[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 82 (Wednesday, April 29, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23405-23407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11281]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 935
[OH-218-FOR; Amendment Number 61R]
Ohio Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: OSM is reopening the public comment period on a proposed
amendment to the Ohio regulatory program (hereinafter referred to as
the ``Ohio program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Act of 1977 (SMCRA). This amendment provides that areas reclaimed
following the removal of temporary structures that are part of the
sediment control system, such as sedimentation ponds, roads, and small
diversions, are not subject to a revegetation responsibility period and
bond liability period separate from that of the permit area or
increment thereof served by such facilities. The amendment also
authorizes as a husbandry practice that not restart the revegetation
responsibility period, the repair of damage to land and/or established
permanent vegetation that has been unavoidably disturbed. The amendment
is intended to improve operational efficiency of the Ohio program.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 4:00 p.m. on May
29, 1998. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendments
will be held on May 26, 1998. Requests to present oral testimony at the
hearing must be received on or before 4:00 p.m. on May 14, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should
be mailed or delivered to George Rieger, Field Branch Chief,
Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center, at the address listed below.
Copies of the Ohio program, the proposed amendment, a listing of
any scheduled public hearings, and all written comments received in
response to this document will be available for public review at the
addresses listed below during normal business hours, Monday through
Friday, excluding holidays. Each requester may receive one free copy of
the proposed amendment by contacting the OSM Field Branch, Appalachian
Regional Coordinating Center.
George Rieger, Field Branch Chief, Appalachian Regional Coordinating
Center, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 3 Parkway
Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15220 Telephone: (412) 937-2153.
Ohio Division of Mines and Reclamation, 1855 Fountain Square Court,
Columbus, Ohio 43224, Telephone: (614) 265-1076.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
George Rieger, Field Branch Chief, Appalachian Regional Coordinating
Center, Telephone: (412) 937-2153.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Ohio Program
On August 16, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Ohio program. Background information on the Ohio program,
including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and
the conditions of approval can be found in the August 10, 1982, Federal
Register (47 FR 34688). Subsequent actions concerning conditions of
approval and program amendments can be found at 30 CFR 935.11, 935.15,
and 935.16.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated February 11, 1993 (Administrative Record No. OH-
1831), Ohio submitted proposed Program Amendment Number 61 concerning
augmentative practices. OSM announced receipt of this amendment in the
April 1, 1993, Federal Register (58 FR 17173) and, in the same notice,
opened the public comment period and provided opportunity for a public
hearing on the adequacy of the proposed amendment. The public comment
period closed on May 3, 1993. Since no one requested an opportunity to
provide testimony at a public hearing, the scheduled hearing was
canceled.
By letter dated June 11, 1993 (administrative Record No. OH-1888),
Ohio submitted additional revisions to this proposed amendment. OSM
announced receipt of the revised amendment in the July 6, 1993, Federal
Register (58 FR 36177), and, in the same notice, reopened the public
comment period and again provided an opportunity for a public hearing.
The public comment period closed on July 21, 1993. On August 16, 1993
(58 FR 43261), OSM approved most of the proposed amendment, but
deferred decision on Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 1501:13-9-15(F)
(5), (6), and (7) concerning nonaugmentative practices.
OSM reopened a public comment period on September 15, 1993 (58 FR
48333) for the provisions OAC 1501:13-9-15(F) (6) and (7) as originally
submitted on February 11, 1993, and revised on June 11, 1993, with
regard to removal of sedimentation ponds and associated areas. The
comment period closed on October 15, 1993. This notice also included
similar proposed revisions to the Kentucky and Illinois regulations as
well as a discussion of OSM's proposed policy concerning restart of the
revegetation responsibility
[[Page 23406]]
period upon the removal of required sedimentary control structures.
By letter dated April 14, 1998 (Administrative Record Number OH-
2175-00), Ohio submitted revised language of the Program Amendment #
61R. Subsection (f)(4) provides for practices that will not be
considered augmentative when the practice and the rate of applecation
is an accepted local practice for comparable unmined lands that can be
expected to continue as a postmining practice. Subsection (F)(5)
provides for the nonaugmentative repair of areas that held required
sediment control structures. Subsection (F)(6) provides the minimum
time that vegetation established or reestablished under subsections
(F)(4)(c) and (F)(5) must have been seeded prior to a request for Phase
III bond release. The proposed language is as follows.
