[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 19 (Friday, January 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5103-5104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1113]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 920

[SATS No. MD-056-FOR; Docket ID: OSM 2010-0008]


Maryland 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: We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Maryland program (the ``Maryland program'') under the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act) (Administrative 
Record No. 588.00). Maryland added provisions to regulate coal 
combustion byproducts (CCBs) and to establish requirements pertaining 
to the generation, storage, handling, processing, disposal, recycling, 
beneficial use, or other use of CCBs within the State. In total these 
regulations pertain to all CCB activities in the State, not just 
surface coal mining and reclamation operations. However, a section of 
the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) specifically pertains to the 
surface coal mining and reclamation operations. The regulation specific 
to surface coal mining and reclamation operations is a new regulation, 
Regulation .08 under COMAR 26.20.24, Special Performance Standards. 
Maryland is requesting approval of this section that it submitted as an 
amendment on June 24, 2010.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Maryland 
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., local time 
February 28, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on 
February 22, 2011. We will accept requests to speak until 4 p.m., local 
time on February 14, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``MD-056-FOR; Docket 
ID: OSM-2010-0008'' by either of the following two methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. The 
proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2010-0008. 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: Mr. George Rieger, Chief, Pittsburgh 
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 
Three Parkway Center, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA 15220.
    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 http://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, Three Parkway Center, Suite 300, 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15220, Telephone: (412) 937-2153, E-mail: 
[email protected].
John E. Carey, Director, Maryland Bureau of Mines, 160 South Water 
Street, Frostburg, MD 21532, Telephone: (301) 689-1442; E-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Rieger, Telephone: (412) 937-
2153. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Maryland Program
II. Description of the Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations

I. Background on the Maryland 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 approved the Maryland 
program on February 18, 1982. You can find background information on 
the Maryland program, including the Secretary's findings, the 
disposition of comments, and conditions of approval of the Maryland 
program in the February 18, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 7214-7217). 
You can also find later actions concerning the Maryland program and 
program amendments at 30 CFR 920.12, 920.15, 920.16.

II. Description of the Amendment

    By letter dated June 24, 2010, Maryland sent us an amendment to its 
program, Administrative Record Number MD-588.00, under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 
1201 et seq.). Maryland added regulations to regulate coal combustion 
byproducts and to establish requirements pertaining to the generation, 
storage, handling, processing, disposal, recycling, beneficial use, or 
other use of coal combustion byproducts (CCB) within the State. In 
total, these regulations pertain to all CCB activities in the State, 
not just surface coal mining and reclamation operations. However, a 
section of the added regulations specifically pertains to surface coal 
mining and reclamation operations and are proposed to be part of 
Maryland's Federally approved state program. The regulation specific to 
surface coal mining and reclamation operations has been added as a new 
regulation, Regulation .08 under COMAR 26.20.24, Special Performance 
Standards.
    Specifically, Maryland's Regulation .08 Utilization of Coal 
Combustion Byproducts will include paragraphs A-H on the Purpose and 
Scope, Conditions for Utilization, and Testing and Monitoring. 
Additionally, Maryland is adding a Coal Combustion Byproducts 
Utilization Request requirement that will require a solids analysis of 
the CCBs and a Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure (TCLP) 
leachate analysis of the CCBs. Maryland may also impose additional 
controls or conditions on the use of CCBs as it sees fit for the 
protection of human health and the environment.
    The full text of the program amendment is available for you to read 
at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

[[Page 5104]]

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 Maryland 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., local time 
February 14, 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.
    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 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review

    This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866.

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 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 920

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 1, 2010.
Michael K. Robinson,
Acting Regional Director, Appalachian Region.

    Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the 
Federal Register on January 14, 2011.

[FR Doc. 2011-1113 Filed 1-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P