[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18433-18434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08866]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 925

[SATS No. MO-048-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2019-0001 S1D1S SS08011000 
SX064A000 190S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 19XS501520]


Missouri 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 
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Missouri 
regulatory program (Missouri program) under the Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). As a result of 
Missouri's Red Tape Reduction Initiative (Executive Order 17-03), 
Missouri proposes amendments and rescissions to its Missouri Coal 
Mining Regulations in order to reduce the volume of these regulations 
without reducing the program's requirements. Missouri proposes 
amendments to multiple sections of its regulations to incorporate by 
reference the corresponding Federal regulations. Missouri also proposes 
to rescind multiple sections of its regulations that will be 
incorporated by reference in the aforementioned proposed amended 
sections. Missouri intends these revisions to its program to remain as 
effective as the Federal regulations.
    This document gives the times and locations where the Missouri 
program documents and this proposed amendment to that program are 
available for your inspection, establishes the comment period during 
which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and describes 
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., CST, May 31, 2019. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on 
the amendment on May 28, 2019. We will accept requests to speak at a 
hearing until 4:00 p.m., CST on May 16, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. MO-048-FOR, 
by any of the following methods:
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Paul Ehret, Acting Chief, Alton Field 
Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 501 
Belle Street, Suite 216, Alton, Illinois 62002-6169.
     Fax: (618) 463-6470.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: The amendment has been 
assigned Docket ID OSM-2019-0001. If you would like to submit comments 
go to 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 Missouri 
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 Alton Field Division, or 
the full text of the program amendment is available for you to review 
at www.regulations.gov.

Paul J. Ehret, Acting Chief, Alton Field Division, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 501 Belle Street, Suite 216, Alton, 
Illinois 62002-6169, Telephone: (618) 463-6463, Email: 
[email protected].

    In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following location: Land Reclamation Program, 
Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 1101 Riverside Drive, 
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176, Telephone: (573) 751-4041.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Ehret, Acting Chief, Alton 
Field Division. Telephone: (618) 463-6463, Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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

I. Background on the Missouri 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, State laws and regulations 
that govern surface coal mining and reclamation operations in 
accordance with the Act and consistent with the Federal regulations. 
See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On the basis of these criteria, the 
Secretary of the Interior conditionally approved the Missouri program 
effective November 21, 1980. You can find background information on the 
Missouri program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition 
of comments, and the conditions of approval of the Missouri program in 
the November 21, 1980, Federal Register (47 FR 77027). You can also 
find later actions concerning the Missouri program and program 
amendments at 30 CFR 925.10, 925.12, 925.15, and 925.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated February 8, 2019 (Administrative Record No. MO-
684), Missouri sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) at its own initiative. Below is a summary of the 
changes proposed by Missouri. The full text of the program amendment is 
available for you to read at the locations listed above under 
ADDRESSES.
    Missouri proposes to amend the following sections of the Missouri 
Coal Mining Regulations to incorporate by reference to corresponding 
Federal regulations:

10 CSR 40-3.060--Requirements for the Disposal of Excess Soil
10 CSR 40-3.170--Signs and Markers for Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-4.020--Auger Mining Requirements
10 CSR 40-4.040--Operations on Steep Slopes
10 CSR 40-4.060--Concurrent Surface and Underground Mining
10 CSR 40-4.070--In Situ Processing
10 CSR 40-6.100--Underground Mining Permit Applications--Minimum

[[Page 18434]]

Requirements for Legal, Financial, Compliance, and Related Information

    Missouri proposes to rescind the following sections of the Missouri 
Coal Mining Regulations as they have been incorporated in the 
aforementioned proposed amended sections:

10 CSR 40-3.180--Casing and Sealing of Exposed Underground Openings
10 CSR 40-3.190--Requirements for Topsoil Removal, Storage and 
Redistribution for Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-3.200--Requirements for the Protection of the Hydrologic 
Balance for Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-3.210--Requirements for the Use of Explosions for Underground 
Operations
10 CSR 40-3.220--Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess 
Spoil
10 CSR 40-3.230--Requirements for the Disposal of Coal Processing Waste 
for Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-3.240--Air Resource Protection for Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-3.250--Requirements for the Protection of Fish, Wildlife and 
Related Environmental Values and Protection of Fish, Wildlife and 
Related Environmental Values and Protection Against Slides and Other 
Damage
10 CSR 40-3.260--Requirements for Backfilling and Grading for 
Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-3.270--Revegetation Requirements for Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-3.280--Requirements for Subsidence Control Associated with 
Underground Mining Operations
10 CSR 40-3.290--Requirements for Road and Other Transportation 
Associated with Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-3.300--Postmining Land Use Requirements for Underground 
Operations
10 CSR 40-3.310--Coal Recovery, Land Reclamation and Cessation of 
Operation for Underground Operations
10 CSR 40-6.110--Underground Mining Permit Applications Minimum 
Requirements for Information on Environmental Resources
10 CSR 40-6.120--Underground Mining Permit Applications Minimum 
Requirements for Reclamation and Operations Plan

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 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 
program 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., CST on May 
16, 2019. 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

    Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidance and 
dated October 12, 1993, the approval of State program amendments is 
exempted from OMB review 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 925

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: February 15, 2019.
Alfred L. Clayborne,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
[FR Doc. 2019-08866 Filed 4-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-05-P