[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 250 (Friday, December 30, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77348-77351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-8105]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 936

[Docket No. OK-030-FOR]


Oklahoma Regulatory Program

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

[[Page 77349]]


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

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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSM), are announcing receipt of revisions to a previously proposed 
amendment to the Oklahoma regulatory program (Oklahoma program) under 
the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the 
Act). The revisions Oklahoma proposes concern subsidence control; 
impoundments; and revegetation success standards.
    Oklahoma also elected to withdraw its proposed revisions regarding 
review of decision not to inspect or enforce. Oklahoma intends to 
revise its program to provide additional safeguards, clarify 
ambiguities, and improve operational efficiency.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Oklahoma 
program and proposed amendment to that program are available for your 
inspection and the comment period during which you may submit written 
comments on the revisions to the amendment.

DATES: We will accept written comments until 4 p.m., c.t., January 17, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. OK-030-
FOR, by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``Docket No. OK-030-
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 Oklahoma 
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:
    Oklahoma Department of Mines, 4040 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 107, 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105, Telephone: (405) 427-3859.

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 Oklahoma Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations

I. Background on the Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma program on January 19, 1981. You can find background 
information on the Oklahoma program, including the Secretary's 
findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval 
of the Oklahoma program in the January 19, 1981, Federal Register (46 
FR 4902). You can also find later actions concerning Oklahoma's program 
and program amendments at 30 CFR 936.15 and 936.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letters dated October 14, 2005, and November 17, 2005 
(Administrative Record Nos. OK-946.05 and OK-946.08, respectively), 
Oklahoma sent us amendments to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 
et seq.). Oklahoma sent the amendments in response to our letters dated 
September 15, 2005, and October 28, 2005 (Administrative Record Nos. 
OK-946.04 and OK-946.07, respectively) that we sent to Oklahoma under 
30 CFR 732.17(c).
    We announced receipt of the proposed amendment in the October 18, 
2005, Federal Register (70 FR 60481) and invited public comment on its 
adequacy. The public comment period ended November 17, 2005.
    During our review of the amendment, we identified concerns relating 
to subsidence control, impoundments, revegetation success standards, 
and review of decision not to inspect or enforce. We notified Oklahoma 
of the concerns by letters dated September 15, 2005, and October 28, 
2005 (Administrative Record Nos. OK-946.04 and OK-946.07, 
respectively). On October 14, 2005, and November 17, 2005 
(Administrative Record Nos. OK-946.05 and OK-946.08, respectively), 
Oklahoma sent us revised amendments (Administrative Record Nos. OK-
946.05 and OK-946.08, respectively).
    Below is a summary of the revisions proposed by Oklahoma. The full 
text of the revised amendment is available for you to read at the 
locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

A. Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 460:20-31-13. Subsidence Control 
Plan

    Oklahoma proposes to revise paragraph (a)(3) to require 
applications to include surveys of non-commercial buildings or occupied 
residential dwellings and structures related thereto except for areas 
where there is no planned subsidence. Oklahoma also proposes to require 
all applications to include surveys of all drinking, domestic, and 
residential water supplies.

B. OAC 460:20-43-14. Impoundments

    Oklahoma proposes to revise paragraph (a)(14) to require embankment 
slopes of impoundments to be no closer than 100 feet, measured 
horizontally, to any public road right-of-way unless otherwise approved 
under procedures established in OAC 460:20-7-4(4), Areas where surface 
coal mining operations are prohibited or limited, and 460:20-7-5(d), 
Procedures.

C. OAC 460:20-43-46 and OAC 460:20-45-46. Revegetation: Standards for 
Success

    Oklahoma proposes to add new paragraphs (b)(3)(B) and to 
redesignate existing paragraphs (b)(3)(B) through (b)(3)(D) as new 
paragraphs (b)(3)(C) through (b)(3)(E). New paragraphs (b)(3)(B) allow 
the Oklahoma Department of Mines (Department) to specify minimum 
stocking and planting

[[Page 77350]]

arrangements for areas to be developed for recreation, shelter belts, 
or forest products on the basis of local and regional conditions after 
consultation with and approval by the State agencies responsible for 
administration of forestry and wildlife programs. The consultation and 
approval will occur on a permit specific basis and the stocking and 
planting arrangements will be incorporated into an approved reclamation 
plan.

D. OAC 460:20-45-47. Subsidence Control

    Oklahoma proposes to revise paragraph (c)(4) pertaining to repair 
of damage to surface lands. This new paragraph requires operators to be 
governed by a rebuttable presumption of causation by subsidence. The 
information to be considered in determination of causation is whether 
damage to protected structures was caused by subsidence from 
underground mining. All relevant and reasonably available information 
will be considered by the Department when making the determination.

E. OAC 460:20-57-6. Review of Decision Not To Inspect or Enforce

    Oklahoma proposes to withdraw its previously proposed amendment 
pertaining to a review of the Department's decision to not inspect or 
take enforcement action with respect to any violation alleged by any 
person who is or may be adversely affected by a coal exploration or 
surface coal mining and reclamation operation.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    We are reopening the comment period on the proposed Oklahoma 
program amendment to provide the public an opportunity to reconsider 
the adequacy of the proposed amendment in light of the additional 
materials submitted. In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 
732.17(h), we are seeking comments on whether the proposed amendment 
satisfies the applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If 
we approve the amendment, it will become part of the Oklahoma 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: OK-030-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.

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.

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

[[Page 77351]]

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 936

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: December 15, 2005.
Charles E. Sandberg,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
[FR Doc. E5-8105 Filed 12-29-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P