[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63523-63524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22691]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 222S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 
22XS501520]


Grant Notification for Fiscal Year 2023

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSMRE), are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to 
eligible applicants for purposes authorized under the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) Title IV Abandoned Mine 
Land (AML) Reclamation Program, Title V Regulatory Program, and the 
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) AML Program. We will award these 
grants during Fiscal Year 2023.

DATES: Written comments from State, Tribal, or local entities about the 
funding for the SMCRA Title IV AML Reclamation Program, Title V 
Regulatory Program, or the BIL AML Program are due to OSMRE by November 
18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Electronic mail: Send your comments to 
[email protected].

[[Page 63524]]

     Mail, hand-delivery, or courier: Send your comments to 
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Attn: Grants 
Notice, Room 4551, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yetunde Richardson, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1849 C Street NW, MS 4551, 
Washington, DC 20240; Telephone (202) 208-2766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Grant Notification

    We are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to 
eligible applicants for purposes authorized under SMCRA's Title IV AML 
Reclamation Program (30 U.S.C. 1231-1244), Title V Regulatory Program 
(30 U.S.C. 1251-1279), and the BIL AML Program (Pub. L. 117-58, 40701). 
We will award these grants during Fiscal Year 2023. Eligible applicants 
include those States and Tribes with existing AML reclamation programs 
and/or regulatory programs approved pursuant to SMCRA, as amended, 30 
U.S.C. 1201 et seq., as well as those States and Tribes that are 
seeking to develop a regulatory program. Consistent with Executive 
Order 12372, we are providing State and Tribal officials the 
opportunity to review and comment on these proposed Federal financial 
assistance activities. Eighteen of the eligible applicants do not have 
single points of contact; therefore, we are publishing this notice as 
an alternate means of notification.

Description of the AML Reclamation Program

    Title IV of SMCRA established the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund 
to receive the AML fees collected by OSMRE from coal operators that, 
along with funds from other sources, are used to finance grants to 
eligible States and Tribes for the reclamation of AML coal mine sites 
and for certain other purposes. Grant recipients use these funds to 
reclaim the highest priority AML coal mine sites that were abandoned 
before the enactment of SMCRA in 1977; to reclaim eligible non-coal 
sites; for projects that address the impacts of mineral development; 
and for eligible non-reclamation projects. In addition to the BIL AML 
program described below, the BIL also amended Title IV of SMCRA to 
extend OSMRE's AML fee collection authority through September 30, 2034, 
reduced AML fee rates, and extended distribution of AML fee-based 
grants to eligible States and Tribes through Fiscal Year 2035.

Description of the Regulatory Program

    Title V of SMCRA authorizes OSMRE to provide grants to States and 
Tribes to develop, administer, and enforce State and Tribal regulatory 
programs that address, among other things, the disturbances from coal 
mining operations. Additionally, upon our approval of a State or Tribal 
regulatory program, title V authorizes that State or Tribe to assume 
regulatory primacy, act as the regulatory authority within the State or 
Tribe, and administer and enforce its approved regulatory program. 
These provisions of SMCRA are implemented by our regulations at title 
30 of the Code of Federal Regulations, chapter VII.

Description of the BIL AML Program

    The BIL, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 
was enacted on November 15, 2021. In addition to amending Title IV of 
SMCRA, the BIL authorized and appropriated $11.293 billion for deposit 
into the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. Of the $11.293 billion 
appropriated, approximately $10.873 billion will be distributed to 
eligible States and Tribes on an equal annual basis over a 15-year 
period, which amounts to an annual distribution of approximately $725 
million per year. In addition, the BIL provides discretion to 
prioritize BIL-funded projects that employ current and former employees 
of the coal industry.
    BIL AML grants will be distributed to eligible State and Tribal 
reclamation programs for AML and water reclamation projects under 
SMCRA. These projects will abate and eliminate physical hazards to 
public health, safety, and the environment caused by AML sites, 
including emergencies. These projects also support communities in 
achieving their priorities and needs through collaboration and 
consensus-building for local AML projects. BIL AML grants may also be 
used by State and Tribal reclamation programs to provide safe drinking 
water in areas where water supplies are contaminated due to coal mines 
abandoned before the passage of SMCRA. As described in Executive Order 
14008 and Executive Order 14052, BIL AML grants are also subject to the 
Justice40 Initiative, which supports environmental justice by working 
toward the goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain 
Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are 
marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. By funding 
additional reclamation projects, allowing States and Tribes the 
discretion to prioritize projects employing current and former coal 
industry employees, and allocating benefits to disadvantaged 
communities, BIL AML grants will benefit all who live and work in and 
near America's coalfield communities by creating jobs, reviving aquatic 
life in mining-polluted streams, and restoring degraded lands to a 
usable condition.

Glenda H. Owens,
Deputy Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2022-22691 Filed 10-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P