[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 160 (Monday, August 18, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48159-48160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19088]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Parts 700, 724, 773, 785, 816, 817, 845, 846, 870, 872, 873, 
874, 875, 876, 879, 880, 882, 884, 885, 886, and 887

[Docket Id: OSM-2008-0003]
RIN 1029-AC56


Abandoned Mine Land Program

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of the comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSM), are extending the comment period on a proposed rule that would 
revise the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program. The proposed rule would 
revise our regulations to be consistent with the Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), as amended by the Tax Relief and 
Health Care Act of 2006, Public Law 109-432, signed into law on 
December 20, 2006.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before 
August 29, 2008, in order to ensure our consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
The rule is listed under the agency name ``OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING 
RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT.'' The proposed rule has been assigned 
Docket ID: OSM-2008-0003.
    If you would like to submit comments through the Federal e-
Rulemaking 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-2008-0003 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-
0003, 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 to: Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement, Administrative Record, Room 252-SIB, 1951 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20240. Please include the rule 
Docket ID (OSM-2008-0003) with your comment.
    We cannot ensure that comments received after the close of the 
comment period (see DATES) will be included in the docket for the 
rulemaking and considered. Comments sent to an address other than those 
listed above (see ADDRESSES) will not be included in the docket for the 
rulemaking.
    For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see ``Public Comment 
Procedures'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    If you wish to comment on the information collection aspects of 
this proposed rule, you may submit your comments to the Office of 
Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Attention: Interior Desk Officer, via e-mail to [email protected], or via facsimile to 202-365-6566.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danny Lytton, Chief, Reclamation 
Support Division, 1951 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20240; 
Telephone: 202-208-2788.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background on the Reclamation Fee and the Abandoned Mine Land Program

    On June 20, 2008, we published a proposed rule in the Federal 
Register (73 FR 35214) that would revise our regulations governing the 
AML program. We have received two requests to extend the comment period 
on the proposed rule. In response, we are extending the comment period 
to August 29, 2008.
    As discussed in greater detail in the June 20, 2008, Federal 
Register notice, the proposed rule would revise our regulations to be 
consistent with the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, Public Law 
109-432, enacted on December 20, 2006, which included the Surface 
Mining Control and Reclamation Act Amendments of 2006 (the ``2006 
amendments''). The proposed rule reflects the extension of our 
statutory authority to collect reclamation fees for an additional 
fourteen years and to reduce the fee rates. The proposal also updates 
the regulations in light of the statutory amendments that change the 
activities State and Tribal reclamation programs may perform under the 
AML program, funding for reclamation grants to States and Indian 
tribes, and transfers to the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) 
Combined Benefit Fund, the UMWA 1992 Benefit Plan, and the UMWA 
Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan. Finally, our proposed rule extends

[[Page 48160]]

incentives reauthorized by the 2006 amendments pertaining to the 
remining of certain lands and water adversely affected by past mining.

Public Comment Procedures

    Written Comments: If you submit written comments, they should be 
specific, confined to issues pertinent to the proposed rule, and 
explain the reason for any recommended changes. We appreciate all 
comments, but those most useful and likely to influence decisions on 
any revisions will be those that either involve personal experience or 
include citations to and analyses of SMCRA, its legislative history, 
its implementing regulations, the 2006 amendments, case law, or other 
pertinent State or Federal laws or regulations.
    We cannot ensure that comments received after the close of the 
comment period (see DATES) will be included in the docket for the 
rulemaking and considered. Comments sent to an address other than those 
listed above (see ADDRESSES) will not be included in the docket for the 
rulemaking.
    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.

    Dated: August 8, 2008.
C. Stephen Allred,
Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E8-19088 Filed 8-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P