[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 21, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36040-36042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15400]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 950

[SATS No. WY-040-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2011-0004]


Wyoming 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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Wyoming regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Wyoming program'') under 
the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or 
``the Act''). Wyoming proposes revisions and additions to rules 
concerning noncoal mine waste, valid existing rights, and individual 
civil penalties. Wyoming intends to revise its program to be consistent 
with the corresponding Federal regulations and SMCRA, clarify 
ambiguities, and improve operational efficiency.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Wyoming 
program and proposed amendment to that program are available for your

[[Page 36041]]

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 4:00 
p.m., M.D.T. July 21, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing 
on the amendment on July 18, 2011. We will accept requests to speak 
until 4 p.m., M.D.T. on July 6, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following two 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: 
http:[sol][sol]www.regulations.gov. This proposed rule has been 
assigned Docket ID: OSM-2011-0004. If you would like to submit comments 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to 
http:[sol][sol]www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions.
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Jeffrey Fleischman, Director, 
Casper Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal Building, POB 11018, 150 East B 
Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1018.
    For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see 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:[sol][sol]www.regulations.gov, you may review copies of the 
Wyoming program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled public 
hearings, and all written comments received in response to this 
document, may be obtained 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 Casper Field 
Office.
    Jeffrey Fleischman, Director, Casper Field Office, Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal 
Building, POB 11018, 150 East B Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1018, 
(307) 261-6547, [email protected].
    John V. Corra, Director, Wyoming Department of Environmental 
Quality, Herschler Building, 122 West 25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 
82002, (307) 777-7046, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Fleischman, Telephone: (307) 
261-6547. Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the Wyoming 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 Wyoming program on November 26, 1980. You 
can find background information on the Wyoming program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions 
of approval of the Wyoming program in the November 26, 1980, Federal 
Register (45 FR 78637). You can also find later actions concerning 
Wyoming's program and program amendments at 30 CFR 950.12, 950.15, 
950.16, and 950.20.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated April 28, 2011, Wyoming sent us a proposed 
amendment to its approved regulatory program (Administrative Record 
Docket ID No. OSM-2011-0004) under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). 
Wyoming submitted the amendment partly in response to a February 13, 
2008, letter that we sent to Wyoming notifying them that OSM's December 
17, 1999, Valid Existing Rights (VER) rule changes had been upheld in 
court and the State should respond to our April 2, 2001, letter sent in 
accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(c). That letter required Wyoming 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 VER. Wyoming also submitted the 
proposed amendment to address required program amendments at 30 CFR 
950.16(r), (s), and (t), respectively, and deficiencies identified in a 
November 7, 1988, letter we sent in accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(c). 
These included changes to Wyoming's rules for noncoal mine waste, and 
individual civil penalties.
    Specifically, Wyoming proposes to amend the Land Quality Division 
Coal Rules and Regulations at Chapter 2, Section 2(a)(v)(A) and 
2(a)(v)(A)(II) (adjudication requirements for noncoal mine waste); 
Chapter 2, Section 5(a)(xx) and (xxi) (permit application plans for the 
management and disposal of noncoal mine waste); Chapter 4, Section 
2(c)(xiii) (general environmental protection performance standards for 
noncoal mine waste); Chapter 7, Section 1(a) (underground coal mining 
permit application content requirements); Chapter 7, Section 2(b) 
(applicability of noncoal mine waste management and performance 
standards to underground mining operations); Chapter 1, Section 2(fl) 
(definition of VER and the applicable standards and procedures used to 
evaluate VER claims); Chapter 10, Section 2(a), (b)(xiii) and 3(c)(iv) 
(clarifying language regarding the operation of VER in relation to coal 
exploration activities); Chapter 12, Section 1(a)(v)-(xi) (VER 
determination and permitting procedures); and Chapter 16, Section 4 
(procedural mechanisms related to the assessment of individual civil 
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 Wyoming 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

[[Page 36042]]

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 July 
6, 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.

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 950

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: May 9, 2011.
Allen D. Klein,
Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-15400 Filed 6-20-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P