[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 27, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18149-18151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7325]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 926

[SATS No. MT-033-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2011-0012]


Montana Regulatory Program

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

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

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SUMMARY: We are announcing receipt of Montana's response to the Office 
of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's (OSM) November 22, 
2011, letter pertaining to a previously proposed amendment to the 
Montana regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Montana program'') under 
the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the 
Act). Montana proposes changes to the Montana Strip and Underground 
Mine Reclamation Act (MSUMRA) that pertain to coal prospecting. Montana 
intends to revise its program to comply with changes made in the 2011 
Montana Legislature as a result of the passage of Senate Bill 286.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Montana 
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

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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. April 26, 2012. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on 
the amendment on April 23, 2012. We will accept requests to speak until 
4 p.m., m.s.t. on April 11, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. This 
proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2011-0012. 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: 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.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and ``MT-033-FOR.'' For detailed instructions on submitting comments 
and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public 
Comment Procedures heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document.
    Docket: In addition to viewing the docket and obtaining copies of 
documents at www.regulations.gov, you may review copies of the Montana 
program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled 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 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) 261-6555, 
[email protected].
Edward L. Coleman, Bureau Chief, Industrial and Energy Minerals Bureau, 
Montana Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 200901, Helena, 
Montana 59620-0901, (406) 444-4973, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Fleischman, Telephone: (307) 
261-6555. Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the Montana 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 Montana program on April 1, 1980. You can 
find background information on the Montana program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of 
approval of the Montana program in the April 1, 1980, Federal Register 
(45 FR 21560). You can also find later actions concerning Montana's 
program and program amendments at 30 CFR 926.15, 926.16, and 926.30.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated July 20, 2011, Montana sent us a proposed amendment 
to its program (Administrative Record Docket ID No. OSM-2011-0012) 
under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Montana submitted the amendment 
to include changes made to the MSUMRA as a result of the 2011 Montana 
Legislature passage of Senate Bill 286 relating to coal prospecting.
    Specifically, Montana proposes to amend the MSUMRA to modify the 
coal prospecting procedures to allow for a new type of coal prospecting 
permit when prospecting is conducted to determine the location, 
quantity, and quality of coal that is (1) outside an area designated as 
unsuitable, (2) does not remove more than 250 tons, and (3) does not 
substantially disturb the natural land surface. The effect of the 
modified procedures causes MSUMRA to have three tiers of prospecting 
regulation, rather than the currently approved two tiers. The full text 
of the program amendment is available for you to read at the locations 
listed above under ADDRESSES.
    We announced receipt of the proposed amendment in the October 17, 
2011, Federal Register (200 FR 64047; Administrative Record No. OSM 
2011-0012-0001), provided an opportunity for a public hearing or 
meeting on its substantive adequacy, and invited public comment on its 
adequacy. Because no one requested a public hearing or meeting, none 
was held. The public comment period ended on November 17. 2011. We 
received comments from the Mine Safety and Health Administration 
stating that it agreed with the proposed revisions. We did not receive 
any comments from the general public.
    During our review of the amendment, we identified areas needing 
clarification at MSUMRA Section 82-4-226. We notified Montana of our 
concerns by letter dated November 22, 2011 (Administrative Record No. 
OSM-2011-0012-0005). Montana responded in a letter dated December 22, 
2011, by submitting additional explanatory information (Administrative 
Record No. OSM-2011-0012-0006). Specifically, Montana clarified when 
prospecting operations would be regulated under proposed MSUMRA Section 
82-4-226(7), and that prospecting operations conducted under proposed 
MSUMRA Sections 82-4-226(7)(b) and (8) would not be allowed to 
substantially disturb the natural land surface. Finally, Montana 
clarified that proposed MSUMRA Section 82-4-226(7) would be interpreted 
and implemented based upon legislative history and the rules of 
statutory construction so that when operations are permitted under 
MSUMRA Section 82-4-226(8), subsections (1) and (2) would not apply, 
but subsections (3) through (6) would apply.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking your 
comments on whether the submission satisfies the applicable program 
approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve the amendment, it 
will become part of the Montana program.

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 may 
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. 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

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docket for this rulemaking and considered.
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 would appreciate all comments 
relating to this specific issue, but those most useful and likely to 
influence decisions on the final rule will be those that either involve 
personal experience or include citations to and analysis of the Surface 
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, its legislative history, 
its implementing regulations, case law, other State or Federal laws and 
regulations, data, technical literature, or other relevant 
publications.

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 April 
11, 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 only limited interest in participating 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 are 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.

VI. 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 950

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: January 6, 2012.
Allen D. Klein,
Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-7325 Filed 3-26-12; 8:45 am]
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