[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61050-61051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16540]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 146 / Tuesday, July 30, 2024 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 61050]]



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 926

[SATS No. MT-042-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2023-0007; S1D1S SS08011000 
SX064A000 245S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 24XS501520]


Montana Regulatory Program; Reopening Comment Period

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period reopening.

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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSMRE), are reopening the public comment period in response to 
feedback received in response to a concern letter for a proposed 
amendment to the Montana regulatory program (hereinafter, the Montana 
program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 
(SMCRA or the Act). Montana proposed this amendment to OSMRE, on its 
own initiative, following its passing of Montana House Bill 576 (2023), 
which amends the Montana Code Annotated (Mont. Code Ann.). Montana 
proposes changes to the definition of material damage and changes to 
permit requirements related to hydrologic information. HB 576 also adds 
four contingencies to the proposed amendments of the Mont. Code Ann.: a 
severability clause, a contingent voidness clause, an effective date 
clause, and a retroactive applicability clause. This document gives the 
times and locations that the Montana program and this revised proposed 
amendment to that program are available for your inspection and the 
comment period during which you may submit written comments on the 
revised amendment.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published at 88 FR 
52084 (August 7, 2023), which was reopened at 88 FR 64853 (September 
20, 2023), is reopened again. We will accept written comments on this 
amendment until 4 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), August 14, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. MT-042-FOR, 
by any of the following methods:
     Mail/Hand Delivery: 100 East B Street, Room 4100, Casper, 
WY 82601.
     Fax: (307) 421-6552.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: The amendment has been 
assigned Docket ID: OSM-2023-0007. If you would like to submit 
comments, go to https://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 Montana 
program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled public hearings or 
meetings, 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 Denver 
Field Division or the full text of the program amendment is available 
for you to read at www.regulations.gov. Jeffrey Fleischman, Chief, 
Denver Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal Building, POB 11018, 100 East B 
Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601, 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: Dan Walsh, Chief, Coal and 
Opencut Mining Bureau, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, 
P.O. Box 200901, Helena, Montana 59620-0901, Telephone: (406) 444-6791, 
email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Attn: Jeffrey Fleischman, Field Office 
Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 100 
East B Street, Casper, Wyoming 82602, telephone: (307) 261-6550, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Montana Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background on the Montana 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 approved, State 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 
Montana program on April 1, 1980. You can find background information 
on the Montana program, including the Secretary's findings, the 
disposition of comments, and conditions of approval of the Montana 
program in the April 1, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 21560). You can 
also find later actions concerning the Montana program and program 
amendments at 30 CFR 926.15, 926.16, and 926.30.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated June 1, 2023 (Administrative Record No. MT-042-01), 
Montana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 
et seq.). We found Montana's proposed amendment to be administratively 
complete on June 5, 2023. Montana submitted this proposed amendment to 
us, of its own volition, following the passage of Montana House Bill 
576 (HB 756) during the 2023 legislative session. HB 576 amends the 
Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act codified at Mont. 
Code Ann. sec. 82-4-203 and sec. 82-4-222. HB 576 also adds four 
contingencies that apply to the proposed amendments. First, Montana 
proposes several changes to Mont. Code Ann. sec. 82-4-203(32),

[[Page 61051]]

which defines and describes ``Material Damage.'' Next, Montana proposes 
to amend its coal mine operation permit requirements related to 
hydrologic information Mont. Code Ann. sec. 82-4-222(1)(m). Lastly, HB 
576 adds four contingencies to the proposed amendments of Mont. Code 
Ann. sec. 82-4-203(32) and sec. 82-4-222(1)(m) that are not codified 
into Mont. Code Ann. but apply to the amended sections: a severability 
clause, a contingent voidness clause, an effective date clause, and a 
retroactive applicability clause.
    By letter dated August 18, 2023 (Administrative Record No. MT-042-
09), we received a letter from interested parties requesting a 60-day 
extension of the public comment period for proposed amendment MT-042-
FOR primarily due to technical difficulties accessing the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal and the inability to comment on topics of high 
interest. OSMRE agreed to extend the public comment period for MT-042-
FOR to November 6, 2023.
    Following our initial review, OSMRE sent a letter to the Montana 
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on March 28, 2024 
(Administrative Record No. MT-042-34). The letter outlined our concerns 
with Montana's proposed amendment and offered Montana a decision to 
either (1) delay the amendment process, revise, and resubmit the 
amendment or (2) proceed to the final rulemaking. The concern letter 
was not an announcement of OSMRE's final decision on the Montana 
amendment. On April 26, 2024, we received a response to our concern 
letter from DEQ. (Administrative Record No. MT-042-35). DEQ stated in 
its response that it could not revise the proposed amendment to address 
OSMRE's concerns due to the amendment being prompted by legislative 
action. DEQ's response also provided further comments disagreeing with 
parts of OSMRE's concern letter. Following DEQ's response, we received 
feedback on the concern letter from three additional entities 
(Administrative Record No. MT-042-36, MT-042-37, and MT-042-38). Due to 
the increased interest in the concern letter, and in the interest of 
fairness for public participation, OSMRE has decided to re-open the 
public comment period for 15-days. 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 15-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.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

Executive Order 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review, Executive Order 
13563--Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, and Executive Order 
14094--Modernizing Regulatory Review

    Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 14094, 
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 amendments is exempted from OMB review under Executive 
Order 12866, as amended by Executive Oder 14094. 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 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 926

    Required program amendments, State-Federal cooperative agreement, 
State regulatory program approval, Surface mining.

David A. Berry,
Regional Director, Unified Regions 5, 7-11.
[FR Doc. 2024-16540 Filed 7-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P