[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34892-34894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14312]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 944
[SATS No. [UT-048-FOR]; Docket ID [OSM-2012-0011]]
Utah Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing on proposed amendment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Utah
regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Utah program'') under the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or ``the
Act''). Utah proposes a change to the Judicial Code, Title 78 of the
Utah Code, that requires plaintiffs who obtain temporary relief
(administrative stay or preliminary injunction) in an environmental
action to post a surety bond or equivalent pending state judicial
review. Utah sent the amendment to include changes made at its own
initiative.
This document gives the times and locations that the Utah program
and proposed 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 on this amendment until 4:00
p.m., m.d.t. July 12, 2012. If requested, we will hold a public hearing
on the amendment on July 9, 2012. We will accept requests to speak
until 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on June 27, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following two
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. This
proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2012-0011. If you would
like to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to
www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions.
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Kenneth Walker, Chief, Denver
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,
1999 Broadway Suite 3320, Denver, CO 80202.
For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``III. Public Comment
Procedures'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
In addition to viewing the docket and obtaining copies of documents
at www.regulations.gov, you may review copies of the Utah program, this
amendment, a listing of any 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 also receive one free copy of the amendment by
contacting OSM's Denver Office.
Kenneth Walker, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway Suite 3320, Denver,
CO 80202, (303)293-5012, [email protected];
John Baza, Director, Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, 1594
West North
[[Page 34893]]
Temple, Suite 1210, PO Box 145801, Salk Lake City, UT 84114-5801,
(801)538-5334, [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Walker, Telephone: (303)293-
5012. Internet: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Utah Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the Utah 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 State 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 Utah program on January 21, 1981. You can
find background information on the Utah program, including the
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions
of approval of the Utah program in the January 21, 1981, Federal
Register (46 FR 5899). You can also find later actions concerning
Utah's program and program amendments at 30 CFR 944.15, 944.16, and
944.30.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated April 18, 2012, Utah sent us a proposed amendment
to its approved program (Administrative Record Document ID No. OSM-
2012-0011-0002) under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Utah sent the
amendment in response to a February 24, 2012, letter (Document ID No.
OSM-2012-0011-0006) that OSM sent to Utah in accordance with 30 CFR
732.17(e)(2).
Utah House Bill 399 (H.B. 399) (Document ID No. OSM-2012-0011-0001)
was approved by the Utah Legislature on March 4, 2011, and signed into
law by Utah's Governor on March 21, 2011. H.B. 399 (Environmental
Litigation Bond) enacted a change to the Judicial Code, Title 78 of the
Utah Code, that in pertinent part mandates that state agencies and
courts require plaintiffs who obtain temporary relief (administrative
stay or preliminary injunction) in an environmental action to post a
surety bond or cash equivalent in an amount the court or state agency
considers sufficient to compensate each defendant opposing the
temporary relief for damages they may sustain as a result of the
administrative stay or preliminary injunction. An environmental action
is a cause of action that seeks judicial review of a final agency
action to issue a permit by the Department of Natural Resources.
OSM's review of H.B. 399 determined that the newly-enacted
environmental litigation bond provisions represent a condition or event
that has changed the implementation, administration or enforcement of
the approved Utah program under 30 CFR 732.17(e)(2). Consequently, in a
letter dated February 24, 2012, OSM required Utah to submit the
proposed changes contained in H.B. 399 as an amendment to its Coal
Program regulations for review and approval before they can take
effect. Utah responded in a letter dated April 18, 2012, (Document ID
No. OSM-2012-0011-0003) by submitting the changes enacted by H.B. 399
as a formal amendment to their State program. The full text of the
program amendment is available for you to read at the locations listed
above under ADDRESSES.
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 Utah program.
Electronic or Written 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 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 above (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 in the electronic docket
for this rulemaking at www.regulations.gov. 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.
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., m.d.t. on
June 27, 2012. 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, if possible, that 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 only one person requests an opportunity to speak, 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 (Regulatory Planning and
Review).
Other Laws and Executive Orders Affecting Rulemaking
When a State submits a program amendment to OSM for review, our
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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 944
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: April 26, 2012.
Allen D. Klein,
Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-14312 Filed 6-11-12; 8:45 am]
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