81864 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules 

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 and Executive 

Order 13563—Improving Regulation 

and Regulatory Review 

Executive Order 12866 provides that 

the Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs in the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) will review all significant 

rules. Pursuant to OMB guidance, dated 

October 12, 1993, the approval of State 

program and is exempted from OMB 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13563, which reaffirms 

and supplements Executive Order 

12866, retains this exemption. 

Other Laws and Executive Orders 

Affecting Rulemaking 

When a state submits a Plan 

amendment to OSMRE for review, our 

regulations at 30 CFR 884.14 and 

884.15, and agency policy require 

public notification and an opportunity 

for public comment. We accomplish this 

by publishing a notice in the Federal 

Register indicating receipt of the 

proposed amendment, its text or a 

summary of its terms. 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 926 

Abandoned mine reclamation 

programs, Intergovernmental relations, 

Surface mining, Underground mining. 

David A. Berry, 

Regional Director, Unified Regions 5, 7–11. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27544 Filed 12–16–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

30 CFR Part 938 

[SATS No. PA–172–FOR; Docket ID: OSM– 

2020–0001; S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 

212S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 

SX064A000 21XS501520] 

Pennsylvania 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. 

SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 

(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a 

proposed amendment to the 

Pennsylvania regulatory program 

(hereinafter, the Pennsylvania program) 

under the Surface Mining Control and 

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the 

Act). Through this proposed 

amendment, Pennsylvania is requesting 

to make changes to its regulations 

addressing four required amendments, 

one part not previously approved, and 

several program revisions submitted. 

The proposed amendment includes, but 

is not limited to, augmented seeding, 

bonding, haul roads, effluent limitations 

for bituminous underground mines, 

temporary cessation, definition of 

Surface Mining Activities, civil 

penalties, administrative requirements, 

and Employee Financial Interest 

Reporting Form, as well as other 

administrative updates and corrections. 

This document gives the times and 

locations that the Pennsylvania program 

and this 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., Eastern Standard Time (e.s.t.), 

January 19, 2021. If requested, we may 

hold a public hearing or meeting on the 

amendment on January 11, 2021. We 

will accept requests to speak at a 

hearing until 4:00 p.m., e.s.t. on January 

4, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by SATS No. PA–172–FOR, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Ben Owens, 

Acting Field Office Director, Pittsburgh 

Field Office, 3 Parkway Center South, 

2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. 

• Fax: (412) 937–2903. 

• Email: bowens@osmre.gov. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: The 

amendment is assigned the Docket ID: 

OSM–2020–0001, If you would like to 

submit comments go to https://

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 Pennsylvania 

program, this amendment, a listing of 

any scheduled public hearings or 

meetings, 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 

Pittsburgh Field Office or the full text of 

the program amendment is available for 

you to read at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

Ben Owens, Acting Field Office 

Director, Pittsburgh Field Office, Office 

of Surface Mining Reclamation and 

Enforcement, 3 Parkway Center Drive 

South, 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. 

Telephone: (412) 937–2827. Email: 

bowens@osmre.gov. 

In addition, you may review a copy of 

the amendment during regular business 

hours at the following location: William 

S. Allen, Jr., Director, Bureau of Mining 

Programs, Pennsylvania Department of 

Environmental Protection, Rachel 

Carson State Office Building, 400 

Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben 

Owens, Acting Field Office Director, 

Pittsburgh Field Office, Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 3 

Parkway Center Drive South, 2nd Floor, 

Pittsburgh, PA 15220 Telephone: (412) 

937–2827. Email: bowens@osmre.com. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Pennsylvania Program 

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment 

III. Public Comment Procedures 

IV. Statutory Orders and Executive Reviews 

I. Background on the Pennsylvania 

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 approved, 

State program includes, among other 

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules 81865 

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). Based on these 

criteria, the Secretary of the Interior 

conditionally approved the 

Pennsylvania program on July 30, 1982. 

You can find background information 

on the Pennsylvania program, including 

the Secretary’s findings, the disposition 

of comments, and conditions of 

approval of the Pennsylvania program 

in the July 30, 1982, Federal Register 

(47 FR 33050). You can also find later 

actions concerning the Pennsylvania 

program and program amendments at 30 

CFR 938.11, 938.12, 938.13, 938.15, and 

938.16. 

