[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 203 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59489-59491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20697]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 203 / Monday, October 22, 2007 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 59489]]



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 944

[SATS No. UT-044-FOR; State Amendment Identification Number UT-1196]


Utah 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 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 and additions of rules and statutes about waiving 
specific application requirements with a written determination by the 
Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM), clarification that applications 
shall be filed with the county clerk ``for public inspection,'' and 
allowing the area covered by a permit to be extended by an application 
for a significant permit revision.
    Utah intends to revise its program to be consistent with the 
corresponding Federal regulations and SMCRA, clarify ambiguities, and 
to improve operational efficiency.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Utah 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., 
m.s.t., November 21, 2007. If requested, we will hold a public hearing 
on the amendment on November 16, 2007. We will accept requests to speak 
until 4 p.m., m.s.t., on November 6, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``UT-044-FOR'' by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
OSM is listed as Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field Division, 
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, P.O. Box 46667, 
Denver, CO 80201-6667.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver 
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 
1999 Broadway, suite 3320, Denver, CO 80202-5733.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and UT-044-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: 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, may be obtained 
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 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement (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 
Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway, suite 3320, Denver, CO 
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, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5801, Telephone: 
(801) 538-5340, Internet: http://www.ogm.utah.gov.

    Or anytime at: http://www.regulations.gov. OSM is listed as Office 
of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Telephone: (303) 844-
1400 extension 1424. Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 can also 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 August 31, 2007, Utah sent us a proposed amendment 
to its program (SATS No. UT-044-FOR, administrative record number UT-
1196) under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Utah sent the amendment to 
propose changes made 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 amend Utah Code Annotated (UCA) 
Sec.  40-10-10(2)(d)(ii) to clarify the specific permit application 
requirements which may be waived by the Division with a written 
determination that the requirements are unnecessary. Without this 
proposed specification, the provision could be interpreted as allowing 
the Division to waive a broader range of requirements.
    The proposed amendment to UCA Sec.  40-10-10(5) reinstates a 
provision that was inadvertently deleted in S.B. 72 in 2002. The 
proposed addition clarifies that permit applications are to be filed

[[Page 59490]]

with the county clerk ``for public inspection.''
    The above proposed revisions to UCA Sec.  40-10-10(2)(d)(ii) and 
UCA Sec.  40-10-10(5) address topics that were originally addressed in 
SATS No. UT-042-FOR (administrative record number UT-1171) and included 
in the February 21, 2003, concern letter (administrative record number 
UT-1180) from OSM to DOGM.
    Proposed changes to UCA Sec.  40-10-12(1)(c) add a provision 
allowing extensions to area covered by a permit to be made through 
significant permit revisions. Additional changes recodify the provision 
and do not change the meaning of the existing statute.
    The proposed change to Administrative Rule R645-303-222 implements 
the proposed changes to UCA Sec.  40-10-12(1)(c) and reflects the 
procedural requirements referenced for permit revisions rather than the 
previous reference to new permit application requirements. The above 
proposed amendment to R645-303-222 was originally proposed in UT-043-
FOR (admin record number UT-1181). OSM raised concerns regarding a 
conflict with the Utah statute (UCA) Sec.  40-10-12(1)(c) in a phone 
conversation on January 23, 2006, documented as administrative record 
number UT-1190. Utah formally withdrew the proposed amendment to R645-
303-222 on February 16, 2006 (admin record number UT-1194) pending 
their submittal of a proposed change to UCA Sec.  40-10-12(1)(c).

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 us at the addresses 
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 record for this rulemaking, but comments 
delivered to an address other than the those listed above may not be 
logged in.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

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 
November 6, 2007. 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 the 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 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. 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.

[[Page 59491]]

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 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), 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.
    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 944

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 12, 2007.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Western Region.
 [FR Doc. E7-20697 Filed 10-19-07; 8:45 am]
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