[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 6 (Friday, January 9, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 868-870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-204]


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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. 74, No. 6 / Friday, January 9, 2009 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 868]]



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 936

[SATS No. OK-032-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2008-0023]


Oklahoma Regulatory Program

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public 
hearing.

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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma 
regulatory program (Oklahoma program) under the Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Oklahoma is proposing 
revisions to the Appeals procedures in section 460:20-5-13, Appeals 
board in section 460:20-5-14, and Notice of violations in section 
460:20-59-4.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Oklahoma 
program and proposed amendments 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 will be followed for 
the public hearing, if one is requested.

DATES: We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4 p.m., 
c.d.t., February 9, 2009. If requested, we will hold a public hearing 
on the amendment on February 3, 2009. We will accept requests to speak 
at a hearing until 4 p.m., c.d.t. on January 26, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID: OSM-2008-
0023, by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``Docket ID: OSM-
2008-0023'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Alfred L. Clayborne, Director, Tulsa 
Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 
1645 South 101st East Avenue, Suite 145, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74128-4629.
     Fax: (918) 581-6419.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
The proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2008-0023. 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-2008-0023 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-2008-0023, you can view the 
proposed rule and submit a comment. You can also view supporting 
material and any comments submitted by others.
    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 
regulations, 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.

Alfred L. Clayborne, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1645 South 101st East Avenue, Suite 
145, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74128-4629, 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 locations:

Oklahoma Department of Mines, 2915 N. Classen Blvd., Suite 213, 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106-5406, Telephone: (405) 427-3859;
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov.

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 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, ``* * * 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 the 
Oklahoma program and program amendments at 30 CFR 936.10, 936.15 and 
936.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated November 26, 2008 (Administrative Record No. OK-
998), Oklahoma sent us a proposed amendment to its program under SMCRA 
(30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Oklahoma sent the amendment at its own 
initiative. Below is a summary of the changes proposed by Oklahoma. Any 
revisions that we do not specifically discuss below concern 
nonsubstantive wording or editorial changes or corrections of cross-
references. They can be found in the full text document of the program 
amendment, which is available for you to read at the locations listed 
above under ADDRESSES.
    Specifically, Oklahoma proposes to make the following revisions to 
its program.

[[Page 869]]

A. Section 460:20-5-13--Appeals procedures [Revoked]

    Oklahoma proposes to delete Appeals procedures for State employees.
    (a) Employees have the right to appeal an order for remedial action 
under Section 460:20-5-12, and shall have 30 days to exercise this 
right before disciplinary action is initiated. Employees may file their 
appeal, in writing, with the Appeals board established in Section 
460:20-14 below.
    (b) Members of advisory boards, the Oklahoma Mining Commission, and 
commissions representing multiple interests should follow any appeals 
process provided for by the Oklahoma Governor's Office, Director of 
Appointments.

B. Section 460:20-5-14--Appeals board [Revoked]

    Oklahoma proposes to delete the Appeals board for State employees. 
A department appeals board, composed of three persons appointed by the 
Director as representatives of the Department, shall hear any grievance 
from Department personnel concerning termination, salary disputes, 
conflict of interest, or other personnel matters which have been 
determined by the Director.
    (1) Any decisions rendered by the appeals board shall be a majority 
vote, after both parties have had an opportunity to be heard in an 
individual proceeding under the Administrative Procedures Act.
    (2) Should the appeals board vote against the decision of the Chief 
Administrative Officer, the matter shall be taken to the Director, and 
his or her decision shall be considered a final order, appealable under 
the Administrative Procedures Act.

C. Section 460:20-59-4--Notice of violation

    Oklahoma proposes to make editorial changes by adopting language 
similar to 30 CFR 843.12 (f)(1), which specifies the circumstances 
which may qualify a surface coal mining operation for an abatement 
period of more than 90 days. Oklahoma proposes new language at line 
(F)(2) allowing for situations where the permittee of an ongoing 
permitted operation has timely applied for and diligently pursued a 
permit revision which abates an outstanding violation and which 
includes no other changes to permit design or plans, but such revision 
approval has not or will not be issued within 90 days for reasons not 
within the control of the permittee.

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 State program.

Written or Electronic 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 appreciate any and all comments, 
but those most useful and likely to influence decisions on the final 
regulations will be those that either involve personal experience or 
include citations to and analyses of SMCRA, its legislative history, 
its implementing regulations, case law, other pertinent Tribal or 
Federal laws or regulations, technical literature, or other relevant 
publications. 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.

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 may 
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. We will not consider anonymous comments.

Public Hearing

    If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 p.m., c.s.t. on 
January 26, 2009. 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 a hearing.
    To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we 
request, if possible, that each person who speaks at the 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 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.

[[Page 870]]

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 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 the Office of Management and Budget 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 9, 2008.
William Joseph,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
 [FR Doc. E9-204 Filed 1-8-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P