[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 6, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76109-76111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31294]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 906

[SATS No. CO-040-FOR, Docket ID: OSM-2011-0002]


Colorado Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening and extension of public comment period 
on proposed amendment.

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

SUMMARY: We are announcing the receipt of revisions pertaining to a 
previously proposed amendment to the Colorado regulatory program 
(hereinafter, the ``Colorado program'') under the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or ``the Act''). 
Colorado proposes additions of rules and revisions to Rules of the 
Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining, 2 CCR 407-2, 
concerning the protection and replacement of the hydrologic balance, 
subsidence, valid existing rights determinations, roads, requirements 
associated with annual reclamation reports, prime farmland 
determinations, various definitions, permit revisions, performance 
bonds, backfill placement methods and requirements, backfilling and 
grading, and revegetation. Colorado intends to revise its program to 
improve operational efficiency.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Colorado 
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., 
mountain daylight time January 5, 2012. If requested, we will hold a 
public hearing on the amendment on January 3, 2012. We will accept 
requests to speak until 4 p.m., mountain daylight time, on December 21, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``CO-040-FOR'' or 
Docket ID number OSM-2011-0002, using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
The proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID OSM-2011-0002. If you 
would like to submit comments via 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, CO 80202, Phone: (303) 293-5012, 
Fax: (303) 293-5058, Email: [email protected].
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and ``CO-040-FOR.'' 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: Access to the docket to review copies of the Colorado 
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 receive one free 
copy of the amendment by contacting the Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement's (OSM's) Denver Field Division. In 
addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following locations:

Kenneth Walker, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, CO 
80202, Phone: (303) 293-5012, Fax: (303) 293-5058, Email: 
[email protected].
David Berry, Director, Office of Mined Land Reclamation, Colorado 
Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety, Department of Natural 
Resources, 1313 Sherman Street, Suite 215, Denver, CO 80203, Email: 
[email protected].


[[Page 76110]]


Or anytime at: http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID OSM-2011-0002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the Colorado 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 Colorado program on December 15, 1980. You 
can find background information on the Colorado program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions 
of approval of the Colorado program in the December 15, 1980, Federal 
Register (45 FR 82173). You can also find later actions concerning 
Colorado's program and program amendments at 30 CFR 906.10, 906.15, 
906.16, and 906.30.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated April 8, 2011, Colorado sent us a proposed 
amendment to its approved regulatory program (Administrative Record 
Docket ID No. OSM-2011-0002) under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). 
Colorado submitted the amendment to address all required rule changes 
OSM identified by letters to Colorado dated April 4, 2008, and October 
2, 2009, under 30 CFR 732.17(c). These included changes to Colorado's 
rules for valid existing rights and ownership and control. The 
amendment also includes changes made at Colorado's own initiative. The 
full text of the program amendment is available for you to read at the 
locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
    Specifically, Colorado proposes substantive revisions to the 
Colorado Code of Regulations at 2 CCR 407-2 Rules 1.07 (Procedures for 
Valid Existing Rights Determinations), 2.01 (General Requirements for 
Permits), 2.02 (General Requirements for Coal Exploration), 2.03 
(Application for Permit for Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation 
Operations: Minimum Requirements for Legal, Financial, Compliance, and 
Related Information), 2.04 (Application for Permit for Surface Coal 
Mining and Reclamation Operations: Minimum Requirements for Information 
on Environmental Resources), 2.05 (Application for Permit for Surface 
Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations: Minimum Requirements for 
Operation and Reclamation Plans), 2.07 (Public Participation and 
Approval of Permit Applications), 2.08 (Permit Review, Revisions and 
Renewals and Transfer, Sale and Assignment), 2.11 (Challenging 
Ownership or Control Listings and Findings), 4.03 (Roads), 4.05 
(Hydrologic Balance), 4.06 (Topsoil), 4.07 (Sealing of Drilled Holes 
and Underground Openings), 4.08 (Use of Explosives), 4.14 (Backfilling 
and Grading), 4.15 (Revegetation), 4.16 (Postmining Land Use), 4.20 
(Subsidence Control), 4.25 (Operations on Prime Farmland), 5.03 
(Enforcement), and 5.06 (Alternative Enforcement). Additionally, 
Colorado proposes revisions to and additions of definitions supporting 
those proposed rule changes.
    As a result of comments received during the comment period, we 
identified concerns with regard to Colorado's Statement of Basis, 
Purpose, and Specific Statutory Authority (SBPSA) document that is 
incorporated with 2 CCR 407-2 by reference. We notified Colorado of our 
concerns by letter dated September 19, 2011 (Administrative Record No. 
OSM-2011-0002-0008). Colorado responded in a letter dated September 22, 
2011, by submitting a revised amendment proposal (Administrative Record 
No. OSM-2011-0002-0009). The full text of the revised program amendment 
is also available for you to read at the locations listed above under 
ADDRESSES.
    In response to our concerns, Colorado made the following change to 
its April 8, 2011, amendment proposal. Specifically, OSM expressed 
concerns regarding language in the SBPSA related to 2 CCR 407-2 Rule 
1.04(111)(d). Colorado proposes additional language to clarify that 
Colorado would not usurp the authority of the United States Forest 
Service by exercising jurisdiction over a National Forest System Road.

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 Colorado program.

Electronic or Written Comments

    Send your written comments to OSM at the addresses given above. 
Your comments should be specific, pertain only to the issues proposed 
in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of your 
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 will not consider or respond to your comments when developing 
the final rule if they are received after the close of the comment 
period (see Dates). We will make every attempt to log all comments into 
the administrative record, but comments delivered to an address other 
than the Denver Field Division may not be logged in.

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 at any time. 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., mountain 
standard time on December 21, 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

[[Page 76111]]

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.

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 926

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: October 6, 2011.
Allen D. Klein,
Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-31294 Filed 12-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P