[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 218 (Wednesday, November 12, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67115-67116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26656]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 924

[SATS No. MS-024-FOR; Docket No. OSMRE-2014-0005; S1D1SS S08011000 
SX066A00067F144S180110; S2D2SS S08011000SX066A00033F14XS501520]


Mississippi Abandoned Mine Land Plan

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public 
hearing.

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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Mississippi Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) Plan (hereinafter, 
the Mississippi Plan) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation 
Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Mississippi has requested concurrence 
from the Secretary of the Department of the Interior with its 
certification of completion of all coal-related reclamation objectives. 
If the Secretary concurs with the certification, Mississippi intends to 
request AMLR funds to pursue projects in accordance with section 411 of 
SMCRA.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Mississippi 
Plan and this proposed amendment to that plan 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., c.d.t., December 12, 2014. If requested, we will hold a public 
hearing on the amendment on December 8, 2014. We will accept requests 
to speak at a hearing until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on November 28, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. MS-024-FOR, 
by any of the following methods:
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham 
Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 135 
Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Homewood, Alabama 35209; Telephone: (205) 
290-7282.
     Fax: (205) 290-7280.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. 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: For access to the docket to review copies of the 
Mississippi Plan, a listing of any scheduled public hearings, and all 
written comments received in response to this document, you must go to 
the address of our Birmingham Field Office listed above during normal 
business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. You may 
receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting OSMRE's Birmingham 
Field Office or going to www.regulations.gov.
    Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham Field Office, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 135 Gemini Circle, Suite 215, 
Homewood, Alabama 35209, Telephone: (205) 290-7282, Email: 
[email protected].
    In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following location:
    Mississippi Office of Geology, Department of Environmental Quality, 
700 N. State Street Jackson, Mississippi 39202, Telephone: (601) 961-
5519.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham 
Field Office. Telephone: (205) 290-7282. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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

I. Background on the Mississippi Plan

    The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program was established by 
Title IV of the Act, (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) in response to concerns 
over extensive environmental damage caused by past coal mining 
activities. The program is funded by a reclamation fee collected on 
each ton of coal that is produced. The money collected is used to 
finance the reclamation of abandoned coal mines and for other 
authorized activities. Section 405 of the Act allows States and Indian 
tribes to assume exclusive responsibility for reclamation activity 
within the State or on Indian lands if they develop and submit to the 
Secretary of the Interior for approval, a program (often referred to as 
a plan) for the reclamation of abandoned coal mines. On September 27, 
2007, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Mississippi plan. You 
can find background information on the Mississippi Plan, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the approval of 
the plan in the September 27, 2007, Federal Register (72 FR 54832). No 
amendments have previously been made to the Mississippi Plan.

II. Description of the Proposed Mississippi Amendment

    By letter dated August 11, 2014 (Administrative Record No. MS-
0424), Mississippi indicated to OSMRE that it has instituted the 
necessary processes to reclaim the remaining coal related problems 
within the State. As such, Mississippi seeks certification of 
completion of all coal-related problems. If this request is approved by 
OSMRE, it will mark the addressing, for the present, of all known 
existing coal-related problems within the State that are eligible for 
funding under Mississippi's AMLR Program.
    If approved, the certificate of completion will be codified at 30 
CFR 924.25. In accordance with 30 CFR 875.13(c), Mississippi may then 
implement a program under Section 411 of SMCRA.
    OSMRE is seeking public comment on the adequacy of Mississippi's 
certification that it has addressed all reclamation relating to 
abandoned coal mine lands. In addition, OSMRE is aware of the potential 
for problems to occur in the future related to pre-August 3, 1977, coal 
mining. In accordance with 30 CFR 875.13(a)(3), Mississippi agrees to 
acknowledge and give top priority to any coal-related problem(s) that 
may be found or occur after submission of the certificate of 
completion.
    The full text of the plan amendment is available for you to read at 
the locations listed above under ADDRESSES or at www.regulations.gov.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    Under the provisions of 30 CFR 884.15(a), we are seeking your 
comments on whether Mississippi's proposed amendment satisfies the 
applicable reclamation plan approval criteria of 30 CFR 884.14. If we 
approve

[[Page 67116]]

the amendment, it will become part of the Mississippi Plan.

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 (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 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 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on 
November 28, 2014. 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 a hearing.
    To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we 
request, if possible, that each person who speaks at the 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; 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

    The Federal regulations at 30 CFR 884.14(a) list the requirements 
that must be met in order for OSMRE to approve a State reclamation plan 
amendment or revision if it changes the objectives, scope, or major 
policies followed by the State in the conduct of its reclamation 
program. Following our review of the proposed amendment or revision, 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 924

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: August 28, 2014.
William L. Joseph,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-26656 Filed 11-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P