[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50952-50954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-25005]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 904

[SPATS No. AR-036-FOR]


Arkansas Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan and Regulatory 
Programs

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 Arkansas abandoned 
mine land reclamation plan (Arkansas plan) and the Arkansas regulatory 
program (Arkansas program) under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Arkansas proposes revisions 
to its abandoned mine land program regulations concerning eligible 
lands and water, reclamation objectives and priorities, and reclamation 
project evaluation. Arkansas also proposes to revise its regulatory 
program regulations concerning procedures for assessment conference and 
to add revegetation success standards for grazing land and prime 
farmland. Arkansas intends to revise its program to be consistent with 
the corresponding Federal regulations.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Arkansas plan 
and Arkansas program and the proposed amendments to the plan and 
program are available for public inspection, the comment period during 
which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the 
procedures 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., 
November 5, 2001. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the 
amendment on October 30, 2001. We will accept requests to speak at the 
hearing until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on October 22, 2001.

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 Arkansas plan and Arkansas 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 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.
    Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Surface Mining and 
Reclamation Division, 8001 National Drive, Little Rock, Arkansas 72219, 
Telephone (501) 682-0809.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Arkansas Plan and the Arkansas Program

    The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program was established by 
Title IV of the Act, (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) in response to concerns 
over extensive environmental damage caused by past coal mining 
activities. The program is funded by a reclamation fee collected on 
each ton of coal that is produced. The money collected is used to 
finance the reclamation of abandoned coal mines and for other 
authorized activities. Section 405 of the Act allows States and Indian 
tribes to assume exclusive responsibility for reclamation activity 
within the State or on Indian lands if they develop and submit to the 
Secretary of the Interior for approval, a program (often referred to as 
a plan) for the reclamation of abandoned coal mines. On May 2, 1983, 
the Secretary of the Interior approved the Arkansas plan. You can find 
background information on the Arkansas plan, including the Secretary's 
findings, the disposition of comments, and the approval of the plan in 
the May 2, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 19710). You can find later 
actions on the Arkansas plan at 30 CFR 904.25 and 904.26.
    Section 503(a) of the Act permits a State to assume primacy for the 
regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations on non-
Federal and non-Indian lands within its borders by demonstrating that 
its State program includes, among other things, ``* * * a State law 
which provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and 
reclamation operations in accordance with the requirements of this Act 
* * *; and rules and regulations consistent with regulations issued by 
the Secretary pursuant to this Act.'' See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). 
On the basis of these

[[Page 50953]]

criteria, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally approved the 
Arkansas program on November 21, 1980. You can find background 
information on the Arkansas program, including the Secretary's 
findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval 
in the November 21, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 77003). You can find 
later actions on the Arkansas program at 30 CFR 904.10, 904.12, 904.15, 
and 904.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated August 13, 2001 (Administrative Record No. AR-568), 
Arkansas sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA and the 
Federal regulations at 30 CFR 732.17(b). Arkansas sent the amendment in 
response to our letters dated November 26, 1985, and October 14, 1997 
(Administrative Record Nos. AR-332 and AR-559.02, respectively), that 
we sent to Arkansas under 30 CFR 732.17(c). The amendment also includes 
a change made at Arkansas' own initiative. Arkansas proposes to amend 
the Arkansas Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Code. Below is a 
summary of the changes proposed by Arkansas. The full text of the 
program amendment is available for your inspection at the locations 
listed above under ADDRESSES.

A. Section 845.18 Procedures for Assessment Conference

    In paragraph (a) of this section, Arkansas proposes to remove the 
department's old name of ``Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and 
Ecology'' and to replace it with the department's new name of 
``Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.''

B. Section 874.12 Eligible Lands and Water

    Arkansas proposes to revise paragraph (b)(4) of this section to 
read as follows:
    (4) Moneys allocated to the State under Section 402(g)(1) and (5) 
of Public Law 95-87 are available for the work.

C. Section 874.13 Reclamation Objectives and Priorities

    Arkansas proposes to delete paragraph (d) of this section regarding 
research and demonstration projects relating to the development of 
surface coal mining reclamation and water quality control program 
methods and techniques. By deleting this paragraph, the above projects 
will no longer have priority as abandoned mine land reclamation 
projects.

D. Section 874.14 Reclamation Project Evaluation

    Arkansas proposes to revise paragraph (a)(2) of this section by 
deleting the last sentence. The revised sentence will read as follows:

    The availability of technology to accomplish the reclamation 
work with reasonable assurance of success.

E. Phase III Revegetation Success Standards for Grazingland

    Arkansas proposes to add Phase III revegetation success standards 
for grazingland to its regulatory program.

F. Phase II and III Revegetation Success Standards for Prime Farmland

    Arkansas proposes to add Phase II and III revegetation success 
standards for prime farmland to its regulatory program.

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 Arkansas 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. AR-036-
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 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.
    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 October 22, 2001. 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, if possible, that each person who speaks at the 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.
    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, 
you may 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 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 
regulations.

[[Page 50954]]

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 under 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 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.

Executive Order 13211--Regulations That Significantly Affect The 
Supply, Distribution, or Use of Energy

    On May 18, 2001, the President issued Executive Order 13211 which 
requires agencies to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for a rule 
that is (1) considered significant under Executive Order 12866, and (2) 
likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, 
distribution, or use of energy. Because this rule is exempt from review 
under Executive Order 12866 and because it is not expected to have a 
significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of 
energy, a Statement of Energy Effects is not required.

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 904

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 5, 2001.
Malcolm B. Ahrens,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 01-25005 Filed 10-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P