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. 

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules 81867 

DATES: We will accept written 

comments on this amendment until 4:00 

p.m., m.d.t. January 19, 2021. If 

requested, we will hold a public hearing 

on the amendment on January 11, 2021. 

We will accept requests to speak at a 

public hearing until 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on 

January 4, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by SATS No. WY–048–FOR, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Mr. Jeffrey 

Fleischman, Director, Denver Field 

Division; Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement; Casper 

Area Office; 150 East ‘‘B’’ Street, Room 

1018, P.O. Box 11018, Casper, Wyoming 

82601. 

• Fax: (307) 261–6552. 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

We cannot ensure that comments 

received after the close of the comment 

period (see DATES) or sent to an address 

other than the ones listed above will be 

included in the docket for this 

rulemaking and considered. 

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 Wyoming plan, 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 plan amendment 

is available for you to read at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Jeffrey Fleischman, Director Denver 

Field Division, Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick 

Cheney Federal Building, 150 East B 

Street, Room 1018, Casper, Wyoming 

82601–1018. Telephone: (307) 261– 

6550. Email: jfleischman@osmre.gov. 

In addition, you may review a copy of 

the amendment during regular business 

hours at the following location: Alan 

Edwards, AML Administrator, Wyoming 

Department of Environmental Quality, 

200 West 17th Street, Cheyenne, 

Wyoming 82002, Telephone: 307–777– 

7062. 

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: jfleischman@

osmre.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Wyoming Plan 

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment 

III. Public Comment Procedures 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background on the Wyoming 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 February 14, 1983, the Secretary of 

the Interior approved Wyoming’s AMLR 

Plan. You can find general background 

information on the Wyoming Plan, 

including the Secretary’s findings and 

the disposition of comments, in the 

February 14, 1983, Federal Register (48 

FR 6536). OSM announced in the May 

25, 1984, Federal Register (49 FR 

22139), the Director’s decision accepting 

certification by Wyoming that it had 

addressed all known coal-related 

impacts in the State that were eligible 

for funding under the Wyoming Plan. 

Wyoming could then proceed in 

reclaiming low priority non-coal 

projects. The Director accepted 

Wyoming’s proposal that it would seek 

immediate funding for reclamation of 

any additional coal-related problems 

that occur during the life of the 

Wyoming Plan. You can find later 

actions concerning Wyoming’s Plan and 

plan amendments at 30 CFR 950.35. 

II. Description of the Proposed 

Amendment 

On March 6, 2019, OSMRE issued a 

letter to Wyoming, under the authority 

of 30 CFR 884.15, directing the State to 

update its Reclamation Plan to meet the 

requirements of SMCRA as revised on 

December 20, 2006 as part of the Tax 

Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (Pub. 

L. 109–432), and the implementing 

federal regulations as revised on 

November 14, 2008 (73 FR 67576) and 

February 5, 2015 (80 FR 6435). OSMRE 

provided Wyoming with a summary of 

these changes to the Federal program 

and a description of the potentially 

required State Plan amendments in the 

March 6, 2019 letter. 

By letter dated July 21, 2020, 

Wyoming submitted this proposed 

amendment to implement the required 

changes identified in OSMRE’s letter as 

well as additional changes proposed at 

the State’s initiative to make the 

Wyoming Plan more reader friendly. 

The proposed amendment would repeal 

and replace Wyoming’s existing AML 

Plan. 

Wyoming’s Proposed Plan Amendment 

1. Reorganizes the Wyoming Plan to 

implement the required changes 

identified in OSMRE’s March 6, 2019 

letter. 

2. Restructures the Wyoming Plan to 

be more reader friendly, by removing 

excess narrative and instead 

incorporating required information by 

reference. 

3. Revises the Wyoming Plan to 

include an updated Attorney General’s 

opinion, which confirms that the 

Wyoming Department of Environmental 

Quality continues to have the legal 

authority to oversee and implement 

Wyoming’s AMLR Program. 

4. Incorporates in the Wyoming Plan, 

the provisions from 30 CFR 875.19, 

Federal Register (80 FR 6435), which 

extend limited liability protection to 

non-coal reclamation projects. 

5. Reaffirms in the Wyoming Plan, 

that non-coal reclamation activities will 

reflect the priorities under Title IV, 

Section 411(c) and 30 CFR 875.15. 

6. Identifies in the Wyoming Plan, 

that the first priority for reclamation 

shall be for high priority coal, but 

reserves the Wyoming AML Program’s 

ability to reclaim non-coal land, water, 

and facilities as allowed by Title IV, 

Section 411(b) through (g), with 

approval by OSMRE and after the 

issuance of an Authorization to Proceed 

(ATP) which is required for all projects. 

7. Acknowledges in the Wyoming 

Plan, that emergency conditions may 

arise at times which require quick 

responses and outlines the processes by 

which such emergency conditions are 

addressed, because the Wyoming AML 

Program does not have an approved 

emergency response program under 

section 410 of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1240). 

8. Incorporates new language in the 

Wyoming Plan regarding public records, 

which reflects a change to the Wyoming 

AML regulations approved by state 

statute in 2018. 

81868 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 243 / Thursday, December 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules 

9. Summarizes in the Wyoming Plan, 

overall AML Policies and Procedures, 

including staffing, personnel policies, 

and the accounting system, as well as 

describes the processes followed to 

comply with applicable federal 

regulations. 

The full text of the plan amendment 

is available for you to read at the 

locations listed above under ADDRESSES. 

III. Public Comment Procedures 

We are seeking your comments on 

whether the amendment satisfies the 

applicable plan approval criteria of 30 

CFR 884.14 and 884.15. If we approve 

the amendment, it will become part of 

the Wyoming Plan. 

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 January 4, 2021. If 

you are disabled and need special 

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. Statutory and Executive Order 

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 and/or AML plan 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 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 and 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 950 

Abandoned mine reclamation 

programs, Intergovernmental relations, 

Surface mining, Underground mining. 

David Berry, 

Regional Director, Western Region. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27545 Filed 12–16–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P