[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 4, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59152-59154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-25403]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 946

[VA-119-FOR]


Virginia 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 
Virginia regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The program amendment consists of 
changes to the Virginia Surface Mining Reclamation Regulations 
concerning letters of credit. The amendment is intended to revise the 
Virginia program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal 
regulations.

DATES: If you submit written comments, they must be received on or 
before 4 p.m. (local time), on November 3, 2000. If requested, a public 
hearing on the proposed amendment will be held on October 30, 2000. 
Requests to speak at the hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m. (local 
time), on October 19, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-deliver your written comments and requests to 
speak at the hearing to Mr. Robert A. Penn, Director, Big Stone Gap 
Field Office at the address listed below.
    You may review copies of the Virginia program, the proposed 
amendment, a listing of any scheduled hearings, and all written 
comments received in response to this document at the addresses 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.
Mr. Robert A. Penn, Director, 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, E-mail: 
[email protected].
Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation, P. O. Drawer 900, Big 
Stone Gap, Virginia 24219, Telephone: (540) 523-8100, E-mail: 
[email protected].

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. You can find background information on 
the Virginia program, including the Secretary's findings, the 
disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the December 
15, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 61085-61115). You can find later 
actions concerning the conditions of approval and program amendments at 
30 CFR 946.12, 946.13, 946.15, and 946.16.

II. Discussion of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated September 22, 2000 (Administrative Record Number 
VA-1008) the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) 
submitted an amendment to the Virginia program. In its letter, the DMME 
stated that the program amendment changes the Virginia program rules at 
4 VAC 25-130-700.5 and 4 VAC 25-130-800.21 in response to amendments 
required by OSM in the May 3, 1999, Federal Register (64 FR 23542).
    On May 3, 1999, OSM approved an amendment to the Virginia program 
which amended the Virginia Coal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation 
Act by adding ``letter of credit'' as an acceptable form of collateral 
bond to satisfy the performance bonding requirements of the Virginia 
Act. In our approval of the Virginia amendment, we required that the 
Virginia program regulations be

[[Page 59153]]

revised to be no less effective than the Federal regulations at 30 CFR 
800.5(b), and 30 CFR 800.21(b)(2) concerning letters of credit. We 
codified this requirement at 30 CFR 946.16(a).
    The amendment submitted by the DMME is described below.
4 VAC 25-130-700.5.  Definitions.
    The definition of ``Collateral bond'' is amended by adding a new 
paragraph (d) to read as follows.
    (d) An irrevocable letter of credit of any bank organized or 
authorized to transact business in the United States, payable only to 
the Department at sight prepared in accordance with the Uniform Customs 
and Practices for Documentary Credits (1993 revision or the UCP 
revision current at the time of issuance of the letter of credit) 
International Chamber of Commerce (Publication No. 500).
4 VAC 25-130-800.21.  Collateral bonds.
    This provision is amended by revising paragraph (a) by adding the 
words ``except for letters of credit'' in the introductory sentence, 
adding a new paragraph (c), and re-lettering existing paragraph (c) as 
paragraph (d).
    As amended, 4 VAC 25-130-800.21(a) reads as follows.
    (a) Collateral bonds, except for letters of credit, shall be 
subject to the following conditions: The division shall. * * *
    As amended, subsections 4 VAC 25-130-800.21(c) and (d) read as 
follows.
    (c) Letters of credit shall be subject to the following conditions:
    (1) The letter may be issued only by a bank organized or authorized 
to do business in the United States and must conform to the Uniform 
Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (1993 Revision or revision 
current at the time of issuance of the letter of credit) International 
Chamber of Commerce (Publication No. 500);
    (2) Letters of credit shall be irrevocable during their terms. A 
letter of credit used as security in areas requiring continuous bond 
coverage shall be forfeited and shall be collected by the division if 
not replaced by other suitable bond or letter of credit at least 30 
days before its expiration date; and
    (3) The letter of credit shall be payable to the Department at 
sight, in part or in full, upon receipt from the division of a notice 
of forfeiture issued in accordance with 4 VAC 25-130-800.50.
    (d) Persons with an interest in collateral posted as a bond, and 
who desire notification of actions pursuant to the bond, shall request 
the notification in writing to the division at the time collateral is 
offered.

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 Virginia program.

Written Comments

    If you submit written or electronic comments on the proposed 
amendment 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, Word Perfect, or Word 
file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. 
Please also include ``Attn: SPATS NO. VA-119-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 
Big Stone Gap Field office at (540) 523-4303.

Availability of Comments

    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during our 
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 p.m. (local 
time), on October 19, 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 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 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

[[Page 59154]]

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 regulation.

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 946

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 26, 2000.
Michael K. Robinson,
Acting Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 00-25403 Filed 10-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P