[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 243 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 81866-81868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27545]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 950

[SATS No. WY-048-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2020-0005; S1D1S SS08011000 
SX064A000 212S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 21XS501520]


Wyoming Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; opening of 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 Wyoming 
Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) Plan (hereinafter, the Wyoming 
Plan) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 
(SMCRA or the Act). Wyoming proposes extensive revisions to its Plan in 
response to a letter sent from OSMRE and to improve the Plan's 
readability and operational efficiency. These changes are being 
submitted in response to legislative and regulatory changes made under 
SMCRA. This document gives the times and locations that the Wyoming 
plan and 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.

[[Page 81867]]


DATES: We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4:00 
p.m., m.d.t. January 19, 2021. If requested, we will hold a public 
hearing on the amendment on January 11, 2021. We will accept requests 
to speak at a public hearing until 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on January 4, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. WY-048-FOR, 
by any of the following methods:
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Mr. Jeffrey Fleischman, Director, 
Denver Field Division; Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement; Casper Area Office; 150 East ``B'' Street, Room 1018, P.O. 
Box 11018, Casper, Wyoming 82601.
     Fax: (307) 261-6552.
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    We cannot ensure that comments received after the close of the 
comment period (see DATES) or sent to an address other than the ones 
listed above will be included in the docket for this rulemaking and 
considered.
    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 Wyoming 
plan, 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 Casper Area Office or the full text 
of the plan amendment is available for you to read at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Jeffrey Fleischman, Director Denver Field Division, Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal 
Building, 150 East B Street, Room 1018, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1018. 
Telephone: (307) 261-6550. Email: [email protected].
    In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following location: Alan Edwards, AML 
Administrator, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, 200 West 
17th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, Telephone: 307-777-7062.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Fleischman, Division Chief, 
Casper Area Office. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal Building, P.O. Box 11018, 150 East B 
Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1018. Telephone: (307) 261-6555. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
I. Background on the Wyoming Plan
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background on the Wyoming 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 February 14, 1983, the Secretary of the Interior approved 
Wyoming's AMLR Plan. You can find general background information on the 
Wyoming Plan, including the Secretary's findings and the disposition of 
comments, in the February 14, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 6536). OSM 
announced in the May 25, 1984, Federal Register (49 FR 22139), the 
Director's decision accepting certification by Wyoming that it had 
addressed all known coal-related impacts in the State that were 
eligible for funding under the Wyoming Plan. Wyoming could then proceed 
in reclaiming low priority non-coal projects. The Director accepted 
Wyoming's proposal that it would seek immediate funding for reclamation 
of any additional coal-related problems that occur during the life of 
the Wyoming Plan. You can find later actions concerning Wyoming's Plan 
and plan amendments at 30 CFR 950.35.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    On March 6, 2019, OSMRE issued a letter to Wyoming, under the 
authority of 30 CFR 884.15, directing the State to update its 
Reclamation Plan to meet the requirements of SMCRA as revised on 
December 20, 2006 as part of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 
(Pub. L. 109-432), and the implementing federal regulations as revised 
on November 14, 2008 (73 FR 67576) and February 5, 2015 (80 FR 6435). 
OSMRE provided Wyoming with a summary of these changes to the Federal 
program and a description of the potentially required State Plan 
amendments in the March 6, 2019 letter.
    By letter dated July 21, 2020, Wyoming submitted this proposed 
amendment to implement the required changes identified in OSMRE's 
letter as well as additional changes proposed at the State's initiative 
to make the Wyoming Plan more reader friendly. The proposed amendment 
would repeal and replace Wyoming's existing AML Plan.

Wyoming's Proposed Plan Amendment

    1. Reorganizes the Wyoming Plan to implement the required changes 
identified in OSMRE's March 6, 2019 letter.
    2. Restructures the Wyoming Plan to be more reader friendly, by 
removing excess narrative and instead incorporating required 
information by reference.
    3. Revises the Wyoming Plan to include an updated Attorney 
General's opinion, which confirms that the Wyoming Department of 
Environmental Quality continues to have the legal authority to oversee 
and implement Wyoming's AMLR Program.
    4. Incorporates in the Wyoming Plan, the provisions from 30 CFR 
875.19, Federal Register (80 FR 6435), which extend limited liability 
protection to non-coal reclamation projects.
    5. Reaffirms in the Wyoming Plan, that non-coal reclamation 
activities will reflect the priorities under Title IV, Section 411(c) 
and 30 CFR 875.15.
    6. Identifies in the Wyoming Plan, that the first priority for 
reclamation shall be for high priority coal, but reserves the Wyoming 
AML Program's ability to reclaim non-coal land, water, and facilities 
as allowed by Title IV, Section 411(b) through (g), with approval by 
OSMRE and after the issuance of an Authorization to Proceed (ATP) which 
is required for all projects.
    7. Acknowledges in the Wyoming Plan, that emergency conditions may 
arise at times which require quick responses and outlines the processes 
by which such emergency conditions are addressed, because the Wyoming 
AML Program does not have an approved emergency response program under 
section 410 of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1240).
    8. Incorporates new language in the Wyoming Plan regarding public 
records, which reflects a change to the Wyoming AML regulations 
approved by state statute in 2018.

[[Page 81868]]

    9. Summarizes in the Wyoming Plan, overall AML Policies and 
Procedures, including staffing, personnel policies, and the accounting 
system, as well as describes the processes followed to comply with 
applicable federal regulations.
    The full text of the plan amendment is available for you to read at 
the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

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 Wyoming Plan.

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 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 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., m.d.t. on 
January 4, 2021. If you are disabled and need special 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 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. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Executive Order 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 13563--Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    Executive Order 12866 provides that the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will 
review all significant rules. Pursuant to OMB guidance, dated October 
12, 1993, the approval of State program and/or AML plan amendments is 
exempted from OMB review under Executive Order 12866. Executive Order 
13563, which reaffirms and supplements Executive Order 12866, retains 
this exemption.

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 an opportunity for public comment. We 
accomplish this by publishing a 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 
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 950

    Abandoned mine reclamation programs, Intergovernmental relations, 
Surface mining, Underground mining.

David Berry,
Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2020-27545 Filed 12-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P