[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 96 (Friday, May 17, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35077-35079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12459]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 944

[UT-041-FOR]


Utah Regulatory Program

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

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

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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Utah 
regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Utah program'') under the 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). 
Utah proposes revisions to and additions of rules pertaining to water 
replacement, blaster certification, standards for surety companies, and 
inspection and enforcement. Utah intends to revise its program to be 
consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations, provide 
additional safeguards, and improve operational efficiency.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Utah program 
and proposed 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 on this amendment until 4 p.m., 
mountain daylight time on June 17, 2002. If requested, we will hold a 
public hearing on the amendment on June 11, 2002. We will accept 
requests to speak until 4 p.m., mountain daylight time on June 3, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand-deliver written comments and 
requests to speak at the hearing to James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver 
Field Division, at the address listed below.
    You may review copies of the Utah program, this 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 Denver Field Division.
    Mr. James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, 
Denver, Colorado 80202-5733. (303) 844-1400, extension 1424. Internet: 
[email protected].
    Mr. Lowell P. Braxton, Director, Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, 
1594 West North Temple, Suite 1210, P.O. Box 145801, Salt Lake City, 
Utah 84114-5801.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field 
Division, telephone: (303) 844-1400, extension 1424; Internet: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Utah Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations

I. Background on the Utah Program

    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 the Act * * *; and 
rules and regulations consistent with regulations issued by the 
Secretary pursuant to the Act.'' See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On 
the basis of these criteria, the Secretary of the Interior 
conditionally approved the Utah program on January 21, 1981. You can 
find background information on the Utah program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions 
of approval of the Utah program in the January 21, 1981, Federal 
Register (46 FR 5899). You can also find later actions concerning 
Utah's program and program amendments at 30 CFR 944.15 and 944.30.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated March 28, 2002, Utah sent us a proposed amendment 
to its program (UT-041-FOR, Admin. Record No. UT-1160) under SMCRA (30 
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Utah's submittal originally included two separate 
proposed amendments. In a phone conversation on April 2, 2002 (Admin. 
Record No. UT-1161), Utah agreed with our proposal to combine the two 
amendments into one amendment designated UT-041-FOR. Utah sent the 
amendment at its own initiative. The full text of the program amendment 
is available for you to read at the locations listed above under 
ADDRESSES.
    Utah proposes the following changes to the Utah Administrative Rule 
(Utah Admin. R.). The changes are: (1) In its definitions at Utah 
Admin. R. 645-100-200, Utah proposes to remove the definition of 
``State-Appropriated Water Supply'' and replace it with a new combined 
definition of the terms ``Water Supply,'' ``State-appropriated Water,'' 
and ``State-appropriated Water Supply,'' all of which it intends to be 
synonymous and to mean ``state appropriated water rights which are 
recognized by the Utah Constitution or Utah Code;'' (2) at Utah Admin. 
R. 645-105-314, Utah proposes to add a new blaster certification rule 
that would require candidates for certification to be twenty-one years 
of age or older; (3) at Utah Admin. R. 645-301-525.130, Utah proposes 
to add a new provision requiring a permit applicant to give a copy of 
the pre-subsidence survey and any technical assessment or engineering 
evaluation to the water conservancy district, if any, where the mine is 
located; (4) at Utah Admin. R. 645-301-525.700, the State proposes to 
add a new requirement that the underground mine operator mail a 
notification of proposed mining to the water conservancy district, if 
any, in which the mine is located; (5) at Utah Admin. R. 645-301-
728.350, the State proposes to revise its rule to require that 
determinations of probable hydrologic consequences include findings on 
whether underground coal mining and reclamation activities conducted 
after October 24, 1992, may result in contamination, diminution, or 
interruption of State-appropriated Water in existence within the 
proposed permit or adjacent areas at the time the application is 
submitted, and to delete the existing phrase ``and used for legitimate 
purposes within the permit or adjacent areas * * *'' at the end of that 
sentence; (6) at Utah Admin. R. 645-301-860.110 through--860.112, Utah 
proposes to add new requirements for companies that issue surety bonds 
to meet to provide the State with standards by which to judge their 
financial stability; (7) at Utah Admin. R. 645-400-162 and 645-400-381, 
the State proposes to change its existing references to section 40-10-
22 of the Utah Code Annotated (UCA) to reference UCA 40-10-19 so on-
site compliance conferences will not be considered inspections in the 
context of that statutory provision; (8) in the enforcement rule at 
Utah Admin. R. 645-400-319, Utah proposes to change the existing 
reference to Utah Admin. R. 645-300-147 to cite Utah Admin. R. 645-300-
148 instead, which requires permittees to submit ownership and control 
information to the Division of

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Oil, Gas and Mining; and (9) at Utah Admin. R. 645-400-322, the State 
proposes to add the phrase `` * * * which does not create an imminent 
danger or harm for which a * * *'' to complete the sentence and 
characterize situations in which it will issue notices of violation 
rather than cessation orders.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking your 
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 Utah program.

Written Comments

    Send your written or electronic comments to OSM at the address 
given above. Your comments should be specific, pertain only to the 
issues proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support 
of your recommendations. We will not consider or respond to your 
comments when developing the final rule if they are received after the 
close of the comment period (see DATES). We will make every attempt to 
log all comments into the administrative record, but comments delivered 
to an address other than the Denver Field Division might not be logged 
in.

Electronic Comments

    Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII or Word file avoiding 
the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also 
include ``Attn: SPATS No. UT-041-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 Denver Field Division 
at (303) 844-1400, extension 1424.

Availability of Comments

    We will make comments, including names and addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during normal business hours. 
We will not consider anonymous comments. If individual respondents 
request confidentiality, we will honor their request to the extent 
allowable by law. Individual respondents who wish to withhold their 
name or address from public review, except for the city or town, must 
state this prominently at the beginning of their 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 review 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., mountain 
daylight time on June 3, 2002. If you are disabled and need special 
accommodations to attend a public hearing, contact the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. We will arrange the location and 
time of the hearing with those persons requesting the hearing. If no 
one requests an opportunity to speak, we will not hold the hearing.
    To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we 
request, if possible, that each person who speaks at a public hearing 
provide us with a written copy of his or her comments. The public 
hearing will continue on the specified date until everyone scheduled to 
speak has been given an opportunity to be 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 everyone scheduled to speak, and others present 
in the audience who wish to speak, have been heard.

Public Meeting

    If only one person requests an opportunity to speak, we may hold a 
public meeting rather than a public hearing. If you wish to meet with 
us to discuss the amendment, please 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 make a 
written summary of each meeting a part of the administrative record.

IV. Procedural Determinations

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 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 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 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 because 
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 
the Federal regulations at 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 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. Section 503(a)(7) requires 
that State programs contain rules and regulations ``consistent with'' 
regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant to SMCRA.

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 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

    This rule does not require an environmental impact statement 
because section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that 
agency decisions on proposed 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)).

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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 certifies 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 on 
counterpart Federal regulations for which an economic analysis was 
prepared and certification made that such regulations would not have a 
significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities. 
In making the determination as to whether this rule would have a 
significant economic impact, the Department relied on 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; and (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 an unfunded mandate on State, local, or 
tribal governments or the private sector of $100 million or more in any 
given year. 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 did not impose an 
unfunded mandate.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 944

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: April 9, 2002.
Brent Wahlquist,
Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 02-12459 Filed 5-16-02; 8:45 am]
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