[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 218 (Wednesday, November 12, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67115-67116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26656]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 924
[SATS No. MS-024-FOR; Docket No. OSMRE-2014-0005; S1D1SS S08011000
SX066A00067F144S180110; S2D2SS S08011000SX066A00033F14XS501520]
Mississippi Abandoned Mine Land Plan
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing.
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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the
Mississippi Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) Plan (hereinafter,
the Mississippi Plan) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Mississippi has requested concurrence
from the Secretary of the Department of the Interior with its
certification of completion of all coal-related reclamation objectives.
If the Secretary concurs with the certification, Mississippi intends to
request AMLR funds to pursue projects in accordance with section 411 of
SMCRA.
This document gives the times and locations that the Mississippi
Plan and this proposed 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 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., c.d.t., December 12, 2014. If requested, we will hold a public
hearing on the amendment on December 8, 2014. We will accept requests
to speak at a hearing until 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on November 28, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. MS-024-FOR,
by any of the following methods:
Mail/Hand Delivery: Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham
Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 135
Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Homewood, Alabama 35209; Telephone: (205)
290-7282.
Fax: (205) 290-7280.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
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
Mississippi Plan, a listing of any scheduled public hearings, and all
written comments received in response to this document, you must go to
the address of our Birmingham Field Office listed above during normal
business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. You may
receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting OSMRE's Birmingham
Field Office or going to www.regulations.gov.
Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham Field Office, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 135 Gemini Circle, Suite 215,
Homewood, Alabama 35209, Telephone: (205) 290-7282, Email:
[email protected].
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following location:
Mississippi Office of Geology, Department of Environmental Quality,
700 N. State Street Jackson, Mississippi 39202, Telephone: (601) 961-
5519.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham
Field Office. Telephone: (205) 290-7282. Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on Mississippi Plan
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the Mississippi Plan
The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program was established by
Title IV of the Act, (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) in response to concerns
over extensive environmental damage caused by past coal mining
activities. The program is funded by a reclamation fee collected on
each ton of coal that is produced. The money collected is used to
finance the reclamation of abandoned coal mines and for other
authorized activities. Section 405 of the Act allows States and Indian
tribes to assume exclusive responsibility for reclamation activity
within the State or on Indian lands if they develop and submit to the
Secretary of the Interior for approval, a program (often referred to as
a plan) for the reclamation of abandoned coal mines. On September 27,
2007, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Mississippi plan. You
can find background information on the Mississippi Plan, including the
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the approval of
the plan in the September 27, 2007, Federal Register (72 FR 54832). No
amendments have previously been made to the Mississippi Plan.
II. Description of the Proposed Mississippi Amendment
By letter dated August 11, 2014 (Administrative Record No. MS-
0424), Mississippi indicated to OSMRE that it has instituted the
necessary processes to reclaim the remaining coal related problems
within the State. As such, Mississippi seeks certification of
completion of all coal-related problems. If this request is approved by
OSMRE, it will mark the addressing, for the present, of all known
existing coal-related problems within the State that are eligible for
funding under Mississippi's AMLR Program.
If approved, the certificate of completion will be codified at 30
CFR 924.25. In accordance with 30 CFR 875.13(c), Mississippi may then
implement a program under Section 411 of SMCRA.
OSMRE is seeking public comment on the adequacy of Mississippi's
certification that it has addressed all reclamation relating to
abandoned coal mine lands. In addition, OSMRE is aware of the potential
for problems to occur in the future related to pre-August 3, 1977, coal
mining. In accordance with 30 CFR 875.13(a)(3), Mississippi agrees to
acknowledge and give top priority to any coal-related problem(s) that
may be found or occur after submission of the certificate of
completion.
The full text of the plan 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 884.15(a), we are seeking your
comments on whether Mississippi's proposed amendment satisfies the
applicable reclamation plan approval criteria of 30 CFR 884.14. If we
approve
[[Page 67116]]
the amendment, it will become part of the Mississippi Plan.
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 (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.
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
November 28, 2014. 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 a hearing.
To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we
request, if possible, that each person who speaks at the 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; 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
The Federal regulations at 30 CFR 884.14(a) list the requirements
that must be met in order for OSMRE to approve a State reclamation plan
amendment or revision if it changes the objectives, scope, or major
policies followed by the State in the conduct of its reclamation
program. Following our review of the proposed amendment or revision, 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 924
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: August 28, 2014.
William L. Joseph,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-26656 Filed 11-10-14; 8:45 am]
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