[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 118 (Monday, June 21, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34962-34964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14869]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 938

[PA-154-FOR; OSM 2010-0002]


Pennsylvania 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: OSM is announcing the receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Pennsylvania regulatory program (the ``Pennsylvania program'') under 
the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the 
Act). The proposed amendment (Administrative Record Number PA 837.111) 
consists of a recent statutory amendment to Pennsylvania's Coal Refuse 
Disposal Control Act (CRDA), 52 Pennsylvania Statute Section 30.51 et 
seq. Section 4.1(a) of the CRDA was amended by adding subsection (6) to 
section 4.1(a), which added another category of sites to the list of 
``preferred sites'' currently found in section 4.1.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Pennsylvania 
program and this submittal are available for your inspection, the 
comment period during which you may submit written comments, and the 
procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is 
requested.

DATES: We will accept written comments until 4 p.m., e.s.t. July 21, 
2010. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on July 16, 2010. We 
will accept requests to speak until 4 p.m., e.s.t. on July 6, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``PA-154-FOR; Docket 
ID: OSM-2010-0002'' by either of the following two methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. The proposed rule 
has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2010-0002. If you would like to submit 
comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to 
www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions.
    Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Mr. George Rieger, Chief, Pittsburgh 
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 
Harrisburg Transportation Center, 415 Market St., Suite 304, 
Harrisburg, PA 17101.
    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 Pittsburgh Field Division Office.
    George Rieger, Chief, Pittsburgh Field Division, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Harrisburg Transportation Center, 
415 Market St., Suite 304, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101, Telephone 
No. (717) 782-4036, E-mail: [email protected].
    William S. Allen Jr., Acting Director, Bureau of Mining and 
Reclamation, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 
Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 8461, Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania 17105-8461, Telephone: (717) 787-5015, E-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Rieger, Telephone: (717) 782-
4036. E-mail: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the Pennsylvania 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 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 Pennsylvania program on July 30, 1982. You can find background 
information on the Pennsylvania program, including the Secretary's 
findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of approval of 
the Pennsylvania program in the July 30, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 
33050). You can also find later actions concerning the Pennsylvania 
program and program amendments at 30

[[Page 34963]]

CFR 938.11, 938.12, 938.13, 938.15, and 938.16.

II. Description of the Amendment

    By letter dated February 24, 2010, Pennsylvania sent us an 
amendment to its program (Administrative Number PA 837.111) under SMCRA 
(30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Pennsylvania sent the amendment to include 
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.
    Pennsylvania has proposed a revision (adding subsection (6)) that 
would add another category of sites to the list of ``preferred sites 
currently found in section 4.1, the site selection provision of the 
CRDA.'' The proposed addition provides as follows:

Section 4.1. Site Selection

    (a) Preferred sites shall be used for coal refuse disposal unless 
the applicant demonstrates to the department another site is more 
suitable based upon engineering, geology, economics, transportation 
systems, and social factors and is not adverse to the public interest. 
A preferred site is one of the following:
    (1) A watershed polluted by acid mine drainage;
    (2) A watershed containing an unreclaimed surface mine but which 
has no mining discharge;
    (3) A watershed containing an unreclaimed surface mine with 
discharges that could be improved by the proposed coal refuse disposal 
operation;
    (4) Unreclaimed coal refuse disposal piles that could be improved 
by the proposed coal refuse disposal operation;
    (5) Other unreclaimed areas previously affected by mining 
activities;
    (6) An area adjacent to or an expansion of an existing coal refuse 
disposal site.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking your 
comments on whether the submission satisfies the applicable program 
approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve the amendment, it 
will become part of the Pennsylvania program.

Electronic or Written Comments

    If you submit written comments, they should be specific, confined 
to issues pertinent to the proposed regulations, and explain the reason 
for any recommended change(s). 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 cannot ensure that comments received after the close 
of the comment period (see DATES) or sent to an address other than 
those listed above (see ADDRESSES) will be included in the docket for 
this rulemaking and considered.

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 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., e.s.t. July 6, 
2010. 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 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 submission, 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 of the proposed amendment.

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.

[[Page 34964]]

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 basis for this determination is that our decision is on a State 
regulatory program and does not involve Federal regulations involving 
Indian lands.

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.). 
This analysis is based on the nature of the proposed amendment which 
does not impose requirements on small entities.

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, geographic regions, or Federal, State or local governmental 
agencies; 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 an analysis of the 
proposed amendment which does not impose new requirements on the 
regulated industry.

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 
submitted the amendment on its own initiative.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 938

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

     Dated: February 23, 2010.
 Thomas D. Shope,
Regional Director, Appalachian Region.

    Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the 
Federal Register on June 16, 2010.
[FR Doc. 2010-14869 Filed 6-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P