II. Description of the Proposed 

Amendment 

By letter dated March 16, 2020, 

(Administrative Record No. PA 906.00), 

Pennsylvania sent us an amendment to 

its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 

1201 et seq.). This submittal addresses 

four separate required program 

amendments codified at 30 CFR 

938.16(m)–(o) (bonding) and 

938.16(mmm) (haul roads), and a 

correction to a previously unapproved 

term at 938.12(d) (augmented seeding). 

In addition, the submission includes 

numerous other revisions to the 

Pennsylvania program that are unrelated 

to the required amendments. 

The proposed amendment would 

make changes to the following: 

A. 25 Pa. Code § 86.151(d)— 

Augmented Seeding (Relating to period 

of liability). The program amendment 

proposes to delete the term 

‘‘augmented’’ in the last sentence in 

accordance with 30 CFR 938.12(d). 

B. Chapter § 86.158(b) (Relating to 

Special Terms and Conditions for 

Collateral Bonds). The program 

amendment proposes to make the 

corrections and/or additions to the rules 

and reiterate that collateral bonds are to 

be determined by current market value 

and not face value and shall be at least 

equal to the amount of the bond less any 

legal and liquidation fees, in accordance 

with 30 CFR 938.16(m)–(o). 

1. 25 Pa. Code § 86.158(b)(1) proposes 

to make the revision of ‘‘may’’ to ‘‘will.’’ 

2. 25 Pa. Code § 86.158(b)(2) proposes 

to add the wording ‘‘less any legal and 

liquidation costs.’’ 

3. 5 Pa. Code § 86.158(b)(3) proposes 

to require the posting of any needed 

additional bond amount with the permit 

renewal, which is at least every 5 years. 

C. 25 Pa. Code § 88.1 Haul Roads. The 

proposed amendment expands the 

definition of haul roads to include 

public roads that are used as an integral 

part of the coal mining activity in 

accordance with 30 CFR 938.16(mmm). 

D. 25 Pa. Code § 89.52 Effluent 

Limitations for Bituminous 

Underground Mines. The proposed 

amendment would delete the portion of 

subsection (f), eliminating the 

alternative effluent limits for passive 

treatment systems for underground 

mines. 

E. Temporary Cessation. The 

proposed amendment would make 

revisions in each of the citations for the 

removal of the upper time limits. 

1. 25 Pa. Code § 87.157 (Relating to 

cessation of operations: Temporary). 

2. 25 Pa. Code § 88.131 (Regarding 

anthracite surface mines). 

3. 25 Pa. Code § 88.219 (Regarding 

anthracite bank removal). 

F. 25 Pa. Code § 86.1 and § 87.1 

Definition: Surface mining activities. 

Proposed amendment seeks to 

incorporate by reference the 30 CFR 

701.5 definition of surface mining 

activities to assure consistency with the 

Federal requirements. 

G. 25 Pa. Code § 86.193(b) and (c)— 

Civil Penalties. The proposed 

amendment seeks to resolve the 

fluctuating dollar amount by utilizing 

the Federal point system thereby 

mandating that the assessment of 

penalty will be reflective of the 

violation circumstances and not a 

specific dollar amount. 

H. Administrative Requirements 

1. 25 Pa. Code § 86.31(c)(1) (Relating 

to Public Notices of filing of permit 

applications) seeks to remove the 

registered mail requirement and allow 

electronic notice in cases where 

applicable. 

2. 25 Pa. Code § 86.62(a)(3) (Relating 

to identification of interests) seeks to 

remove the date of issuance 

requirement. 

I. 25 Pa. Code § 86.238. The proposed 

amendment seeks to update the OSMRE 

Form 705–1 to Form 23. 

J. Administrative Updates and 

Corrections 

1. Storm Events—The proposed 

amendment would remove tables 

provided in Sections 87.103, 88.93, 

88.188, 88.293 and 89.53 and replaces 

them with a general reference to data 

available through NOAA or an 

equivalent resource. 

2. Remining Financial Guarantees 

The proposed amendment offers the 

following changes: 

• 25 Pa. Code § 86.281(b) to describe 

the process used to determine the 

amount of an individual remining 

financial guarantee; 

• to revise § 86.281(c) to clarify that 

the designated amount is maintained at 

the program level rather than on a 

permit-by-permit basis; 

• § 86.281(d) to refer to the 

designated amount when describing the 

permit limit, the operator limit and the 

program limit; and 

• § 86.281(f) to describe the reserve; 

• § 86.282(a)(4) adds that to 

participate, the operator cannot have 

been previously issued a notice of 

violation relating to maintaining bonds, 

including a missing or late payment. 

