Permanent program and abandoned mine land reclamation plan submissions: Louisiana,

[Federal Register: September 10, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 175)]

[Proposed Rules]

[Page 49118-49120]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr10se99-36]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 918

[SPATS No. LA-018-FOR]

Louisiana Regulatory Program

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public hearing.

SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing receipt of an amendment to the Louisiana regulatory program (Louisiana program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Louisiana proposes revisions to and additions of statutes concerning requirements for permit applications, eligibility requirements for the Small Operator Assistance Program (SOAP), and permit exemptions. Louisiana intends to revise the Louisiana program to be consistent with SMCRA and the Louisiana Surface Mining Regulations.

This document gives the times and locations that the Louisiana program and the 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 until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t., October 12, 1999. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment on October 5, 1999. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on September 27, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and requests to speak at the hearing to Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office, at the address listed below.

You may review copies of the Louisiana program, the amendment, a listing of any scheduled public hearings, and all written comments received in response to this document at the addresses listed below during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. You may receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting OSM's Tulsa Field Office. Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface Mining, 5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 470, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135-6547, Telephone: (918) 581-6430.

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, Injection and Mining Division, 625 N . 4th Street, P. O. Box 94275, Baton Rouge, LA 70804, Telephone: (504) 342-5540.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office. Telephone: (918) 581-6430. Internet: mwolfrom@tokgw.osmre.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background on the Louisiana Program

   On October 10, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Louisiana program. You can find background information on the Louisiana program, including the Secretary's findings and the disposition of comments in the October 10, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 67340). You can find later actions concerning the Louisiana program at 30 CFR 918.15 and 918.16.

2. Description of the Proposed Amendment

   By letter dated August 23, 1999 (Administrative Record No. LA-364), Louisiana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Louisiana sent the amendment at its own initiative. Louisiana proposes to amend the Louisiana Surface Mining Act. Below is a summary of the changes proposed by Louisiana. The full text of the program amendment is available for your inspection at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

   1. Section 907, Application Requirements

      1. Louisiana proposes to remove the provision at paragraph B(16) that requires an applicant to make information about coal seams, test borings, core samplings, or soil samples available to any person with an interest which is or may be adversely affected. Louisiana then proposes to add this removed provision at new paragraph B(17).

      2. Louisiana also proposes to add new paragraph B(18) to require an applicant to submit with his or her permit application a description of the nature of cultural, historical, and archeological

         [[Page 49119]]

         resources listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This description must be based on all available information, and include a plan that describes the measures the applicant will take to prevent or minimize any adverse impacts the mining operation might have on the resources.

      3. Louisiana further proposes to add new paragraph B(19) to require an applicant to submit with his or her permit application a description of fish and wildlife resource information for the permit area and adjacent area. The scope and level of detail for such information will be determined by the office of conservation. However, site specific resource information will be required when the permit area or adjacent area is likely to include endangered or threatened species of plants or animals or their habitats.

      4. Louisiana proposes to add new paragraph B(20) to require an applicant to submit with his or her permit application a description of how the operator will minimize disturbances and adverse impacts on fish, wildlife, and related environmental values. The description will apply to the species and habitats identified in new paragraph B(19) and must include the protective measures that the operator will use during the active mining phase of the operation.

      5. Finally, Louisiana proposes to revise Subsection C of this section to read as follows:

   3. If the commissioner finds that the probable total annual production at all locations of any coal surface mining operator will not exceed three hundred thousand tons, the determination of probable hydrologic consequences, including the engineering analyses and designs necessary for the determination, required by Paragraph B(11) of this Section, cross-section maps and plans required by Paragraph B(14) of this Section, the drilling and statement of the result of test borings or core samplings required by Paragraph B(15) of this Section, the collection of archaeological and historical information and related plans required by Paragraph B(18) of this Section, the collection of site-specific resources information required by Paragraph B(19) of this Section, the production of protection and enhancement plans for fish and wildlife habitats required by Paragraph B(20) of this Section, and information and plans for any other environmental values required by the office of conservation and this Chapter, and pre-blast surveys required by R.S. 30:915(B)(15) shall, upon the written request of the operator, be performed by a qualified public or private laboratory designated by the commissioner and the cost of the preparation of such determination and statement shall be assumed by the commissioner.

   2. Section 927, Surface Coal Mining Operations Not Subject to This Chapter.

      Louisiana proposes to revise paragraph (2) whereby the requirements of Chapter 9 do not apply to the extraction of coal where coal does not exceed sixteen and two-thirds percent of the total tonnage of coal and other minerals removed for purposes of commercial use or sale.

3. Public Comment Procedures

   Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are requesting 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 Louisiana program.

   Written Comments

   Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address from the administrative record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the administrative record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

   Your written comments should be specific and pertain only to the issues proposed in this rulemaking. You should explain the reason for any recommended change. In the final rulemaking, we will not necessarily consider or include in the Administrative Record any comments received after the time indicated under DATES or at locations other than the Tulsa Field Office.

   Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include ``Attn: SPATS No. LA-018-FOR'' and your name and return address in your Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have received your Internet message, contact the Tulsa Field Office at (918) 581-6430.

   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., c.d.t. on September 27, 1999. We will arrange the location and time of the hearing with those persons requesting the hearing. If you are disabled and need special accommodation to attend a public hearing, contact the individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The hearing will not be held if no one requests an opportunity to speak at the public hearing.

   You should file a written statement at the time you request the hearing. This will allow us to prepare adequate responses and appropriate questions. The public hearing will continue on the specified date until all persons scheduled to speak have been 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 all persons scheduled to speak and persons present in the audience who wish to speak have been heard.

   Public Meeting

   If only one person requests an opportunity to speak at a hearing, a public meeting, rather than a public hearing, may be held. If you wish to meet with us to discuss the amendment, 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 also make a written summary of each meeting a part of the Administrative Record.

4. Procedural Determinations

   Executive Order 12866

   The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) exempts this rule from review under Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review).

   Executive Order 12988

   The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform) and has determined that, to the extent allowed by law, this rule meets the applicable standards of subsections (a) and (b) of that section. However, these standards are not applicable to the actual language of State regulatory programs and program amendments since each program is drafted and promulgated by a specific State, not by OSM. Under sections 503 and 505 of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1253 and 1255) and 30 CFR 730.11, 732.15, and 732.17(h)(10),

   [[Page 49120]]

   decisions on State regulatory programs and program amendments must be based solely on a determination of whether the submittal is consistent with SMCRA and its implementing Federal regulations and whether the other requirements of 30 CFR Parts 730, 731, and 732 have been met.

   National Environmental Policy Act

   This rule does not require an environmental impact statement since section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that agency decisions on State regulatory program provisions do not constitute major Federal actions within the meaning of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).

   Paperwork Reduction Act

   This rule does not contain information collection requirements that require approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3507 et seq.).

   Regulatory Flexibility Act

   The Department of the Interior has determined that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The State submittal which is the subject of this rule is based upon corresponding Federal regulations for which an economic analysis was prepared and certification made that such regulations would not have a significant economic effect upon a substantial number of small entities. Therefore, this rule will ensure that existing requirements previously published by OSM will be implemented by the State. In making the determination as to whether this rule would have a significant economic impact, the Department relied upon the data and assumptions for the corresponding Federal regulations.

   Unfunded Mandates

   OSM has determined and certifies under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq.) that this rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any given year on local, state, or tribal governments or private entities.

   List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 918

   Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

   Dated: September 1, 1999. Ervin J. Barchenger, Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.

   [FR Doc. 99-23489Filed9-9-99; 8:45 am]

   BILLING CODE 4310-05-P