[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 157 (Monday, August 15, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50436-50438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20660]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 917
[KY-254-FOR; OSM-2011-0005]
Kentucky Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing.
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SUMMARY: We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the
Kentucky Regulatory Program (hereinafter, the ``Kentucky program'')
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or
the Act). On May 10, 2011, Kentucky submitted proposed bonding
revisions to the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) as authorized by House
Bill 385 (HB 385), which passed during the State's regular 2011
legislative session. HB 385 amends the Kentucky Revised Statutes to
require that, as of the effective date of the Act, any determination by
the Energy and Environmental Cabinet (EEC) to change a bond requirement
or bond amount
[[Page 50437]]
currently in use will result in a new administrative regulation that
includes all bond requirements, including the bond amount; HB 385 also
prohibits bond amounts from being instituted as policy. Finally, it
requires an administrative regulation that fails to include bond
amounts to be declared deficient automatically.
This document gives the times and locations that the Kentucky
program and this submittal are available for your inspection, the
comment period during which you may submit written comments, and the
procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is
requested.
DATES: We will accept written comments until 4 p.m., E.S.T., September
14, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on September 9,
2011. We will accept requests to speak until 4 p.m., E.S.T., on August
30, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``SATS No. KY-254-
FOR; Docket Number OSM-2011-0005'' by either of the following two
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. The
proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2011-0005. If you would
like to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to
http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions; or
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Joseph L. Blackburn, Field Office
Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40503.
Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Public
Comment Procedures'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
in this document.
Docket: In addition to obtaining copies of documents at http://www.regulations.gov, you may also obtain information 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 Lexington Field Office.
Joseph L. Blackburn, Field Office Director, Lexington Field Office,
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency
Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40503, (859) 260-3900.
Carl E. Campbell, Commissioner, Department for Natural Resources, 2
Hudson Hollow, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Telephone: (502) 564-6940.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph L. Blackburn, Telephone: (859)
260-3900. E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Kentucky Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the Kentucky 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 program includes, among other things, ``a State law which provides
for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations in
accordance with the requirements of this Act * * *; and rules and
regulations consistent with regulations issued by the Secretary
pursuant to this Act.'' See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On the basis
of these criteria, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally approved
the Kentucky program on May 18, 1982. You can find background
information on the Kentucky program, including the Secretary's
findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of approval of
the Kentucky program in the May 18, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR
21434). You can also find later actions concerning Kentucky's program
and program amendments at 30 CFR 917.11, 917.12, 917.13, 917.15,
917.16, and 917.17.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
On March 17, 2011, Governor Beshear signed House Bill (HB) 385
which was approved by the 2011 Kentucky General Assembly. HB 385 amends
Kentucky Revised Statutes 350.060 to require as of the effective date
of the Act that any determination by the Energy and Environmental
Cabinet (EEC) to change a bond requirement or bond amount currently in
use will result in a new administrative regulation that includes all
bond requirements including the bond amount; proscribe bond amounts
from being instituted as policy; require after the effective date of
the Act an administrative regulation that fails to include bond amounts
to be declared automatically deficient.
1. KRS 350.060 (11) Processing Permit Applications
The State proposes to delete ``The cabinet shall'' and insert
``Within thirty (30) days of a cabinet determination of a need to
change a bond protocol currently in use, the cabinet shall
immediately.'' This proposed State revision falls under the Federal
provisions at 30 CFR 800.14 and section 509 of SMCRA.
2. KRS 350.060 (11) Processing Permit Applications
The State proposes to add new language at the end of (11) to ensure
that Bond protocols will include the formula for establishing the
amount of the bond or be automatically declared deficient in accordance
to KRS Chapter 13A. This proposed State revision falls under the
Federal provisions at 30 CFR 800.15 and section 509 of SMCRA.
III. Public Comment Procedures
Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking your
comments on whether the Kentucky program now satisfies the applicable
program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve these
revisions, they will become part of the Kentucky program.
Written or Electronic Comments
If you submit written comments, 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 Tribal 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 at locations 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, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 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. We
will not consider anonymous comments.
Public Hearing
If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person
listed under
[[Page 50438]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 p.m., E.S.T. on August 30, 2011.
If you are disabled and need reasonable 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, that if possible, each person who speaks at a 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 there is only limited interest in participating in a public
hearing, 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. Procedural Determinations
Executive Order 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review
This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866.
Other Laws and Executive Orders Affecting Rulemaking
When a State submits a program amendment to OSM 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 917
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: June 13, 2011.
Michael K. Robinson,
Acting Regional Director, Appalachian Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-20660 Filed 8-12-11; 8:45 am]
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