[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7489-7491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1974]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 944

[UT-043-FOR]


Utah 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 amendment.

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SUMMARY: We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Utah 
regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Utah program'') under the 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). 
Utah proposes revisions to the Utah Administrative Rules concerning 
permit change, renewal, transfer, sale and assignment, cross sections 
and maps, processing and approval of extensions to the approved permit 
area, determining civil penalty amounts, and assessing daily civil 
penalties. Utah intends to revise its program to clarify and strengthen 
certain parts of the rules.

DATES: We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4 p.m., 
m.s.t. March 15, 2006. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on 
the amendment on March 10, 2006. We will accept requests to speak until 
4 p.m., m.s.t. on February 28, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number UT-043-
FOR, by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``UT-043-FOR'' in the 
subject line of the message;
     Mail: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field Division, 
Western Region, Office of Surface Mining, P.O. Box 46667, 1999 
Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, Colorado 80201-6667;
     Courier/Hand Delivery: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver 
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, 
Denver, Colorado 80202-5733; and
     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 UT-043-FOR. 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 Utah 
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 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 Denver Field Division. In 
addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following locations:

James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface 
Mining, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, Colorado 80202-5733. 
Telephone: (303) 844-1400, extension 1424. E-mail: [email protected].

John R. Baza, Director, Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, 1594 West 
North Temple, Suite 1210, P.O. Box 145801, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-
5801. Telephone: (801) 538-5340. Internet: http://www.ogm.utah.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field 
Division; Telephone: (303) 844-1400, extension 1424; E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:


[[Page 7490]]


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

I. Background on the Utah 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 Utah program on January 21, 1981. You can 
find background information on the Utah program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions 
of approval of the Utah program in the January 21, 1981, Federal 
Register (46 FR 5899). You also can find later actions concerning 
Utah's program and program amendments at 30 CFR 944.15 and 944.30.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated November 28, 2005, Utah sent to us a proposed 
amendment to its program (Utah administrative record No. UT-1181) under 
SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). We received the amendment on December 
28, 2005. Utah sent the amendment to make the changes at its own 
initiative. The full text of the program amendment is available for you 
to read at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
    Specifically, Utah proposes to revise five sections of its rules. 
In a revision of Utah Administrative Rule (Utah Admin. R.) 645-301-160, 
the State proposes to add a heading that reads, ``Permit change, 
renewal, transfer, sale, and assignment.'' Following that heading is a 
proposed reference to procedures to change, renew, transfer, assign, or 
sell existing coal mining and reclamation permit rights that are found 
at Utah Admin. R. 645-303.
    The amendment also proposes to change Utah's permit application 
requirements for cross sections and maps at Utah Admin. R. 645-301-
512.100. This change would allow preparation of certain cross sections 
and maps by a professional geologist or a qualified, registered, 
professional land surveyor. The State also proposes editorial changes 
to this section to make it read more clearly with the proposed 
substantive revisions described above.
    A proposed revision to Utah Admin. R. 645-303-222 would allow 
applications for extensions to the approved permit area to be processed 
and approved using the procedural requirements of Utah Admin. R. 645-
303-226 for review and processing of significant permit revisions. As 
part of this proposed change, the State also proposes to remove the 
requirement at Utah Admin. R. 645-303-222 that extensions to the 
approved permit area, except for incidental boundary changes, be 
processed and approved as new permit applications and not be approved 
under Utah Admin. R. 645-303-221 through R. 645-303-228.
    Another revision proposed in this amendment would change Utah's 
schedule of points and corresponding dollar amounts for civil penalty 
assessments found at Utah Admin. R. 645-401-330. As proposed, the 
revision would result in civil penalty ranges of 1 through 64 points 
and $22 through $4,840, and remove the existing ranges of 1 through 87 
points and $10 through $3,560.
    Finally, the State's amendment proposes a change at Utah Admin. R. 
645-401-410 that would require an assessment officer to assess a civil 
penalty for a minimum of two separate days for any violation that 
continues for two or more days and is assigned more than 64 points. 
This proposed change also would remove the existing threshold of 80 
points.

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 Utah program.

Written Comments

    Send your written or electronic comments to OSM at the address 
given above. Your 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 
written 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 Denver Field Division 
may not be logged in.

Electronic Comments

    Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file or Word file 
avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. 
Please also include ``Attn: SATS No. UT-043-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, extension 1424. In the final 
rulemaking, we will not consider or include in the administrative 
record any electronic comments received after the time indicated under 
DATES or at e-addresses other than the Denver Field Division.

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., m.s.t. on 
February 28, 2006. 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 a 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

[[Page 7491]]

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 
regulations.

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. 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. 4321 et 
seq.).

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. 
3501 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 on 
counterpart Federal regulations for which an economic analysis was 
prepared and certification made that such regulations would not have a 
significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities. 
In making the determination as to whether this rule would have a 
significant economic impact, the Department relied on 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), of 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 on the fact that the State submittal 
which is the subject of this rule is based on 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 on the fact that the State 
submittal, which is the subject of this rule, is based on 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 944

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: January 6, 2006.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. E6-1974 Filed 2-10-06; 8:45 am]
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