[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34892-34894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14312]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 944

[SATS No. [UT-048-FOR]; Docket ID [OSM-2012-0011]]


Utah 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, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Utah 
regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Utah program'') under the 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or ``the 
Act''). Utah proposes a change to the Judicial Code, Title 78 of the 
Utah Code, that requires plaintiffs who obtain temporary relief 
(administrative stay or preliminary injunction) in an environmental 
action to post a surety bond or equivalent pending state judicial 
review. Utah sent the amendment to include changes made at its own 
initiative.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Utah 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 4:00 
p.m., m.d.t. July 12, 2012. If requested, we will hold a public hearing 
on the amendment on July 9, 2012. We will accept requests to speak 
until 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on June 27, 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-2012-0011. 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, CO 80202.
    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 Utah 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, 
CO 80202, (303)293-5012, [email protected];
    John Baza, Director, Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, 1594 
West North

[[Page 34893]]

Temple, Suite 1210, PO Box 145801, Salk Lake City, UT 84114-5801, 
(801)538-5334, [email protected].

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the Utah 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 Utah program on January 21, 1981. You can 
find background information on the Utah program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions 
of approval of the Utah program in the January 21, 1981, Federal 
Register (46 FR 5899). You can also find later actions concerning 
Utah's program and program amendments at 30 CFR 944.15, 944.16, and 
944.30.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated April 18, 2012, Utah sent us a proposed amendment 
to its approved program (Administrative Record Document ID No. OSM-
2012-0011-0002) under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Utah sent the 
amendment in response to a February 24, 2012, letter (Document ID No. 
OSM-2012-0011-0006) that OSM sent to Utah in accordance with 30 CFR 
732.17(e)(2).
    Utah House Bill 399 (H.B. 399) (Document ID No. OSM-2012-0011-0001) 
was approved by the Utah Legislature on March 4, 2011, and signed into 
law by Utah's Governor on March 21, 2011. H.B. 399 (Environmental 
Litigation Bond) enacted a change to the Judicial Code, Title 78 of the 
Utah Code, that in pertinent part mandates that state agencies and 
courts require plaintiffs who obtain temporary relief (administrative 
stay or preliminary injunction) in an environmental action to post a 
surety bond or cash equivalent in an amount the court or state agency 
considers sufficient to compensate each defendant opposing the 
temporary relief for damages they may sustain as a result of the 
administrative stay or preliminary injunction. An environmental action 
is a cause of action that seeks judicial review of a final agency 
action to issue a permit by the Department of Natural Resources.
    OSM's review of H.B. 399 determined that the newly-enacted 
environmental litigation bond provisions represent a condition or event 
that has changed the implementation, administration or enforcement of 
the approved Utah program under 30 CFR 732.17(e)(2). Consequently, in a 
letter dated February 24, 2012, OSM required Utah to submit the 
proposed changes contained in H.B. 399 as an amendment to its Coal 
Program regulations for review and approval before they can take 
effect. Utah responded in a letter dated April 18, 2012, (Document ID 
No. OSM-2012-0011-0003) by submitting the changes enacted by H.B. 399 
as a formal amendment to their State program. 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 Utah 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 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on 
June 27, 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 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 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 (Regulatory Planning and 
Review).

Other Laws and Executive Orders Affecting Rulemaking

    When a State submits a program amendment to OSM for review, our

[[Page 34894]]

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 944

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: April 26, 2012.
Allen D. Klein,
Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-14312 Filed 6-11-12; 8:45 am]
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