[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 2, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67635-67637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28436]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 902

[SATS No. AK-007-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2011-0017]


Alaska 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 
Alaska regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Alaska program'') under 
the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or 
``the Act''). Alaska intends to revise its rules to be consistent with 
the corresponding Federal regulations and to conform to the drafting 
manual for the State of Alaska.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Alaska program 
and proposed amendment to that program are available for your 
inspection, the comment period during which you may

[[Page 67636]]

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. December 2, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on 
the amendment on November 28, 2011. We will accept requests to speak 
until 4 p.m., m.d.t. on November 17, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following two 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. This 
proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2011-0017. 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: Kenneth Walker, Chief, Denver 
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 
1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, Colorado 80201-3050.
    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 www.regulations.gov, you may review copies of the Alaska 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 Denver Office.

Kenneth Walker, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, 
Colorado, (303) 293-5012, [email protected].
Russell Kirkham, Manager, Alaska Coal Regulatory Program, Division of 
Mining, Land and Water, Department of Natural Resources, 550 West 17th 
Avenue, Suite 920, Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3650, (907) 269-8650, 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Walker, Telephone: (303) 293-
5012. Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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

I. Background on the Alaska 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 Alaska program on March 23, 1983. You can 
find background information on the Alaska program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of 
approval of the Alaska program in the March 23, 1983, Federal Register 
(48 FR 12274). You can also find later actions concerning Alaska's 
program and program amendments at 30 CFR 902.15 and 902.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated September 8, 2011, Alaska sent us a proposed 
amendment to its program (Administrative Record Document ID No. OSM-
2011-0017 under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Alaska sent the 
amendment to include changes made at its own initiative and in response 
to the required program amendment at 30 CFR 902.16(a)(14). The full 
text of the program amendment is available for you to read at the 
locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
    The provisions of the Alaska program that Alaska proposes to revise 
are: 11 Alaska Annotated Code (AAC) 90.043(b), concerning water quality 
analyses; 11 AAC 90.045(a), (b), (c), and (d), concerning description 
of geology; 11 AAC 90.057(a), (b), and (c), concerning fish and 
wildlife information; 11 AAC 90.085(a) and (e), concerning a plan for 
protection of hydrologic balance; 11 AAC 90.089(a)(1), concerning 
construction plans for ponds, impoundments, dams, and embankments; 11 
AAC 90.101(a) through (f), concerning a subsidence control plan and the 
definition of material damage; 11 AAC 90.173(b), concerning eligibility 
for assistance under the small operator assistance program; 11 AAC 
90.179(a) and (b), concerning data collection that would be covered by 
the small operator assistance program; 11 AAC 90.185(a), concerning 
applicant liability under the small operator assistance program; 11 AAC 
90.201(d), concerning the requirement to file a reclamation bond; 11 
AAC 90.211(a), concerning bond release procedures and criteria; 11 AAC 
90.321(d), (e), and (f), concerning replacement of water supplies 
affected by underground mining activities; 11 AAC 90.323(a), concerning 
water quality standards; 11 AAC 90.323(b), concerning sediment control 
measures; 11 AAC 90.325(b) and (c) and 11 AAC 90.327(b), concerning 
stream channel diversions; 11 AAC 90.331(d), concerning sedimentation 
ponds; 11 AAC 90.331(e), concerning removal of siltation structures; 11 
AAC 90.331(h), concerning the design of other treatment facilities; 11 
AAC 90.336(a), (b), (f), and (g), concerning impoundment design and 
construction; 11 AAC 90.337(a), concerning impoundment inspection; 11 
AAC 90.345(e), concerning requirements for surface water monitoring; 11 
AAC 90.349, concerning discharges of water or coal mine waste into an 
underground mine working; 11 AAC 90.375(f) and (g), concerning public 
notice of blasting; 11 AAC 90.391(n) and (t), concerning disposal of 
excess spoil or coal mine waste; 11 AAC 90.395(a), concerning general 
requirements for coal mine waste; 11 AAC 90.397(a), concerning 
inspections of disposal areas for excess spoil, underground development 
waste or coal processing waste; 11 AAC 90.401(a), (b), (d), (e), and 
(f), concerning construction plans for coal mine waste refuse piles; 11 
AAC 90.407(c) and (f), concerning coal mine waste dams or embankments; 
11 AAC 90.423(h), concerning protection of fish and wildlife; 11 AAC 
90.443(a), (k), (l), and (m), concerning requirements for backfilling 
and grading; 11 AAC 90.444(a) and (b), concerning requirements for 
backfilling and grading where there is thick or thin overburden; 11 AAC 
90.447(c), concerning requirements for auger mining; 11 AAC 90.457(c), 
concerning standards for revegetation success on areas to be developed 
for fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, undeveloped land, or forest 
products; 11 AAC 90.461(b), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l), 
concerning subsidence control; 11 AAC 90.491(f), concerning the 
requirements for construction and maintenance of roads; 11 AAC 
90.601(h), (i) and (j), concerning inspections of abandoned sites; 11 
AAC 90.629(a), concerning procedures for assessment conference; 11 AAC 
90.631(a), concerning violations and requests for a public hearing; 11 
AAC 90.635(a) and (b), concerning when an

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individual civil penalty may be assessed; 11 AAC 90.637(a) and (b), 
concerning the amount of individual civil penalty; 11 AAC 90.639(a), 
(b), and (c), concerning procedures for assessment of an individual 
civil penalty; 11 AAC 90.641(a), (b), (c), and (d), concerning payments 
of an individual civil penalty; 11 AAC 90.652 through 11 AAC 90.669, 
concerning requirements for incidental mining of coal; 11 AAC 
90.701(a), (b), and (c), concerning the filing of a petition to 
designate lands as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations; 11 
AAC 90.901(a), concerning the applicability of Alaska's rules to all 
coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations; 11 
AAC 90.911(125), concerning the definition of ``community or 
institutional building;'' 11 AAC 90.911(126), concerning the definition 
of ``cumulative impact area;'' 11 AAC 90.911(128), concerning the 
definition of ``other minerals;'' 11 AAC 90.911(129), concerning the 
definition of ``other treatment facility;'' 11 AAC 90.911(130), 
concerning the definition of ``precipitation event;'' 11 AAC 
90.911(133), concerning the definition of ``registered professional 
engineer;'' 11 AAC 90.911(134), concerning the definition of 
``registered professional land surveyor;'' and 11 AAC 90.911(135), 
concerning the definition of ``siltation structure.''

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 Alaska 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 State 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, email 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 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 
November 17, 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 only one person requests an opportunity to speak, 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; 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 (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 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 902

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: September 14, 2011.
Allen D. Klein,
Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-28436 Filed 11-1-11; 8:45 am]
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