[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 80310-80312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32978]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 950

[SATS No. WY-041-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2011-0020]


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.

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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'').

[[Page 80311]]

Wyoming proposes both revisions of and additions to its coal rules and 
regulations concerning ownership and control and addresses four 
deficiencies that were identified by OSM during the review of a 
previous program amendment (WY-038-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2009-
0012). 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 
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.s.t. January 23, 2012. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on 
the amendment on January 17, 2012. We will accept requests to speak 
until 4 p.m., m.s.t. on January 9, 2012.

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-2011-0020. 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: 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://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 October 24, 2011, Wyoming sent us a proposed 
amendment to its approved regulatory program (Administrative Record 
Docket ID No. OSM-2011-0020) under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). 
Wyoming submitted the amendment to address required rule changes OSM 
identified in a letter to Wyoming dated October 2, 2009, under 30 CFR 
732.17(c). These included changes to Wyoming's rules for ownership and 
control. The amendment also addresses four deficiencies that OSM 
identified in response to Wyoming's formally submitted revegetation 
rule package (WY-038-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2009-0012).
    Specifically, Wyoming proposes to amend the Land Quality Division 
Coal Rules and Regulations at Chapter 1, Section 2 (definitions related 
to ownership and control including ``Applicant violator system or 
AVS,'' ``Control or controller,'' ``Notice of violation,'' and ``Own, 
owner or ownership''); Chapter 2, Section 2(a)(i) and (ii) (ownership 
and control permit application information including identification of 
interests and a complete statement of compliance); Chapter 12, Section 
1(a)(viii)-(xiv) (the review process, procedures, and requirements for 
making permit eligibility determinations including: Review of applicant 
and operator information, review of permit history, review of 
compliance history, and related AVS entry requirements); and Chapter 
16, Section 2(h) and (j) (notification requirements related to 
Wyoming's enforcement regulations and AVS entry requirements). Wyoming 
also addresses four deficiencies that OSM identified in response to 
Wyoming's formally submitted revegetation rule package (WY-038-FOR; 
Docket ID OSM-2009-0012) including; adding the term 
``surface'' back into Wyoming's rules where it had been deleted and 
reinstating the definition of ``Surface coal mining and reclamation 
operations'' at Chapter 1, Section 2(ez) that had been removed from 
Wyoming's rules; adding the 1:24,000 scale requirement for maps that 
are submitted with permit applications back into Wyoming's rules at 
Chapter 2, Section 1(c); adding language to clarify that wildlife 
enhancement is not limited to revegetation efforts at Chapter 2, 
Section 5(a)(viii); and correcting numerous inaccurate citations to 
other sections of Wyoming's rules and regulations. 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

[[Page 80312]]

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 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.s.t. on 
January 9, 2012. 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 limited interest in participation 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 amendment, please request a meeting by 
contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All 
such meetings will be 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 950

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: Novenber 1, 2011.
Kenneth Walker,
Acting Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-32978 Filed 12-22-11; 8:45 am]
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