklahoma Program

    On January 19, 1981, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Oklahoma program. You can find background information on 
the Oklahoma program, including the Secretary's findings, the 
disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the January 
19, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 4902).You can find later actions 
concerning the Oklahoma program at 30 CFR 936.15 and 936.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated January 13, 2000 (Administrative Record No. OK-
985.01), Oklahoma sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. 
Oklahoma sent the amendment in response to our letter dated December 6, 
1999 (Administrative Record No. OK-985), that we sent to Oklahoma 
concerning regulation changes in its program that we did not approve. 
Oklahoma proposes to amend the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC). 
Below is a summary of the changes proposed by Oklahoma. The full text 
of the program amendment is available for your inspection at the 
locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

A. Section 460:20-5-3. Authority

    Oklahoma proposes to add new paragraph (4) to read as follows:
    File all statements and supplements received pursuant to 45 O.S. 
Supp. 1980, Section 765, from members of advisory boards and the 
Oklahoma Mining Commission with the Oklahoma Governor's Office, 
Director of Appointments.

B. Section 460:20-5-9. Where to File

    Oklahoma proposes to revise paragraph (a) and to add new paragraphs 
(b) and (c) to read as follows:
    (a) The Director shall file his or her statement with the Director 
of OSM.
    (b) Members of advisory boards and commissions representing 
multiple interests as provided in Section 460:20-

[[Page 17214]]

5-7, shall file their statement with the Governor's Office, Director of 
Appointments, or such other official as may be designated by State law 
or regulation.
    (c) All other employees shall file his or her statement with the 
Department of Mines Director pursuant to the requirements of 45 O.S. 
Supp. 786 and this Subchapter.

C. Section 460:20-5-10. What To Report

    Oklahoma proposes to revise paragraph (c)(3) to read as follows:
    (3) The exceptions shown in the employee certification of the form 
must provide enough information for the Director of the Department or 
the Governor's Office, Director of Appointment, for Commission members, 
to determine the existence of a direct or indirect financial interest. 
Accordingly, the exceptions should:

D. Section 460:20-5-12. Resolving Prohibited Interests

    Oklahoma proposes to make an editorial correction in the title of 
this section so that the title reads, ``Resolving prohibited 
interests,'' instead of ``Resolving prohibited interstate.'' Oklahoma 
also proposes to revise paragraph (b)(1) so that the second sentence 
reads:

    Violations of the regulations in this subchapter by the Director 
will be cause for remedial action by the Governor of the State or 
other appropriate State official based on recommendations from the 
Director of OSM on behalf of the Secretary.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking comments 
on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the applicable program 
approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve the amendment, it 
will become part of the Oklahoma program.
    Written Comments: If you submit written or electronic comments on 
the proposed rule during the 30-day comment period, they should be 
specific, should be confined to issues pertinent to the notice, and 
should explain the reason for your recommendation(s). We may not be 
able to consider or include in the Administrative Record comments 
delivered to an address other than the one listed above (see 
ADDRESSES).
    Electronic Comments: Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII, 
WordPerfect, of Word file avoiding the use of special characters and 
any form of encryption. Please also include ``Attn: SPATS NO. OK-027-
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 Tulsa Field Office at (918) 581-6430.
    Availability of Comments: Our practice is to make comments, 
including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public 
review during regular business hours at OSM's Tulsa Field Office (see 
ADDRESSES). 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 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.
    Public Hearing: If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 p.m., 
c.d.t. on April 17, 2000. We will arrange the location and time of the 
hearing with those persons requesting the hearing. If no one requests 
an opportunity to speak at the public hearing, the hearing will not be 
held.
    To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we request 
that you provide us with a written copy of your testimony if you speak 
at the public hearing. 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.
    If you are disabled and need a special accommodation to attend a 
public hearing, contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    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 proposed 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 will also make a written summary of each meeting a 
part of the Administrative Record.

IV. Procedural Determinations

Executive Order 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review

    This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866.

Executive Order 12630--Takings

    This rule does not have takings implications. This determination is 
based on the analysis performed for the counterpart federal regulation.

Executive Order 13132--Federalism

    This rules does not have federalism implications. SMCRA delineates 
the roles of the federal and state governments with regard to the 
regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations. One of 
the purposes of SMCRA is to ``establish a nationwide program to protect 
society and the environment from the adverse effects of surface coal 
mining operations.'' Section 503(a)(1) of SMCRA requires that state 
laws regulating surface coal mining and reclamation operations be ``in 
accordance with'' the requirements of SMCRA, and section 503(a)(7) 
requires that state programs contain rules and regulations ``consistent 
with'' regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant to SMCRA.

Executive Order 12988--Civil Justice Reform

    The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required 
by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 and has determined that, to the 
extent allowed by law, this rule meets the applicable standards of 
subsections (a) and (b) of this 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 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

    Section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that a 
decision on a proposed state regulatory program

[[Page 17215]]

provision does not constitute a major federal action within the meaning 
of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). A determination has been made that such decisions 
are categorically excluded from the NEPA process (516 DM 8.4.A).

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. Therefore, 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.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    This rule is not a major rule under 5. U.S.C. 804(2), the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This rule:
    a. Does not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million.
    b. Will not cause a major increase in costs or prices for 
consumers, individual industries, federal, state, or local government 
agencies, or geographic regions.
    c. Does not have significant adverse effects on competition, 
employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of 
U.S. based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.
    This determination is based upon the fact that the state submittal 
which is the subject of this rule is based upon counterpart federal 
regulations for which an analysis was prepared and a determination made 
that the federal regulation was not considered a major rule.

Unfunded Mandates

    This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any 
given year any government entity or the private sector.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 936

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: March 23, 2000.
Richard J. Seibel,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 00-8010 Filed 3-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P