[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 91 (Friday, May 10, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20599-20602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09556]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 935

[SATS No. OH-259-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2017-0002; S1D1S SS08011000 
SX064A000 190S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 19XS501520]


Ohio Abandoned Mine Land Program and Plan

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 Ohio 
Reclamation Plan (the Ohio Plan) under the Surface Mining Control and 
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Through this proposed 
amendment, Ohio seeks to amend its Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program by 
revising certain statutory provisions and modifying its AML reclamation 
plan. The revisions involve incorporating changes to SMCRA requirements 
(i.e., project eligibility and prioritization), eliminating the 50% 
match requirement for watershed groups, implementing changes to grant 
administration requirements, updating organizational changes, and 
incorporating other program changes. This document gives the times and 
locations that the Ohio 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 4:00 
p.m., Eastern Standard Time (e.s.t.), June 10, 2019. If requested, we 
will hold a public hearing on the amendment on June 4, 2019. We will 
accept requests to speak at a hearing until 4:00 p.m., e.s.t. on May 
28, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. OH-259-FOR, 
by any of the following methods:
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Mr. Ben Owens, Chief, Pittsburgh Field 
Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 3 
Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15220.
     Fax: (412) 937-2177.
     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 Ohio 
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 Pittsburgh Field Division 
or the full text of the program amendment is available for you to read 
at www.regulations.gov.

Mr. Ben Owens, Chief, Pittsburgh Field Division, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 3 Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 
15220, Telephone: (412) 937-2827, Email: [email protected]

    In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following location: Mr. Lanny E. Erdos, Chief, 
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mineral Resources 
Management, 2045 Morse Road, Building H2, Telephone: (614) 265-6893, 
Email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ben Owens, Chief, Pittsburgh Field 
Division, 3 Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. Telephone: (412) 937-
2827, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

I. Background on the Ohio Plan

    A. Regulatory Program (Title V of SMCRA): Section 503(a) of the 
Act, State Programs, permits a state to assume primacy for the 
regulation of

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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 Ohio program on August 16, 
1982. You can find background information on the Ohio program, 
including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and 
conditions of approval of the Ohio program in the August 10, 1982, 
Federal Register (47 FR 34717). You can also find later actions 
concerning the Ohio program and program amendments at 30 CFR 935.10, 
State Regulatory Program Approval; 935.11, Conditions of State 
Regulatory Program Approval; and 935.15, Approval of Ohio Regulatory 
Program Amendments.
    B. AML Program (Title IV of SMCRA): Section 405 of the Act, State 
Reclamation Programs, permits a state to implement an AML reclamation 
program for the purposes of reclaiming and restoring eligible land and 
water resources adversely affected by past mining. See 30 U.S.C. 1235. 
This section prescribes the eligibility requirements for approval of 
State AML programs, minimum content requirements of an AML reclamation 
plan, submission requirements for the annual AML project listing, and 
general AML grant requirements. The Federal regulations at 30 CFR part 
884 establish the procedures and requirements for the preparation, 
submission, and approval of state reclamation plans.
    On the basis of these criteria, the Secretary of the Interior 
conditionally approved the Ohio AML program on August 10, 1982. You can 
find background information on the Ohio AML program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of 
approval of the Ohio AML program in the August 10, 1982, Federal 
Register (47 FR 37421). You can also find later actions concerning the 
Ohio AML program at 30 CFR 935.20, Approval of Ohio AML Reclamation 
Plan, and 935.25, Approval of Ohio AML Plan Amendments.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated March 17, 2017 (Administrative Record No. OH-2195-
01), Ohio sent us an amendment that includes statutory changes to its 
Ohio Revised Code (ORC) as well as changes to its AML reclamation plan 
under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1235) and its implementing regulations at 30 CFR 
884.15, State Reclamation Plan Amendments. At our request and by letter 
dated September 15, 2017 (Administrative Record No. OH-2195-04), Ohio 
resubmitted the amendment to provide additional clarity regarding the 
changes to the AML plan. On October 1, 2018, Ohio submitted additional 
changes to the 2016 updated AML plan, which involve public notification 
of environmental documents related to AML projects (Administrative 
Record No. OH-2195). The changes to the program as submitted are 
described below.
    A. Statutory Changes--Ohio Revised Code: Ohio submitted Substitute 
House Bill 471 of the 131st General Assembly (effective December 19, 
2016), which affected ORC Section 1513.37, Abandoned Mine Reclamation 
Fund. The statutory revisions of this section reflect revisions to 
Federal SMCRA provisions, eliminate the 50% match requirement for 
watershed groups that administer AML reclamation projects, and 
incorporate changes in AML grants administration and organizational 
units. The bill also terminated the Council on Unreclaimed Strip Mined 
Land at 1513.29. The Council was established by law in 2000 and was 
responsible for reviewing and setting applicable expenditure limits on 
AML reclamation projects identified by the Ohio Department of Natural 
Resources. This change was made to implement the recommendations of 
Ohio's Sunset Review Committee.
    B. Ohio AML Plan Changes: Ohio is also seeking to replace its last 
AML reclamation plan on record with an updated version (2016 Ohio State 
Reclamation Plan). The last AML reclamation plan amendment was approved 
on March 26, 1997, and, taken together with the original plan and 
previously approved amendments, is considered the current approved plan 
of record. These previously approved amendments, codified at 935.25, 
Approval of the Ohio Reclamation Plan Amendments, involved statutory 
changes and changes involving the Rural Abandoned Mined Lands Program, 
staff reorganizations, the AML emergency program, acid mine drainage 
reclamation, and the project selection process.
    The 2016 plan addresses various aspects of the reclamation program, 
including, but not limited to: Project information (eligibility, 
ranking and selection); coordination with OSMRE and other agencies; 
policies regarding reclamation on private land, land acquisition, and 
rights of entry; public participation; and program management and 
administration. The plan has been modified to reflect Federal statutory 
changes, regulatory changes, and changes to Federal grants 
administration policies and procedures. In addition, changes to Ohio 
statutory provisions and other program changes, such as organizational 
changes, are also reflected in the revision. This revised plan replaces 
the old plan and is revised in parts; redesignated in parts; removed in 
parts, and added in parts. Minor revisions such as organizational name 
changes and editorial changes are also included. Federal changes 
effecting the plan revision are described below.
    1. Federal Statutory Changes: There was one major statutory change 
affecting Title IV of the Act (SMCRA) that occurred since 1997. The 
change occurred in 2006 through the AML Reauthorization Bill of 2006. 
This bill extended the AML fee collection authority from 2007 to 2021 
and revised the AML program in areas such as the appropriation of 
funds, allocation formulas, fund objectives and priorities, reclamation 
lien waivers, AMD set aside accounts, water supply projects, state 
share payments, remining incentives, and minimum program funding.
    2. Federal Regulatory Changes: Changes made to the Federal 
regulatory provisions, as a result of the aforementioned statutory 
changes, affecting Ohio's current AML Reclamation Plan of record are as 
follows: 30 CFR part 872, Moneys Available to Eligible States and 
Indian Tribes; Part 874, General Reclamation Requirements; Part 876, 
Acid Mine Drainage Treatment and Abatement Program; Part 879, 
Management and Disposition of Lands and Water; Part 882, Reclamation on 
Private Land; Part 884, State Reclamation Plans, and Part 886, 
Reclamation Grants for Uncertified States and Indian Tribes. These 
regulatory changes involved changes to the definitions of eligible 
lands and water, interim program eligibility requirements, reclamation 
objectives and priority designations, reclamation contractor 
responsibilities, state reclamation grant reporting, grant 
requirements, water supply projects, AMD set-aside accounts, and 
government-financed construction projects. See 73 FR 67638.
    3. Federal Grants Management Changes: The Federal changes affecting 
Ohio's current AML Reclamation Plan of record involve changes to the 
President's Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) Circular A-102, 
``Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments.'' 
The OMB, working cooperatively with

