[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 224 (Thursday, November 20, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65422-65424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-28996]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 906

[CO-033-FOR]


Colorado Regulatory Program

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening and extension of public comment period 
on proposed amendment.

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SUMMARY: We are announcing receipt of revisions pertaining to a 
previously-proposed amendment to the Colorado regulatory program 
(hereinafter, the ``Colorado program'') under the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Colorado 
proposes revisions to require a weed management plan as part of the 
permit application, and as part of the Cropland revegetation success 
criteria, to not consider crop production prior to year nine of the 
liability cycle (or with respect to annual grain crops for which the 
cropping cycle may incorporate a summer fallow year, two of the last 
four cropping years will be considered).

[[Page 65423]]


DATES: We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4 p.m., 
m.d.t., December 5, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You should mail written comments and requests to speak at 
the hearing to James F. Fulton at the address listed below.
    You may review copies of the Colorado 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 
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's (OSM) Denver 
Field Division.

James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement, PO Box 46667, Denver, CO 80201-6667.
David A. Berry, Coal Program Supervisor, Colorado Division of Minerals 
and Geology, 1313 Sherman Street Room 215, Denver, Colorado 80203, 
Telephone: 303/866-3873.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Telephone: 303/844-
1400 ext. 1424, Internet address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the Colorado 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 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 criteria, the Secretary of the Interior 
conditionally approved the Colorado program on December 15, 1980. You 
can find background information on the Colorado program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions 
of approval of the Colorado program in the December 15, 1980, Federal 
Register (45 FR 82173). You can also find later actions concerning 
Colorado's program and program amendments at 30 CFR 906.15, 906.16, and 
906.30.

II. Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated March 27, 2003, Colorado sent us a proposed 
amendment to its program (SATS No. CO-033-FOR, administrative record 
number CO-696-1) under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Colorado sent 
the proposed amendment in response to the letters that we sent it in 
accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(c) on May 7, 1986; on June 9, 1987; and 
on March 22, 1990. The amendment concerns prime farmland, revegetation, 
hydrology, enforcement, topsoil, historic properties, and bond release 
requirements.
    On April 4, 2003, Colorado sent us an addition to its March 27, 
2003, program amendment which amended Rule 4.15.8(3)(a), Revegetation 
Success Criteria.
    We announced receipt of the March 27, 2003, proposed amendment and 
its April 4, 2003, addition in the June 3, 2003, Federal Register (68 
FR 33032), provided an opportunity for a public hearing or meeting on 
its substantive adequacy, and invited public comment on its adequacy. 
Because no one requested a public hearing or meeting, none was held. 
The public comment period ended on July 3, 2003. We received comments 
from one Federal agency.
    Colorado now proposes, in its July 23, 2003, submittal, revisions 
to Rule 4.15.1, Weed Management Plan; Rule 4.15.9, Revegetation Success 
Criteria: Cropland; and Rule 1.04(78), Definition of Noxious Weeds. 
Specifically, (1) Rule 4.15.1 requires a weed management plan be 
submitted with the surface coal mining permit application; (2) In Rule 
1.04(78), the definition is amended to read ``noxious weeds'' rather 
than ``noxious plants;'' and (3) Rule 4.15.9, ``Revegetation Success 
Criteria: Cropland,'' is amended to read ``crop production from the 
mined area shall not be less than that of the liability period * * *,'' 
and ``Crop production shall not be considered prior to year nine of the 
liability period. With respect to annual grain crops for which the 
cropping cycle may incorporate a summer fallow year, two of the last 
four cropping years will be considered.''

III. Public Comment Procedures

Written Comments

    Send your written comments to OSM at the address given above. Your 
written comments should be specific, pertain only to the issues 
proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of 
your recommendations. In the final rulemaking, we will not necessarily 
consider or include in the administrative record any comments received 
after the time indicated under DATES or at locations other than the 
Denver Field Division.

Electronic Comments

    Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use 
of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include 
``Attn: SATS No. CO-033-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, ext. 1441.

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.

VI. 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 (Regulatory Planning and 
Review).

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),

[[Page 65424]]

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, 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 13175--Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal 
Governments

    In accordance with Executive Order 13175, we have evaluated the 
potential effects of this rule on Federally-recognized Indian Tribes 
and have determined that the rule does not have substantial direct 
effects on one or more Indian Tribes, on the relationship between the 
Federal government and Indian Tribes, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities between the Federal government and Indian Tribes. 
The rule does not involve or affect Indian Tribes in any way.

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)).

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 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. 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; 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 906

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: October 24, 2003.
Peter A. Rutledge,
Acting Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 03-28996 Filed 11-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P