[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 83 (Friday, April 28, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24897-24899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10609]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 920

[MD-046-FOR]


Maryland 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 
Maryland regulatory program (Maryland program) under the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed amendment 
consists of revisions to the Maryland regulations regarding a 
definition of previously mined area, termination of jurisdiction, 
permitting requirements, bond release requirements and performance 
standards for inspections. The amendment is intended to revise the 
Maryland program to be no less effective than the corresponding Federal 
regulations.

DATES: If you submit written comments, they must be received by 4:00 
p.m., E.D.T., May 30, 2000. If requested, a public hearing on the 
proposed amendment will be held on May 24, 2000. Requests to speak at 
the hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., E.D.T., on May 15, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-deliver your written comments and requests to 
speak at the hearing to Mr. George Rieger, Manager, Oversight and 
Inspection Office, at the address listed below. You may review copies 
of the Maryland 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 proposed amendment by contacting OSM's 
Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.

George Rieger, Manager, Oversight and Inspection Office, Appalachian 
Regional Coordinating Center, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, 3 Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15220, Telephone: (412) 
937-2153, E-mail: [email protected]
Maryland Bureau of Mines, 160 South Water Street, Frostburg, Maryland 
21532, Telephone: (301) 689-4136

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Rieger, Manager, Oversight and 
Inspection Office, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center, Telephone: 
(412) 937-2153.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Maryland Program

    On February 18, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior approved the 
Maryland program. You can find background information on the Maryland 
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and the conditions of approval in the February 18, 1982, 
Federal Register (47 FR 7214). You can find subsequent actions 
concerning the conditions of approval and program amendments at 30 CFR 
920.15 and 920.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated September 14, 1999 (Administrative Record No. 577-
04), Maryland provided an informal amendment to OSM regarding a 
definition of previously mined area, termination of jurisdiction, 
permitting requirements, bond release requirements and performance 
standards for inspections. Maryland submitted the informal amendment in 
response to requests made by OSM as required under 30 CFR 732.17(d) in 
letters dated July 8, 1997, and August 11, 1999 (Administrative Record 
Nos. 577-01 and 577-03, respectively). OSM completed its review of the 
informal amendment and submitted comments to Maryland in a letter dated 
March 20, 2000 (Administrative Record No. 577-05). By letter dated 
April 11, 2000 (Administrative Record No. MD-577-06), Maryland 
submitted its response to OSM's comments in the form of a proposed 
amendment to the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) as follows:

1. COMAR 26.20.01.02B  Definitions

    Maryland proposes to add item (72-1) to the definitions as follows: 
``Previously Mined Area'' means land affected by surface coal mining 
operations prior to August 3, 1977 that

[[Page 24898]]

have not been reclaimed to the standards of this subtitle.

2. COMAR 26.20.02.01  Scope

    Maryland proposes to add new paragraphs C. and D. as follows:

    C. The Bureau may terminate its jurisdiction under the 
regulatory program over the reclaimed site of a completed surface 
coal mining and reclamation operation or increment thereof, when the 
Bureau determines, in writing, that under the regulatory program, 
all requirements imposed under the applicable regulatory program 
have been successfully completed or, where a performance bond was 
required, the bureau has made a final decision in accordance with 
this subtitle to fully release the performance bond.
    D. Following a termination under section C. of this regulation, 
the Bureau shall reassert jurisdiction under the regulatory program 
over a site if it is demonstrated that the bond release or written 
determination referenced in section C. of this regulation was based 
upon fraud, collusion, or misrepresentation of a material fact.

3. COMAR 26.20.02.13  Description of Proposed Mining Operations

    Maryland proposes to modify paragraph M. by inserting the phrase 
``Except as provided in COMAR 26.20.26.01B,'' before the existing text. 
This section will now read as ``Except as provided in COMAR 
26.20.26.01B, maps, plans and cross sections required under Secs. K and 
L of this regulation shall be prepared by, or under the direction of 
and certified by, a qualified registered professional engineer or 
professional geologist.''

4. COMAR 26.20.03.05  Prime Farmlands

    Maryland proposes to modify paragraph I. by adding new subsection 
(5) as follows:

    The aggregate total prime farmland acreage shall not be 
decreased from that which existed prior to mining. Water bodies, if 
any, to be constructed during mining and reclamation operations must 
be located within the post-reclamation non-prime farmland portions 
of the permit area. The creation of any such water bodies must be 
approved by the Bureau and the consent of all affected property 
owners within the permit area must be obtained.

5. COMAR 26.20.14.09 Procedures for Release of Bonds

    Maryland proposes to modify Paragraph A., Application for Release, 
by adding new subsection (5) as follows:
    The permittee shall include in the application for bond release 
a notarized statement which certifies that all applicable 
reclamation activities have been accomplished in accordance with the 
requirements of Environmental Article, Title 15, Subtitle 5, 
Annotated Code of Maryland, the Regulatory Program, and the approved 
reclamation plan. Such certification shall be submitted for each 
application or phase of bond release.

6. COMAR 26.20.31.02  Inspections

    Maryland proposes to modify paragraph H. by changing the reference 
pertaining to Reclamation Phase III from COMAR 26.20.14.08F to COMAR 
26.20.14.08E and by adding the following sentence:

    If a permit is revoked and the performance bond is forfeited in 
accordance with COMAR 26.20.33, the Bureau shall continue to inspect 
the permit area in accordance with this regulation until the 
completion of all reclamation required on the permit.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), OSM is 
seeking comments on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the 
applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If the amendment 
is deemed adequate, it will become part of the Maryland 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, or Word 
file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. 
Please also include ``Attn: SPATS NO. MD-046-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 
Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center at (412) 937-2153.

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 the OSM Administrative Record Room (see ADDRESSES). 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address 
from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable 
by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from 
the rulemaking 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, you should contact the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., 
E.D.T. on May 15, 2000. The location and time of the hearing will be 
arranged 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, if possible, that 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 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.
    Any disabled individual who has need for a special accommodation to 
attend a public hearing should contact the individual 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 OSM representatives to discuss the proposed amendment, you 
may request a meeting by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. All such meetings will be open to the public and, 
if possible, notices of meetings will be posted at the locations listed 
under ADDRESSES. A written summary of each meeting will be made 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.

[[Page 24899]]

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 rule 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 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

    Section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that a 
decision on a proposed state regulatory program provision does not 
constitute a major federal action within the meaning of section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (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 the Office of Management and Budget 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.

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 on any governmental entity or the private sector.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 920

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: April 20, 2000.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 00-10609 Filed 4-27-00; 8:45 am]
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