[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 58 (Thursday, March 25, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15272-15275]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-6734]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 915

[IA-013-FOR]


Iowa 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 Iowa 
regulatory program (Iowa program) under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Iowa proposes to revise its 
regulatory program by updating its adoption by reference of applicable 
portions of 30 CFR part 700 to End from the July 1, 1992, version to 
the July 1, 2002, version. Iowa intends to revise its program to be 
consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Iowa 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., 
c.s.t., April 26, 2004. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on 
the amendment on April 19, 2004. We will accept requests to speak at a 
hearing until 4 p.m., c.s.t. on April 9, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and 
requests to speak at the hearing to Charles E. Sandberg, Mid-Continent 
Regional Coordinating Center, at the address listed below.
    You may review copies of the Iowa 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 Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.

Charles E. Sandberg, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center, Office 
of Surface Mining, 501 Belle Street, Alton, Illinois 62002, Telephone: 
(618) 463-6460, Fax: (618) 463-6470.
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Division of Soil 
Conservation, Henry A. Wallace Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319, 
Telephone: (515) 281-5321.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles E. Sandberg, Mid-Continent 
Regional Coordinating Center. Telephone: (618) 463-6460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
I. Background on the Iowa Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations

I. Background on the Iowa 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 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 Iowa program effective April 10, 1981. You can find background 
information on the Iowa program, including the Secretary's findings, 
the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval, in the 
January 21, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 5885). You can also find 
later actions concerning the Iowa program and program amendments at 30 
CFR 915.10, 915.15, and 915.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated February 24, 2004 (Administrative Record No. IA-
448), Iowa sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 
1201 et seq.). Iowa sent the amendment in response to a June 17, 1997, 
letter and an August 23, 2000, letter (Administrative Record Nos. IA-
440 and IA-444, respectively) that we sent to Iowa in accordance with 
30 CFR 732.17(c). Below is a summary of the changes proposed by Iowa. 
The full text of the program amendment is available for you to read at 
the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

A. Adoptions by Reference of 30 CFR Part 700 to End Revised as of July 
1, 2002

    Iowa proposes to update its adoption by reference of applicable 
sections of 30 CFR part 700 to End from the July 1, 1992, version to 
the July 1, 2002, version and to revise terms and cross-references, as 
required. The sections of Iowa's coal mining rules that are being 
revised in this manner are listed in the table below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
27 Iowa Administrative Code chapter 40,
           coal mining rules                          Topic
------------------------------------------------------------------------
27--40.1(1), 40.1(4)...................  Authority and scope.
27--40.3(207)..........................  General.
27--40.4(207), 40.4(2), 40.4(3)........  Permanent regulatory program
                                          and exemption for coal
                                          extraction incidental to the
                                          extraction of other minerals.
27--40.5(207)..........................  Restrictions on financial
                                          interests of State employees.
27--40.6(207)..........................  Exemptions for coal extraction
                                          incident to government--
                                          financed highway or other
                                          constructions.
27--40.7(207)..........................  Protection of employees.
27--40.11(207).........................  Initial regulatory program.
27--40.12(207).........................  General performance standards--
                                          initial program.
27--40.13(207).........................  Special performance standards--
                                          initial program.
27--40.21(207), 40.21(4), 40.21(5),      Areas designated by an Act of
 40.21(6).                                Congress.
27--40.22(207), 40.22(2)...............  Criteria for designating areas
                                          as unsuitable for surface coal
                                          mining operations.
27--40.23(207).........................  State procedures for
                                          designating areas unsuitable
                                          for surface coal mining
                                          operations.
27--40.30(207), 40.30(1), 40.30(4).....  Requirements for coal
                                          exploration.

[[Page 15273]]

