Permanent program and abandoned mine land reclamation plan submissions: Arkansas,
[Federal Register: October 18, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 200)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 56179-56180]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18oc99-20]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 904
[SPATS No. AR-035-FOR]
Arkansas Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan
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 Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan (Arkansas plan) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The amendment consists of an addition to the Arkansas plan relating to the exclusion of certain noncoal reclamation sites. Arkansas intends to revise its plan to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations.
This document gives the times and locations that the Arkansas plan and the 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 will be followed for the public hearing, if one is requested.
DATES: We will accept written comments until 4:00 p.m., c.s.t., November 17, 1999. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment on November 12, 1999. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing until 4:00 p.m., c.s.t. on November 2, 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 Arkansas plan, 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.
Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Russellville Field Office, 1220 West 2nd Street, Russellville, Arkansas 72801, Telephone: (501) 968-7339.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office. Telephone: (918) 581-6430. Internet: mwolfrom@tokgw.osmre.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
-
Background on the Arkansas Plan
On May 2, 1983, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Arkansas plan. You can find background information on the Arkansas plan, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the approval of the plan in the May 2, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 19710). You can find later actions on the Arkansas plan at 30 CFR 904.25 and 904.26.
-
Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated September 22, 1999 (Administrative Record No. AAML- 27.08), Arkansas sent us an amendment to its plan under SMCRA. Arkansas sent the amendment in response to our letter dated September 8, 1999 (Administrative Record No. AAML-27.07). Below is a summary of the changes proposed by Arkansas. The full text of the amendment is available for your inspection at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
[[Page 56180]]
Policies and Procedures of the State Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program [30 CFR 884.13(c)
Under subheading B. Identification of Eligible Lands and Water [30 CFR 884.13(c)(2)], Arkansas proposes to add the following language as a counterpart to our Federal regulation at 30 CFR 875.16, Exclusion of certain noncoal reclamation sites:
Money from the Fund shall not be used for the reclamation of sites and areas designated for remedial action pursuant to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) or that have been listed for remedial action pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).
-
Public Comment Procedures
Under the provisions of 30 CFR 884.15(a), we are requesting comments on whether the amendment satisfies the applicable State reclamation plan approval criteria of 30 CFR 884.14. If we approve the amendment, it will become part of the Arkansas plan.
Written Comments
We will make comments, including names and addresses of respondents, available for public review during normal business hours. We will not consider anonymous comments. If individual respondents request confidentiality, we will honor their request to the extent allowable by law. Individual respondents who wish to withhold their name or address from public review, except for the city or town, must state this prominently at the beginning of their 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 review 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. AR-035-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.s.t. on November 2, 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.
To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we request that you provide us with a written copy of your testimony. 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 spoken.
Public Meeting
If only one person requests an opportunity to speak at a hearing, we may hold a public meeting, rather than a public hearing. 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.
-
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 conducted the reviews required by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform) and 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 and Tribal abandoned mine land reclamation plans and revisions since each such plan is drafted and promulgated by a specific State or Tribe, not by OSM. Decisions on proposed abandoned mine land reclamation plans and revisions submitted by a State or Tribe are based on a determination of whether the submittal meets the requirements of Title IV of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1231-1243) and 30 CFR Part 884.
National Environmental Policy Act
This rule does not require an environmental impact statement since agency decisions on proposed State and Tribal abandoned mine land reclamation plans and revisions are categorically excluded from compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332) by the Manual of the Department of the Interior (516 DM 6, appendix 8, paragraph 8.4B(29)).
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 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 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. Accordingly, this rule will ensure that existing requirements previously promulgated by OSM will be implemented. In making the determination as to whether this rule would have a significant economic impact, the Department relied upon the data and assumptions in the analyses for the corresponding Federal regulations.
Unfunded Mandates
OSM 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 904
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: October 8, 1999. Brent Wahlquist, Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 99-27107Filed10-15-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
