[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 82 (Monday, April 28, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22887-22890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9194]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 916

[Docket No. OSM-2008-0001; SATS No. KS-024-FOR]


Kansas Regulatory Program

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

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 Kansas regulatory program (Kansas program) under the 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). 
The revisions concern newly promulgated Kansas Regulations. Kansas 
submitted these regulations at its own initiative to meet the 
requirements for its program to operate under Title IV and V of the 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and to make technical and 
editorial corrections to its program. This document gives the times and 
locations where the Kansas program and proposed amendment 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 on this amendment until 4 p.m., 
c.d.t., May 28, 2008. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on 
the amendment on May 23, 2008. We will accept requests to speak at a 
hearing until 4 p.m., c.d.t. on May 13, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. OSM-2008-
0001, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: The proposed rule has been 
assigned Docket ID: OSM-2008-0001. If you would like to submit comments 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to www.regulations.gov and 
do the following. Click on the ``Advanced Docket Search'' button on the 
right side of the screen. Type in the Docket ID OSM-2008-0001 and click 
the ``Submit'' button at the bottom of the page. The next screen will 
display the Docket Search Results for the rulemaking. If you click on 
OSM-2008-0001, you can view the proposed rule and submit a comment. You 
can also view supporting material and any comments submitted by others.
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Submit your comments to Alfred 
L. Clayborne, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement, 1645 South 101 St. East Avenue, Tulsa, 
Oklahoma 74128.
    Instructions: 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: In addition to obtaining copies of documents at 
www.regulations.gov, information may also 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 OSM's Tulsa Field Office: Alfred L. Clayborne, Director, 
Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, 1645 South 101 St. East Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74128-
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: Kansas Department of Health 
and Environment, Surface Mining Section, 4033 Parkview Drive, 
Frontenac, Kansas 66763, Telephone: (316) 231-8540.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the Kansas 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

[[Page 22888]]

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 Kansas program on January 21, 1981. You can 
find background information on the Kansas program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions 
of approval, in the January 21, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 5892). 
You can also find later actions concerning the Kansas program and 
program amendments at 30 CFR 916.10, 916.12, 916.15, and 916.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated November 19, 2007 (Administrative Record Nos. 626 
and 627), Kansas sent us amendments to its program under SMCRA (30 
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Kansas sent the amendments in one package, 
identifying the Kansas 2006 Revegetation Success Guidelines as KS-024-
FOR and the Normal Husbandry Practices as KS-025-FOR. We have combined 
both amendments under one docket number (Docket No. OSM-2008-0001). We 
announced receipt of the amendment in the January 23, 2008, Federal 
Register (73 FR 3894) and invited public comment on its adequacy. The 
public comment period closed February 22, 2008. Kansas submitted these 
amendments at their own initiative.
    During our review of the previous submitted proposed amendments 
(Kansas's 2006 Revegetation Success Guidelines and Normal Husbandry 
Practices, Administrative Record Nos. 626 and 627), we identified 
incorrectly cited regulation references. We notified Kansas of our 
concerns by telephone on February 7, 2008, (Administrative Record No. 
626.08). Kansas, by email on February 7, 2008 (Administrative Record 
No. 626.06), sent us revisions to its proposed amendments for review 
under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). These revisions concern new 
promulgated Kansas Regulations (Kansas Department of Health and 
Environment Amended Permanent Regulation), which coincide with 
regulation citations used in its proposed 2006 Revegetation Success 
Guidelines and Normal Husbandry Practices for Surface-Mined Lands.
    Kansas's new regulations contain a substantial number of 
grammatical changes to update outdated language and codifications. 
Changes can be found in the following articles:
    Article 2--Meaning of Terms 47-2-75, Article 3--Application for 
Mining Permit 47-3-42, Article 4--Public Hearing 47-4-14a, Article 5--
Civil Penalties 47-5-5a, Article 6--Permit Review 47-6-1, Article 6--
Permit Review 47-6-2, Article 7--Coal Exploration 47-7-2, Article 8--
Bonding Procedures 47-8-9, Article 9--Performance Standards 47-9-1, 
Article 9--Performance Standards 47-9-4, Article 10--Underground Mining 
47-10-1, Article 11--Small Operator Assistant Program 47-11-8, Article 
12--Lands Unsuitable Surface Mining 47-12-4, Article 13--Training, 
Certification, and Responsibilities of Blasters and Operators 47-13-4, 
Article 14--Employee Financial Interests 47-14-7, Article 15--
Inspection and Enforcement 47-15-1a, Article 16--Reclamation 47-16-9, 
Article 16--Reclamation 47-16-10, and Article 16--Reclamation 47-16-12.
    Kansas proposes more specific substantive revisions to its 
regulations in the following articles and sections:
    K.A.R. 47-3-42, Article 3--Application for Mining permit, 
(5)(a)(55): Kansas proposes to delete subsection (d) of this article.
    K.A.R. 47-4-14a, Article 4--Public Hearing, document filing section 
(2)(c)(2): Kansas proposes to delete references to the Administrative 
Appeals Section of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, 
Suite 400D, 109. SW 9th, Topeka, Kansas 66612-1215 and add the Office 
of Administrative Hearings, a division of the Kansas Department of 
Administration.
    K.A.R 47-4-14a, Article 4--Public Hearing section (d)(3)(A): Kansas 
proposes to delete the phrase, ``a presiding officer shall be assigned 
by the department for the prehearing conference, exercising the same 
discretion as is provided by subsection (d)(2) concerning the selection 
of a presiding officer for a hearing.''
    K.A.R. 47-5-5a, Article 5--Civil Penalties (a): Kansas proposes to 
insert a new penalty table, change the dollar amount assessed for 
separate violations for each day, and add new language in section 47-5-
5 (d)(1): Delinquent payment.
    K.A.R. 47-5-5, Article 5--Civil Penalties (b)(13): Kansas proposes 
to delete reference to the Administrative Appeals Coordinator, 
Administrative Appeals Section, Office of the Secretary, Kansas 
Department of Health and Environment, Mills Building, Suite 400D, 109 
SW. 9th Street, Topeka, Kansas 66612-1215 and add the Office of 
Administrative Hearings, a division of the Kansas Department of 
Administration.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    We are reopening the comment period on the proposed Kansas program 
amendment to provide you an opportunity to reconsider the adequacy of 
the amendment in light of the additional materials sent to us. Under 
the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are requesting comments on 
whether the amendment satisfies the program approval criteria of 30 CFR 
732.15. If we approve the amendment, it will become part of the Kansas 
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.

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.d.t. on May 
13, 2008. If you are disabled and need reasonable 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 there is only limited interest in participating in a public 
hearing, we may hold a public meeting rather than

[[Page 22889]]

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.

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.

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

[[Page 22890]]

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 916

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: April 2, 2008.
Bill Joseph,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
 [FR Doc. E8-9194 Filed 4-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P