[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 113 (Friday, June 12, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33456-33457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14409]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 917

[SATS No. KY-258-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2015-0001; 
S1D1SSS08011000SX066A00067F144S180110; 
S2D2SSS08011000SX066A00033F14XS501520]


Kentucky 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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSMRE), is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Kentucky 
regulatory program (the Kentucky program) under the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Kentucky 
submitted this proposed amendment with the intent to clarify certain 
permit application requirements. Specifically, Kentucky proposes to 
amend the language of two provisions that outline the permit 
application requirements for an operator seeking to mine land with 
severed surface and mineral estates.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Kentucky 
program and this 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., 
Eastern Standard Time (EST), July 13, 2015. If requested, we will hold 
a public hearing on the amendment on July 7, 2015. We will accept 
requests to speak at a hearing until 4:00 p.m., EST on June 29, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. KY-258-FOR 
and Docket ID OSM-2015-0001, by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
The proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID OSM-2015-0001. If you 
would like to submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal, go to 
www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions.
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Mr. Robert Evans, Field Office 
Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 
and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40503.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (859) 260-8410.
    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 Kentucky 
program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled public hearings, 
and all written comments received in response to this document, you 
must go to the address listed below during normal business hours, 
Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. You may receive one free 
copy of the amendment by contacting OSMRE's Lexington Field Office or 
the full text of the program amendment is available for you to read at 
www.regulations.gov.
    Mr. Robert Evans, Field Office Director, Lexington Field Office, 
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency 
Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40503, Telephone: (859) 260-3900. Email: 
[email protected].
    In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following location:
    Mr. Steve Hohmann, Commissioner, Kentucky Department for Natural 
Resources, 2 Hudson Hollow, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Telephone: (502) 
564-6940. Email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Evans, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Telephone: (859) 260-3900. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
I. Background on the Kentucky Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations

I. Background on the Kentucky 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 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 Kentucky program on May 18, 1982. You can 
find background information on the Kentucky program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of 
approval, in the May 18, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 21434). You can 
also find later actions concerning the Kentucky program and program 
amendments at 30 CFR 917.11, 917.12, 917.13, 917.15, 917.16, and 
917.17.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated January 29, 2015 (Administrative Record No. KY-
2001), the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources (KYDNR) submitted 
an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).
    SMCRA sets forth the minimum application requirements for approval 
of a permit at section 510. When the mineral estate has been severed 
from the private surface estate, section 510(b)(6) of SMCRA provides 
that an operator

[[Page 33457]]

must submit a permit application demonstrating one of the following to 
establish right of entry and right to mine: (1) The written consent of 
the surface owner to the extraction of coal by surface mining methods, 
(2) a conveyance expressly granting or reserving the right to extract 
coal by surface mining methods, or (3) if the conveyance is silent 
regarding the right to extract coal, the regulatory authority is 
required to determine the ``surface-subsurface legal relationship'' in 
accordance with the State law. Moreover, SMCRA clarifies, at section 
510(b)(6)(c), that the regulatory authority does not have the authority 
to adjudicate property rights disputes.
    Currently, the Kentucky program requires a permit applicant to 
submit proof of its legal right to enter and commence surface or 
underground mining activities within the proposed permit area. The 
applicant is also required to explain the legal rights claimed and 
identify whether that right is the subject of pending litigation, among 
other application requirements. When the proposed land to be mined 
involves severed estates where the conveyance does not expressly grant 
the right to extract coal by surface mining methods and the operator 
has not obtained the written consent of all surface owners, the 
approved Kentucky program provides that the submission of a copy of the 
original instrument of severance and documentation that under 
applicable State law, the applicant has the legal authority to extract 
the coal by those methods is sufficient to demonstrate a right of entry 
and right to surface mine.
    KYDNR now seeks to revise section 4 of 405 KAR 8:030 for surface 
coal mining permits, and 405 KAR 8:040 for underground coal mining 
permits. Specifically, KYDNR proposes to modify section 4(2)(c) to 
contain language that it believes clarifies the applicant's duty to 
demonstrate a right of entry and right to mine when the private surface 
estate and mineral estate has been severed. This revision proposes to 
remove the language in the current Kentucky program that requires the 
applicant to provide a copy of the original severance instrument. The 
proposed amendment would also move the proviso that the regulatory 
authority is prohibited from adjudicating property rights disputes into 
a new section, located at section 4(3) of 405 KAR 8:030 and 8:040.
    The full text of the program 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 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 State program.

Electronic or Written Comments

    If you submit written or electronic comments on the proposed rule 
during the 30-day comment period, 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 p.m., EST on June 29, 
2015. 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 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 OSMRE 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 917

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: March 30, 2015.
Thomas D. Shope,
Regional Director, Appalachian Region.
[FR Doc. 2015-14409 Filed 6-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-05-P