[[Page 20601]]

Federal agencies and non-Federal parties, establishes government-wide 
grants management policies and guidelines through circulars and common 
rules. Currently, Federal grant funds (including AML grant funds) are 
governed by the guidelines issued by the OMB. On March 12, 1987, all 
agencies were directed to issue a common grants management rule to 
adopt Government-wide terms and conditions for financial assistance to 
state and local governments (referred to as the Grants Management 
Common Rule). As a result of the Presidential Order, the grants 
management guidelines were codified for the Department of the Interior 
grant programs at 43 CFR part 12 and extensive revisions were made to 
OSMRE's Federal Assistance Manual (FAM). In addition to the changes to 
OMB Circular A-102 that resulted from the Common Rule and subsequent 
revisions that were made to the circular, OSMRE had simplified the AML 
grant process in 1993, and these changes were also incorporated into 
the FAM.
    C. State/Federal AML Project Coordination: In addition to the 
statutory changes and plan changes described above, Ohio also submitted 
changes that involve Federal and State program coordination of AML 
project responsibilities. Ohio submitted a programmatic agreement 
between OSMRE, the Ohio History Connection, the State Historic 
Preservation Office, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 
Division of Mineral Resources Management. The agreement was signed on 
January 25, 2017, and formalizes the agreed-upon process for carrying 
out the responsibilities pursuant to section 106 and section 110(f) of 
the National Historic Preservation Act and the regulations at 36 CFR 
part 800.
    Ohio asserts that execution and implementation of this agreement is 
evidence that OSMRE and Ohio have afforded the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation a reasonable opportunity to comment on the AML 
program, as administered by OSMRE, and that Ohio has taken into account 
the effects of the program on historic properties under the National 
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), associated regulations, and other 
related statutes. This programmatic agreement describes how AML funds 
are transferred from OSMRE to the State for the AML program and how 
coordination regarding NHPA responsibilities will be carried out. This 
agreement outlines the review and consultation process and includes 
delegations, personnel, project review procedures, treatment, and 
resolution of adverse effects. It also addresses post-review 
discoveries, treatment of human remains, public participation/
notification/objections, monitoring and annual reporting/review, 
dispute resolution, training and technical assistance, and terms of the 
agreement. It also provides the delegated responsibility to Ohio to 
make decisions regarding eligibility for properties.
    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

    We are seeking your comments on whether the amendment satisfies the 
applicable plan approval criteria of 30 CFR 884.14 and 884.15. 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 4:00 p.m., e.d.t. on 
May 28, 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 dated 
October 12, 1993, the approval of State plan amendments are exempted 
from OMB review under Executive Order 12866.

Other Laws and Executive Orders Affecting Rulemaking

    When a state submits a plan amendment to OSMRE for review, our 
regulations at 30 CFR 884.14 and 884.15, and agency policy require 
public notification and opportunity for public comment. We accomplish 
this by publishing a proposed rule notice in the Federal Register 
indicating receipt of the proposed amendment and its text or a summary 
of its terms. 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

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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 935

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: November 16, 2018.
Thomas D. Shope,
Regional Director, Appalachian Region.

    Editorial note:  This document was received for publication by 
the Office of the Federal Register on May 6, 2019.

[FR Doc. 2019-09556 Filed 5-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-05-P