• § 86.284(d) is being revised to read 

the same as PA SMCRA. 

3. Natural Resources Conservation 

Service. This proposed amendment 

corrects the agency name from Soil 

Conservation Service to Natural 

Resource Conservation Service. 

4. Conservation District. The proposed 

amendment corrects the reference at 

§ 86.189(b)(4) from Soil Conservation 

District to its current name of 

Conservation District. 

5. Chapter 92a. This proposed 

amendment corrects all references of 

Chapter 92 to Chapter 92a in Chapters 

86–90. 

6. Department Reference. This 

proposed amendment updates reference 

of Department of Environmental 

Resources in Section 86.232 to 

Department of Environmental 

Protection. 

7. Chapter 96. This proposed 

amendment seeks to update and include 

reference to Chapter 96 in Sections 

87.102, 88.92, 88.187, 88.292, 89.52 and 

90.102. 

8. Coal Ash and Biosolids. This 

proposed amendment seeks to update 

references of ‘‘fly ash’’ to ‘‘coal ash’’ and 

‘‘sewage sludge’’ to ‘‘biosolids’’ in 25 Pa. 

Code §§ 86.54 and 87.100(d). 

9. Anthracite Mine Operators 

Emergency Bond Fund. This proposed 

amendment seeks to delete the word 

‘‘deep’’ from 25 Pa. Code § 86.162a to 

clarify that not only deep mines are 

eligible for participation. 

10. Coal Refuse Disposal Site 

Selections. This proposed amendment 

adds language to 52 P.S. § 305.54a to 

read ‘‘an area adjacent to or an 

expansion of an existing coal refuse 

disposal site.’’ 

11. 25 Pa. Code § 86.51 corrects ‘‘. . . 

a review of the permit shall be no less 

frequent than the permit midterm of 

every 5 years . . .’’ The underlined ‘‘of’’ 

should be ‘‘or’’. 

12. 25 Pa. Code § 86.84 corrects 

Mining Enforcement and Safety 

Administration to Mine Safety and 

Health Administration. 

13. 25 Pa. Code § 88.1 ‘‘A surface 

right-of-way for purposes of travel by 

land vehicles used in coal exploration of 

surface coal mining and reclamation 

81866 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules 

operations.’’ The underlined ‘‘of’’ 

should be ‘‘or’’. 

14. Remining Program. 

• 25 Pa. Code § 88.502 the correct 

citation is § 88.295(b)–(i). 

• 25 Pa. Code § 88.507(c) the correct 

citations are §§ 88.95(b)–(g), 88.190(b)– 

(g) and 88.295(b)–(i). 

• 25 Pa. Code §§ 88.508 and 90.308 

shall delete the references to § 86.172(d) 

as this subsection does not exist. 

The full text of the program 

amendment is available for you to read 

at the locations listed above under 

ADDRESSES or at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

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 State program. 

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 (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., e.s.t. on January 4, 2021. 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 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. Statutory Orders and Executive 

Reviews 

Executive Order 12866—Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563—Improving Regulation 

and Regulatory Review 

Executive Order 12866 provides that 

the Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs in the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) will review all significant 

rules. Pursuant to OMB guidance, dated 

October 12, 1993, the approval of State 

program amendments is exempted from 

OMB review under Executive Order 

12866. Executive Order 13563, which 

reaffirms and supplements Executive 

Order 12866, retains this exemption. 

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 938 

Intergovernmental relations, Surface 

mining, Underground mining. 

Thomas D. Shope, 

Regional Director, North Atlantic— 

Appalachian Region. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27602 Filed 12–16–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

30 CFR Part 950 

[SATS No. WY–048–FOR; Docket ID OSM– 

2020–0005; S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 

212S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 

SX064A000 21XS501520] 

Wyoming Abandoned Mine Land 

Reclamation Plan 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; opening of 

public comment period and opportunity 

for public hearing on proposed 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 

(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a 

proposed amendment to the Wyoming 

Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation 

(AMLR) Plan (hereinafter, the Wyoming 

Plan) under the Surface Mining Control 

and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA 

or the Act). Wyoming proposes 

extensive revisions to its Plan in 

response to a letter sent from OSMRE 

and to improve the Plan’s readability 

and operational efficiency. These 

changes are being submitted in response 

to legislative and regulatory changes 

made under SMCRA. This document 

gives the times and locations that the 

Wyoming plan and 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.