[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 16260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6654]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement


Notice of Proposed Information Collection for 1029-0035

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is 
announcing that the information collection request for surface and 
underground mining permit applications--minimum requirements for 
information on environmental resources, has been forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The 
information collection request describes the nature of the information 
collection and the expected burden and cost. This information 
collection activity was previously approved by OMB and assigned control 
number 1029-0035.

DATES: OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the information 
collections but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, public comments 
should be submitted to OMB by April 19, 2012, in order to be assured of 
consideration.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Department of the 
Interior Desk Officer, by telefax to (202) 395-5806 or by email to 
[email protected]. Also, please send a copy of your comments to 
John Trelease, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 
1951 Constitution Ave., NW., Room 203--SIB, Washington, DC 20240, by 
telefax to (202) 219-3276, or by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To receive a copy of the information 
collection request contact John Trelease at (202) 208-2783, or 
electronically at [email protected]. You may also review this 
information collection request on the Internet by going to http://www.reginfo.gov (Information Collection Review, Currently Under Review, 
Agency is Department of the Interior, DOI-OSMRE).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which 
implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 
104-13), require that interested members of the public and affected 
agencies have an opportunity to comment on information collection and 
recordkeeping activities [see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)]. OSM has submitted a 
request to OMB to renew its approval of the collection of information 
contained in 30 CFR Parts 779 and 783--Surface and Underground Mining 
Permit Applications--Minimum Requirements for Information on 
Environmental Resources. OSM is requesting a 3-year term of approval 
for the information collection activity.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this 
collection of information is 1029-0035. Responses are required to 
obtain a benefit for this collection.
    As required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), a Federal Register notice 
soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on 
November 28, 2011 (76 FR 72972). One comment was received. The 
commenter suggested that there is a connection between coal mine 
drilling and earthquakes, and that coal companies should be required to 
report recent earthquakes in the area where drilling is proposed to 
occur.
    Earthquakes range from extremely small and virtually unnoticeable 
events to catastrophic events that cause considerable damage. Unlike 
oil and gas drilling operations, coal mining is typically undertaken at 
a much shallower depth, and without injection of great volumes of water 
to fracture (frack) the rock strata. Therefore, OSM's engineers 
consider it virtually impossible for coal mine drilling to cause a 
reportable earthquake. To be certain, we checked with the United States 
Geological Survey to determine if there is any evidence of coal mine 
drilling causing earthquakes. We found no mention of coal mine drilling 
causing earthquakes of any size. In conclusion, we have determined that 
the comment is not supported by available scientific information and 
therefore does not warrant conducting national rulemaking to request 
earthquake data in the permit area.
    This notice provides the public with an additional 30 days in which 
to comment on the following information collection activity:
    Title: 30 CFR Parts 779 and 783--Surface and Underground Mining 
Permit Applications--Minimum Requirements for Environmental Resources.
    OMB Control Number: 1029-0035.
    SUMMARY: Applicants for surface and underground coal mining permits 
are required to provide adequate descriptions of the environmental 
resources that may be affected by proposed mining activities. The 
information will be used by the regulatory authority to determine if 
the applicant can comply with environmental protection performance 
standards.
    Bureau Form Number: None.
    Frequency of Collection: Once.
    Description of Respondents: 219 coal mining operators and 24 state 
regulatory authorities.
    Total Annual Responses: 2,175.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 188,820.
    Total Annual Non-Wage Burden Cost: $0.
    Send comments on the need for the collection of information for the 
performance of the functions of the agency; the accuracy of the 
agency's burden estimates; ways to enhance the quality, utility and 
clarity of the information collection; and ways to minimize the 
information collection burdens on respondents, such as use of automated 
means of collections of the information, to the addresses listed in 
ADDRESSES. Please refer to the appropriate OMB control number in all 
correspondence.
    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.

    Dated: March 12, 2012.
Andrew F. DeVito,
Chief, Division of Regulatory Support.
[FR Doc. 2012-6654 Filed 3-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M