 
27--40.31(207), 40.31(1), 40.31(2),      Requirements for permits and
 40.31(3), 40.31(4), 40.31(5),            permit processing.
 40.31(6), 40.31(7), 40.31.(8),
 40.31(9), 40.31(13), 40.31(14),
 40.31(15).
27--40.32(207), 40.32(1), 40.32(2),      Revision or amendment; renewal;
 40.32(4).                                and transfer, assignment, or
                                          sale of permit rights.
27--40.33(207).........................  General content requirements
                                          for permit applications.
27--40.34(207), 40.34(2), 40.34(3).....  Permit application--minimum
                                          requirements for legal,
                                          financial, compliance, and
                                          related information.
27--40.35(207).........................  Surface mining permit
                                          applications--minimum
                                          requirements for information
                                          on environmental resources.
27--40.36(207).........................  Surface mining permit
                                          applications--minimum
                                          requirements for reclamation
                                          and operation plan.
27--40.37(207), 40.37(4)...............  Underground mining permit
                                          applications--minimum
                                          requirements for information
                                          on environmental resources.
27--40.38(207), 40.38(2), 40.38(3).....  Underground mining permit
                                          applications--minimum
                                          requirements for reclamation
                                          and operation plan.
27--40.39(207).........................  Requirements for permits for
                                          special categories of mining.
27--40.41(207).........................  Permanent regulatory program--
                                          small operator assistance
                                          program.
27--40.51(207).........................  Bond and insurance requirements
                                          for surface coal mining and
                                          reclamation operations under
                                          regulatory programs.
27--40.61(207), 40.61(4)...............  Permanent program performance
                                          standards--general provisions.
27--40.62(207).........................  Permanent program performance
                                          standards--coal exploration.
27--40.63(207), 40.63(9)...............  Permanent program performance
                                          standards--surface mining
                                          activities.
27--40.64(207).........................  Permanent program performance
                                          standards--underground mining
                                          activities.
27--40.65(207).........................  Special permanent program
                                          performance standards--auger
                                          mining.
27--40.66(207).........................  Special permanent program
                                          performance standards--
                                          operations on prime farmland.
27--40.67(207).........................  Permanent program performance
                                          standards--coal preparation
                                          plants not located within the
                                          permit area of a mine.
27--40.71(207).........................  State regulatory authority--
                                          inspection and enforcement.
27--40.73(2)g..........................  Cessation orders.
27--40.73(4)d..........................  Suspension or revocation of
                                          permits.
27--40.74(207), 40.74(9)...............  Civil penalties.
27--40.75(207).........................  Individual civil penalties.
27--40.81(207).........................  Permanent regulatory program
                                          requirements--standards for
                                          certification of blasters.
27--40.82(207).........................  Certification of blasters.
27--40.92(8)...........................  Contested cases.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Definitions

    1. At 27--40.4(9), Iowa proposes to remove its definition of 
``previously mined area'' and to adopt the Federal definition of 
``previously mined area'' by reference.
    2. At 27--40.4(11), Iowa proposes to delete the definition for 
``violation, failure or refusal'' at 30 CFR 701.5 and insert in its 
place, the following definition:

    ``Violation, failure, or refusal,'' means--
    (1) A violation of a condition of an approved permit pursuant to 
the Iowa program or an enforcement action pursuant to Iowa Code 
section 207.14, or
    (2) A failure or refusal to comply with any order issued under 
Iowa Code section 207.14 or any order incorporated in a final 
decision issued by the administrator, except an order incorporated 
in a decision issued under subrule 40.74(7) or rule 27--40.7(207).

C. Exemptions for Coal Extraction Incident to Government--Financed 
Highway or Other Construction

    Iowa proposes to remove 27--40.6(2), which deleted the words ``250 
tons'' from 30 CFR 707.12 and inserted the words ``50 tons.''

D. Requirements for Permits and Permit Processing

    At 40.31(12), Iowa added the following paragraph to 30 CFR 773.17:

    (h) The permittee shall ensure and the permit shall contain 
specific conditions requiring that, as a condition of the permit, 
the permittee shall not, except as permitted by law, willfully 
resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with the division or any of 
its agents in the performance of their duties.

E. Surface Mining Permit Applications--Minimum Requirements for 
Information on Environmental Resources

    Iowa proposes to delete 27--40.35(3), which deleted from 30 CFR 
779.22(a)(1) the words ``A map'' and inserted the words ``A map at a 
scale of 1:2400 or larger or an aerial photo.''

F. Permanent Program Performance Standards--Surface Mining Activities

    At 27--40.63(6), Iowa added a reference to its ``Revegetation 
Success Standards and Statistically Valid Sampling Techniques'' dated 
April 1999, as approved on December 27, 2001.

G. Permanent Program Performance Standards--Underground Mining 
Activities

    1. At 27--40.64(4), Iowa added a reference to its ``Revegetation 
Success Standards and Statistically Valid Sampling Techniques'' dated 
April 1999, as approved on December 27, 2001.
    2. Iowa proposes to remove 27--40.64(6), which deleted from 30 CFR 
817.121(c)(2) the phrase ``To the extent required under applicable 
provisions of State law.''

H. Individual Civil Penalties

    At 27--40.75(2), Iowa removed its definition of ``Violation, 
failure or refusal'' and added it at 27--40.4(11).

III. Public Comment Procedures

    Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking your 
comments on whether the amendment

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satisfies the applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If 
we approve the amendment, it will become part of the State program.

Written Comments

    Send your written comments to us 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 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 Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center may 
not be logged in.

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., c.s.t. on April 
9, 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 
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

    In this rule, the State is adopting valid existing rights standards 
that are similar to the standards in the Federal definition at 30 CFR 
761.5. Therefore, this rule has the same takings implications as the 
Federal valid existing rights rule. The takings implications assessment 
for the Federal valid existing rights rule appears in Part XXIX.E. of 
the preamble to that rule. See 64 FR 70766, 70822-27, December 17, 
1999.

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, 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. 
This determination is based on the fact that the Iowa program does not 
regulate coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation 
operations on Indian lands. Therefore, the Iowa program has no effect 
on Federally-recognized Indian tribes.

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

[[Page 15275]]

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 915

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: March 9, 2004.
Ervin J. Barchenger,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 04-6734 Filed 3-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P