[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 29, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71441-71444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23402]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 943

[Docket No. TX-055-FOR]


Texas 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 Texas 
regulatory program (Texas program) under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Texas proposes revisions to 
and additions of regulations and statutes regarding the State's annual 
fees that are required from coal mining permit holders. In addition to 
the current annual fee, Texas proposes to add two new annual fees. 
Texas intends to revise its program to reduce the economic cost to the 
coal mining industry as a whole and to require coal mining permit 
holders that have ceased mining to pay annual fees.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Texas 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.t., December 29, 2005. If

[[Page 71442]]

requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment on December 
27, 2005. We will accept requests to speak at a hearing until 4 p.m., 
c. t. on December 14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. TX-055-
FOR, by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``Docket No. TX-055-
FOR'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa 
Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 
5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 470, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135-6547.
     Fax: (918) 581-6419.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. For detailed instructions on 
submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking 
process, see the ``Public Comment Procedures'' heading of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: For access to the docket to review copies of the Texas 
program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled public hearings, 
and all written comments received in response to this document, you 
must go to the address 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 
Reclamation and Enforcement, 5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 470, Tulsa, 
Oklahoma 74135-6547.
    Telephone: (918) 581-6430. E-mail: [email protected].
    In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following location: Surface Mining and 
Reclamation Division, Railroad Commission of Texas, 1701 North Congress 
Avenue, Austin, Texas 78711-2967.
    Telephone: (512) 463-6900.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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

I. Background on the Texas 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 Texas program effective February 16, 1980. You can find background 
information on the Texas program, including the Secretary's findings, 
the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval of the 
Texas program in the February 27, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 12998). 
You can also find later actions concerning the Texas program and 
program amendments at 30 CFR 943.10, 943.15 and 943.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated October 6, 2005 (Administrative Record No. TX-660), 
Texas sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 
et seq.). Texas sent the amendment at its own initiative. Below is a 
summary of the changes proposed by Texas. The full text of the program 
amendment is available for you to read at the locations listed above 
under ADDRESSES.

A. Revisions to Texas' Statutes

    Section 134.055 of the Texas Natural Resources Code currently 
requires each permit holder to pay an annual mined acreage fee for each 
acre of land in the permit area on which the permit holder actually 
conducted operations for removing coal during the year. Presently, this 
fee cannot be less than $120.00 per acre. Texas proposes to revise 
section 134.055 by eliminating the $120.00 per acre minimum fee and 
allowing the Railroad Commission of Texas (Commission) to determine the 
amount of this fee. Texas also proposes to add two new annual fees; a 
mining permit fee for mining permits in effect at the end of a calendar 
year and a bond acreage fee for each acre of land in the bonded permit 
area. Texas proposes to allow the Commission to determine the amount of 
each of the two new annual fees.

B. Revisions to Texas' Regulations

    Texas proposes to revise its regulations at 16 Texas Administrative 
Code (TAC) 12.108, regarding permit fees, to implement the above 
proposed statutory amendments.
    Texas proposes to add the title, ``Application Fees,'' and the 
title, ``Annual Fees,'' to paragraph (a) and paragraph (b), 
respectively, and to require the fees due and payable no later than 
March 15th of the year following the year for which these fees are 
applicable.
    Texas also proposes to reduce the current annual mined acreage fee 
from $390.00 per acre to $160.00 per acre for each acre of land within 
the permit area on which coal or lignite was actually removed during 
the calendar year. In addition, Texas proposes to add a new bond 
acreage fee and proposes to set it at $3.00 per acre for each acre of 
land within a permit area covered by a reclamation bond on December 
31st of the year. Finally, Texas proposes to add a new mining permit 
fee and proposes to set it at $3,550.00 for each permit in effect on 
December 31st of the year.

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 State 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 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 Tulsa Field Office may 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: Docket No. TX-055-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.

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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.t. on 
December 14, 2005. 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

    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, 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 Texas program does not 
regulate coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation 
operations on Indian lands. Therefore, the Texas 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 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

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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 943

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: November 1, 2005.
Charles E. Sandberg,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
[FR Doc. 05-23402 Filed 11-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P