[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 61 (Friday, March 31, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16009-16010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06396]
[[Page 16009]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 934
[SATS No. ND-054-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2016-0009; S1D1S SS08011000
SX064A000 178S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 17XS501520]
North Dakota 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
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the North
Dakota regulatory program (North Dakota program) under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). North
Dakota proposes numerous rule changes to the North Dakota
Administrative Code for surface coal mining and reclamation operations
and reclamation law changes that were made during North Dakota's 2015
Legislative Session. The law changes added a definition of ``commercial
leonardite'' and excluded oxidized lignite (leonardite) from the
statutory definition of ``coal.'' The law changes also added the phrase
``or commercial leonardite'' to many other sections of the reclamation
law. North Dakota intends to revise its program to improve operational
efficiency.
This document gives the times and locations that the North Dakota
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. May 1, 2017. If requested, we will hold a public hearing
on the amendment on April 25, 2017. We will accept requests to speak
until 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on April 17, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. ND-054-FOR,
by any of the following methods:
Mail/Hand Delivery: Division Chief, Casper Area Office,
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick Cheney
Federal Building, POB 11018, 150 East B Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-
1018.
Fax: (307) 261-6552.
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 North
Dakota program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled public
hearings, and all written comments received in response to this
document, you must go to the address listed below during normal
business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. You may
receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting OSMRE's Casper
Area Office or the full text of the program amendment is available for
you to read at www.regulations.gov.
Jeffrey Fleischman, Division Chief, Casper Area Office, Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal
Building, P.O. Box 11018, 150 East B Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-
1018. Telephone: (307) 261-6555. Email: [email protected].
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following location:
Reclamation Division, North Dakota Public Service Commission, 600
East Boulevard, Dept. 408, Bismarck, North Dakota 58505-0480.
Telephone: (701) 328-2400.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Fleischman, Division Chief,
Casper Area Office. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal Building, P.O. Box 11018, 150 East B
Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1018. Telephone: (307) 261-6555. Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the North Dakota Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the North Dakota 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, State laws and
regulations that govern surface coal mining and reclamation operations
in accordance with the Act and consistent with the Federal regulations.
See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On the basis of these criteria, the
Secretary of the Interior conditionally approved the North Dakota
program on December 15, 1980. You can find background information on
the North Dakota program, including the Secretary's findings, the
disposition of comments, and conditions of approval of the North Dakota
program in the December 15, 1980 Federal Register (45 FR 82214). You
can also find later actions concerning North Dakota's program and
program amendments at 30 CFR 934.15 and 934.30.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated May 19, 2016 (Administrative Record No. ND-PP-01),
North Dakota sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C.
1201 et seq.). North Dakota sent the amendment at its own initiative to
include changes made to both the North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) and
the North Dakota Administrative Code (NDAC). The full text of the
program amendment is available for you to read at the locations listed
above under ADDRESSES.
Specifically, North Dakota proposes numerous rule changes to the
NDAC Article 69-5.2 for surface coal mining and reclamation operations
and reclamation law changes that were made by Senate Bill No. 2377
during North Dakota's 2015 Legislative Session. The law changes added a
definition of ``commercial leonardite'' and excluded oxidized lignite
(leonardite) from the statutory definition of ``coal'' in NDCC Chapter
38-14.1, while ensuring the mining of leonardite remains subject to the
same permitting and reclamation requirements as coal. The law changes
also added the phrase ``or commercial leonardite'' to many other
sections of the reclamation law as appropriate. Similarly, the proposed
rule changes primarily consist of adding the phrase ``or commercial
leonardite'' immediately after the word ``coal'' when it is not part of
a definition or other phrase that doesn't otherwise include
``commercial leonardite.''
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 North Dakota program.
[[Page 16010]]
Electronic or Written Comments
If you submit written or electronic comments on the proposed rule
during the 30-day comment period, 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 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., m.d.t. on
April 17, 2017. 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 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 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 rulemaking 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 OSMRE 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 934
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: March 22, 2017.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2017-06396 Filed 3-30-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P