[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 48 (Thursday, March 11, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11562-11564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5498]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 920

[MD-053-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 on proposed amendments.

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SUMMARY: We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Maryland regulatory program under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). The program amendment 
consists of changes to the Annotated Code of Maryland as contained in 
House Bill 893. The amendment requires the Department of the 
Environment to take action for permit applications, permit revisions, 
and revised applications within certain time periods. The amendment is 
intended to require the timely review of applications for open-pit 
mining permits.

DATES: We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4 p.m. 
(local time), on April 12, 2004. If requested, we will hold a public 
hearing on the amendment on April 5, 2004. We will accept requests to 
speak at a hearing until 4 p.m. (local time), on March 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand-deliver written comments and 
requests to speak at the hearing to Mr. George Rieger at the address 
listed below.
    You may review copies of the Maryland 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 
the Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
    Mr. George Rieger, Chief, Pittsburgh Field Division, Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Appalachian Regional 
Coordinating Center, 3 Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15220, Telephone: 
(412) 937-2153. E-mail: [email protected].
    Mr. C. Edmon Larrimore, Program Manager, Mining Program, 1800 
Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, Telephone: (410) 537-
3000, or 1-800-633-6101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. George Rieger, Telephone: (412) 
937-2153. Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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

I. Background on the Maryland 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 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 Maryland program on December 1, 1980. You can find 
background information on the Maryland program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of 
approval in the December 1, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 79431). You 
can also find later actions concerning Maryland's program and program 
amendments at 30 CFR 920.12, 920.15, and 920.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated January 7, 2004 (Administrative Record Number MD-
586-00), Maryland sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Maryland sent the amendment to include changes 
made at its own initiative. The amendment consists of Maryland House 
Bill 893, which was enacted for the purpose of requiring the Department 
of the Environment to review an application for an open-pit mining 
permit in a timely manner. The bill revises the Annotated Code of 
Maryland, and requires the Department of the Environment to take action 
for permit applications, permit revisions, and revised applications 
within certain time periods. The full text of the program amendment is 
available to you to read at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES. 
Specifically, Maryland proposes the following amendments to the 
Annotated Code of Maryland.
    At section 15-505(d)(6), the words ``in a timely manner'' are added 
to the end of the provision as follows:
    (6) The Department shall review all aspects of the application, 
including information pertaining to any other permit required from the 
Department for the proposed strip mining operation in a timely manner.
    Section 15-505(d)(7) is amended by adding new (7)(I)(1), (7)(I)(2), 
(7)(I)(2)(A) (7)(I)(2)(B), and (7)(III). As amended, section 15-
505(d)(7) provides as follows:
    (7)(I) Upon completion of the review required by paragraph (6) of 
this subsection, the Department shall grant, require modification of, 
or deny the application for a permit and notify the applicant and any 
participant to a public informational hearing, in writing, of its 
decision:
    1. Within 90 days after the date the Department determines that an 
application for a new permit or an application for permit revision that 
proposes significant alterations in the permit is complete; or
    2. Within 45 days after receiving:
    A. A revised application for a new permit; or
    B. An application for a permit revision that does not propose 
significant alterations in the permit.
    (II) The applicant for a permit shall have the burden of 
establishing that the application is in compliance with all of the 
requirements of this subtitle and the rules and regulations issued 
under this subtitle.
    (III) The Department may provide for one extension of the deadlines 
in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph for up to 30 days by notifying 
the applicant in writing prior to the expiration of the original 
deadlines.

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 Maryland program.

Written Comments

    Send your written or electronic 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. We may 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

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administrative record, but comments delivered to an address other than 
the Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center may not be logged in.

Electronic Comments

    Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII, Word file avoiding the 
use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also 
include ``Attn: SATS NO. MD-053-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

    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 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. (local time), on 
March 26, 2004. 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 a hearing.
    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 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 
will be 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 exempt 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, 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 basis for this determination is that decision is on a State 
regulatory program and does not involve a Federal regulation involving 
Indian lands.

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

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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 analysis performed 
under various laws and executive orders for the counterpart Federal 
regulations.

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 analysis performed 
under various laws and executive orders for the counterpart Federal 
regulations.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 948

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: February 24, 2004.
Tim L. Dieringer,
Acting Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 04-5498 Filed 3-10-04; 8:45 am]
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