OAC 1501:13-9-15(F)(4)
(c) Reseeding and adding soil amendments when necessary to repair
damage to land and/or established permanent vegetation, that is
unavoidably disturbed in order to meet the reclamation standards of
this chapter, provided that:
(I) The damage is not caused by a lack of planning, design, or
implemention of the mining and reclamation plan, inappropriate
reclamation practices on the part of the permittee, or the lack of
established permanent vegetation; and
(II) The total acreage of repaired areas under paragraphs (F)(4)
(b) & (c) of this rule does not exceed ten percent of the total land
affected, with no individual area exceeding three acres.
OAC 1501:13-9-15(F)(5)
Reseeding of areas that have been unavoidably disturbed in the
course of gaining access for removal of structures that are part of the
sediment control system or initial seeding of areas upon which the
sediment control system was located and subsequently removed will not
restart the period of extended responsibility for revegetation success.
OAC 1501:13-9-15(F)(6)
For the purposes of paragraphs (F)(4)(c) and (F)(5) of this rule,
permanent vegetation that is established or reestablished on these
areas must have been seeded a minimum of twelve months prior to the
request for Phase III bond release.
III. Public Comment Procedures
In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), OSM is now
seeking comments on the proposed amendments. Comments should address
whether the amendments satisfy the applicable program approval criteria
of 30 CFR 732.15. If the amendments are deemed adequate, they will
become part of the Ohio program.
Written Comments
Written comments should be specific, pertain only to the issues
proposed in this notice and include explanations in support of the
commenter's recommendations. Comments received after the time indicated
under DATES or at locations other than the Appalachian Regional
Coordinating Center will not necessarily be considered in the final
rulemaking or included in the Administrative Record.
Public Hearing
Persons wishing to testify at the public hearing should contact the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by the close of
business on May 14, 1998. If no one requests an opportunity to testify
at the public hearing by that date, the hearing will not be held.
Filing of a written statement at the time of the hearing is
requested as it will greatly assist the transcriber. Submission of
written statements in advance of the hearing will allow OSM officials
to prepare adequate remarks and appropriate questions.
The public hearing will continue on the specified date until all
persons scheduled to testify have been heard. Persons in the audience
who have not been scheduled to testify, and who wish to do so, will be
heard following those scheduled. The hearing will end after all persons
scheduled to testify and persons present in the audience who wish to
testify have been heard.
Public Meeting
If only one person or group requests to testify at a hearing, a
public meeting, rather than a public hearing, may be held. Persons
wishing to meet with OSM representatives to discuss the amendments may
request a meeting by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
All such meetings will be open to the public and, if possible,
notices of meetings will be posted in advance at the locations listed
under ADDRESSES. A written summary of each public meeting will be made
a part of the Administrative Record.
IV. Procedural Determinations
Executive Order 12866
This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and
Review).
Executive Order 12988
The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required
by section 3 of Executive Order 12778 (Civil Justice Reform) and has
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 regulatory programs and program amendments since each such
program is drafted and promulgated by a specific State, not by OSM.
Under sections 503 and 505 of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1253 and 1255) and 30
CFR 730.11, 732.15, and 732.17(h)(10), decisions on proposed State
regulatory programs and program amendments submitted by the States must
be based solely on a determination of whether the submittal is
consistent with SMCRA and its implementing Federal regulations and
whether the other requirements of 30 CFR Parts 730, 731, and 732 have
been met.
National Environmental Policy Act
No environmental impact statement is required for this rule since
section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that agency
decisions on proposed State regulatory program provisions do not
constitute major Federal actions within the meaning of section
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
4332(2)(C)).
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 has 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 State 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 by the State. In
making the determination as to whether this rule would have a
significant economic impact, the Department relied upon the data and
assumptions for the corresponding Federal regulations.
[[Page 23407]]
Unfunded Mandates
This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any
given year on any governmental entity or the private sector.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 935
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: April 21, 1998.
Michael K. Robinson,
Acting Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 98-11281 Filed 4-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M