[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4266-4268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1511]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 931

[SATS No. NM-048-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2010-0014]


New Mexico 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 New 
Mexico regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``New Mexico program'') 
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' 
or ``the Act''). New Mexico proposes revisions to and additions of 
rules about Ownership and Control (``O & C''). New Mexico intends to 
revise its program to be consistent with the rules published in the 
Federal Register notices published on December 3, 2007, Ownership and 
Control (72 FR 68000); December 19, 2000, Application and Permit 
Information Requirements, Permit Eligibility, definitions of Ownership 
and Control, the AVS, Alternative Enforcement (65 FR 79582); and 
October 28, 1994, Use of the AVS in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation 
Permit Approval, Standards and Procedures for Ownership and Control 
Determinations (59 FR 54306).
    This document gives the times and locations that the New Mexico 
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.d.t. February 24, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing 
on the amendment on February 22, 2011. We will accept requests to speak 
until 4 p.m., m.d.t. on February 9, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following two 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
This proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2010-0014. If you 
would like to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, 
go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions.
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver 
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 
1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, CO 80202.
    For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``III. Public Comment 
Procedures'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    In addition to viewing the docket and obtaining copies of documents 
at http://www.regulations.gov, you may review copies of the New Mexico 
program, this amendment, a listing of any public hearings, and all 
written comments received in response to this document at the addresses 
listed below during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 
excluding holidays. You may also receive one free copy of the amendment 
by contacting OSM's Albuquerque Office.
    Bob Postle, Branch Chief, Field Operations, Program Support 
Division, Western Region, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, 505 Marquette Ave. NM Suite 1200, Albuquerque, NM 87102, 
Telephone: (505) 248-5070.
    Bill Brancard, Acting Director, Mining and Minerals Division, New 
Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, 1220 South 
St. Francis Drive, Sante Fe, New Mexico 87505, (505) 476-3400.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field 
Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 
Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, CO

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80202, Telephone: (303) 293-5010. Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the New Mexico 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 New Mexico program on December 31, 1980. You 
can find background information on the New Mexico program, including 
the Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the 
conditions of approval of the New Mexico program in the December 31, 
1980, Federal Register (45 FR 86459). You can also find later actions 
concerning New Mexico's program and program amendments at 30 CFR 
931.10, 931.11, 931.13, 931.15, 931.16, and 931.30.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated September 1, 2010, New Mexico submitted the 
proposed amendment in response to OSM's September 3, 2009, letter sent 
in accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(c). The letter notified New Mexico 
that changes and additions promulgated by OSM's October 28, 1994, 
December 19, 2000, and December 3, 2007, amendments to the existing 
ownership and control rules, at 30 CFR 701, 773, 778, 840, 843 and 847, 
had been upheld in court and the State must respond by submitting 
changes to its Ownership and Control rules. New Mexico was thereby 
required to submit amendments to ensure its program remains consistent 
with the Federal program. This amendment package is intended to address 
all required rule changes pertaining to Ownership and Control.
    Specifically, New Mexico proposes to amend its administrative rules 
at 19.8.1 NMAC, Section 7 (Definitions); 19.8.7 NMAC, Section 701 
(Identification of Interests); 19.8.11 NMAC, Sections 1105 (Review of 
Permit Applications) and 1114 (Conformance of Permit); 19.8.20 NMAC, 
Section 2010 (Hydrologic Balance: Water Quality Standards and Effluent 
Limitations); 19.8.30 NMAC, Sections 3000 (Cessation Orders), 3003 
(Service of Notices of Violation and Cessation Orders) and 3004 
(Informal Hearings); 19.8.31 NMAC, Sections 3103 (Assessment of 
Separate Violation for Each Day) and 3109 (Individual Civil Penalties); 
and 19.8.34 NMAC Sections 3402 (Application Requirements and 
Procedures) and 3408 (Revocation and Enforcement).
    Additionally, New Mexico proposes the adoption of new sections in 
19.8.11 NMAC Sections 1119 (Post-Permit Issuance Requirements and other 
Actions Based on Ownership, Control and Violation Information), 1120 
(Post-Permit Issuance Information Requirements for Permittees) and 1121 
(Certifying and Updating Existing Permit Application Information); and 
19.8.31 NMAC, Section 3113 (Criminal Penalties). The full text of the 
program amendment is available for you to read at the locations listed 
above under ADDRESSES.

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 New Mexico 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 in the electronic docket 
for this rulemaking at http://www.regulations.gov. 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.d.t. on 
February 9, 2011. 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. If 
only one person expresses an interest, a public meeting rather than a 
hearing may be held, with the results included in the docket for this 
rulemaking.
    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.

IV. Procedural Determinations

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 (Regulatory Planning and 
Review).

Other Laws and Executive Orders Affecting Rulemaking

    When a State submits a program amendment to OSM for review, our 
regulations at 30 CFR 732.17(h) require us to publish a notice in the 
Federal Register indicating receipt of the proposed amendment, its text 
or a summary of its terms, and an opportunity for public comment. We 
conclude our review of the proposed amendment after the close of the 
public comment period and determine whether the amendment should be 
approved, approved in part, or not approved. At that time, we will also 
make the

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determinations and certifications required by the various laws and 
executive orders governing the rulemaking process and include them in 
the final rule.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 931

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 17, 2010.
Billie Clark,
Acting Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-1511 Filed 1-24-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P