[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 47 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12492-12493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5754]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 914
[SPATS No. IN-147-FOR]
Indiana Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)
is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Indiana regulatory
program (Indiana program) under the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Indiana proposes revisions to its
statutes that would allow the use of money from its post-1977 abandoned
mine reclamation fund, under specified circumstances, to replace
domestic water supplies disrupted or affected by surface coal mining
and reclamation operations. Indiana intends to revise its program in
order to provide additional protection to society and the environment
from the adverse effects of surface coal mining operations.
This document gives the times and locations that the Indiana
program and 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 until 4:00 p.m., e.s.t., April
10, 2000. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment
on April 3, 2000. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing until
4:00 p.m., e.s.t. on March 24, 2000.
ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and
requests to speak at the hearing to Andrew R. Gilmore, Director,
Indianapolis Field Office, at the address listed below.
You may review copies of the Indiana program, the amendment, a
listing of any scheduled 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 receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting
OSM's Indianapolis Field Office.
Andrew R. Gilmore, Director, Indianapolis Field Office, Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Minton-Capehart Federal
Building, 575 North Pennsylvania Street, Room 301, Indianapolis, IN
46204, Telephone: (317) 226-6700.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Mine Reclamation,
402 West Washington Street, Room W-295, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204,
Telephone: (317) 232-1291.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, R.R.
2, Box 129, Jasonville, Indiana 47438-9517, Telephone: (812) 665-2207.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew R. Gilmore, Director,
Indianapolis Field Office. Telephone: (317) 226-6700. Internet:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Indiana Program
On July 29, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Indiana program. You can find background information on
the Indiana program, including the Secretary's findings, the
disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the July 26,
1982, Federal Register (47 FR 32107). You can find later actions on the
Indiana program at 30 CFR 914.10, 914.15, and 914.16.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated February 25, 2000 (Administrative Record No. IND-
1686), Indiana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Indiana
sent the amendment at its own initiative. Indiana proposes to revise
the Indiana Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act at Indiana Code
(IC) 14-34. The Indiana General Assembly amended IC 14-34-6-15,
effective July 1, 1999 (House Enrolled Act No. 1568).
IC 14-34-6-15, Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund
1. Indiana revised IC 14-34-6-15(b) by adding a new provision at
subdivision (2) and reformatting the existing provisions. The revised
subsection reads as follows:
(b) The post-1977 abandoned mine reclamation fund is
established. The fund consists of bond forfeiture money collected
under section 16 of this chapter and the civil penalties described
in IC 14-34-16-9. The fund may be used as follows:
(1) To effect the restoration of land not otherwise eligible for
federal funding on which there has been surface mining activity
after August 3, 1977.
(2) To replace domestic water supplies disrupted or affected by
a surface coal mining and reclamation operation, including the
disposal of coal combustion waste (as defined in IC 13-19-3-3),
where the surface coal mining and reclamation operation has been
completed and is no longer subject to IC 14-34.
The money held for this purpose may not exceed an amount
established by the department that is sufficient to enable the
director to cover the anticipated cost of restoration.
2. Indiana revised subsection (c) by adding the language ``or
replacement of water.'' The revised subsection reads as follows:
(c) At least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in the
fund is dedicated as collateral for the bond pool under IC 14-34-8
and may not be used for the restoration of land or replacement of
water described in subsection (b).
III. Public Comment Procedures
Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are requesting
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 Indiana program.
Written Comments
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home address from the administrative record, which we will honor
to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in
which we would withhold from the administrative record a respondent's
identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name
and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of
your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will
make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Your written comments should be specific and pertain only to the
issues
[[Page 12493]]
proposed in this rulemaking. You should explain the reason for any
recommended change. In the final rulemaking, we will not necessarily
consider or include in the Administrative Record any comments received
after the time indicated under DATES or at locations other than the
Indianapolis Field Office.
Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use
of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include
``Attn: SPATS No. IN-147-FOR'' and your name and return address in your
Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have
received your Internet message, contact the Indianapolis Field Office
at (317) 226-6700.
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., e.s.t. on
March 24, 2000. We will arrange the location and time of the hearing
with those persons requesting the hearing. If you are disabled and need
special accommodations to attend a public hearing, contact the
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The hearing
will not be held if no one requests an opportunity to speak at the
public hearing.
To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we request
that you provide us with a written copy of your testimony. The public
hearing will continue on the specified date until all persons scheduled
to speak have been 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 all
persons scheduled to speak and persons present in the audience who wish
to speak have been heard.
Public Meeting
If only one person requests an opportunity to speak at a hearing, a
public meeting, rather than a public hearing, may be held. If you wish
to meet with us to discuss the amendment, 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 also
make a written summary of each meeting a part of the Administrative
Record.
IV. Procedural Determinations
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) exempts this rule from
review 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 12988 (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 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 State regulatory programs and
program amendments 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
This rule does not require an environmental impact statement since
section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that agency
decisions on 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. Therefore, this rule will ensure that existing requirements
previously published 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.
Unfunded Mandates
OSM has determined and certifies under the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act (2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq.) that this rule will not impose a cost of
$100 million or more in any given year on local, state, or tribal
governments or private entities.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 914
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: March 1, 2000.
John W. Coleman,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 00-5754 Filed 3-8-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P