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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 157 (Monday, August 15, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50436-50438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20660]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 917

[KY-254-FOR; OSM-2011-0005]

Kentucky Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), 
Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public 
hearing.

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SUMMARY: We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Kentucky Regulatory Program (hereinafter, the ``Kentucky program'') 
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or 
the Act). On May 10, 2011, Kentucky submitted proposed bonding 
revisions to the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) as authorized by House 
Bill 385 (HB 385), which passed during the State's regular 2011 
legislative session. HB 385 amends the Kentucky Revised Statutes to 
require that, as of the effective date of the Act, any determination by 
the Energy and Environmental Cabinet (EEC) to change a bond requirement 
or bond amount

[[Page 50437]]

currently in use will result in a new administrative regulation that 
includes all bond requirements, including the bond amount; HB 385 also 
prohibits bond amounts from being instituted as policy. Finally, it 
requires an administrative regulation that fails to include bond 
amounts to be declared deficient automatically.
    This document gives the times and locations that the Kentucky 
program and this submittal are available for your inspection, the 
comment period during which you may submit written comments, and the 
procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is 
requested.

DATES: We will accept written comments until 4 p.m., E.S.T., September 
14, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on September 9, 
2011. We will accept requests to speak until 4 p.m., E.S.T., on August 
30, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``SATS No. KY-254-
FOR; Docket Number OSM-2011-0005'' by either of the following two 
methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. The 
proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2011-0005. If you would 
like to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions; or
    Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Joseph L. Blackburn, Field Office 
Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 
and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40503.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Public 
Comment Procedures'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
in this document.
    Docket: In addition to obtaining copies of documents at http://www.regulations.gov, you may also obtain information 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 Lexington Field Office.
    Joseph L. Blackburn, Field Office Director, Lexington Field Office, 
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency 
Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40503, (859) 260-3900.
    Carl E. Campbell, Commissioner, Department for Natural Resources, 2 
Hudson Hollow, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Telephone: (502) 564-6940.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph L. Blackburn, Telephone: (859) 
260-3900. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Kentucky Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations

I. Background on the Kentucky 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 program includes, among other things, ``a State law which provides 
for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations in 
accordance with the requirements of this Act * * *; and rules and 
regulations consistent with regulations issued by the Secretary 
pursuant to this Act.'' See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On the basis 
of these criteria, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally approved 
the Kentucky program on May 18, 1982. You can find background 
information on the Kentucky program, including the Secretary's 
findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of approval of 
the Kentucky program in the May 18, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 
21434). You can also find later actions concerning Kentucky's program 
and program amendments at 30 CFR 917.11, 917.12, 917.13, 917.15, 
917.16, and 917.17.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    On March 17, 2011, Governor Beshear signed House Bill (HB) 385 
which was approved by the 2011 Kentucky General Assembly. HB 385 amends 
Kentucky Revised Statutes 350.060 to require as of the effective date 
of the Act that any determination by the Energy and Environmental 
Cabinet (EEC) to change a bond requirement or bond amount currently in 
use will result in a new administrative regulation that includes all 
bond requirements including the bond amount; proscribe bond amounts 
from being instituted as policy; require after the effective date of 
the Act an administrative regulation that fails to include bond amounts 
to be declared automatically deficient.

1. KRS 350.060 (11) Processing Permit Applications

    The State proposes to delete ``The cabinet shall'' and insert 
``Within thirty (30) days of a cabinet determination of a need to 
change a bond protocol currently in use, the cabinet shall 
immediately.'' This proposed State revision falls under the Federal 
provisions at 30 CFR 800.14 and section 509 of SMCRA.

2. KRS 350.060 (11) Processing Permit Applications

    The State proposes to add new language at the end of (11) to ensure 
that Bond protocols will include the formula for establishing the 
amount of the bond or be automatically declared deficient in accordance 
to KRS Chapter 13A. This proposed State revision falls under the 
Federal provisions at 30 CFR 800.15 and section 509 of SMCRA.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking your 
comments on whether the Kentucky program now satisfies the applicable 
program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve these 
revisions, they will become part of the Kentucky program.
Written or Electronic Comments
    If you submit written comments, 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 Tribal 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 at locations 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, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 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. We 
will not consider anonymous comments.
Public Hearing
    If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person 
listed under

[[Page 50438]]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 p.m., E.S.T. on August 30, 2011. 
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, that if possible, each person who speaks at a 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 there is only limited interest in participating in a public 
hearing, 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 rule 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 OSM 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 917

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: June 13, 2011.
Michael K. Robinson,
Acting Regional Director, Appalachian Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-20660 Filed 8-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
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