[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67016-67018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33431]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 946

[VA-112-FOR]


Virginia 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: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Virginia regulatory program (hereinafter referred to as the Virginia 
program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 
(SMCRA). The proposed amendment revises numerous provisions of the 
Virginia program for surface coal mining and reclamation operations. 
The amendment is intended to revise the State program to be consistent 
with the Federal regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., on January 22, 
1998. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will be 
held on January 20, 1998. Requests to speak at the hearing must be 
received by 4:00 p.m., on January 7, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should 
be mailed or hand delivered to Mr. Robert A. Penn, Director, Big Stone 
Gap Field Office at the first address listed below.
    Copies of the Virginia 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 requestor may receive one free copy of 
the proposed amendment by contacting OSM's Big Stone Gap Field Office.

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Big Stone Gap 
Field Office, 1941 Neeley Road, Suite 201, Compartment 116, Big Stone 
Gap, Virginia 24219, Telephone: (703) 523-4303
Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation, P.O. Drawer 900, Big Stone 
Gap, Virginia 24219, Telephone: (703) 523-8100

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Robert A. Penn, Director, Big Stone Gap Field Office, Telephone: 
(703) 523-4303.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Virginia Program

    On December 15, 1981, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Virginia program. Background information on the Virginia 
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and the conditions of approval can be found in the December 
15, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 61085-61115). Subsequent actions 
concerning the conditions of approval and program amendments can be 
found at 30 CFR 946.12, 946.13, 946.15, and 946.16.

II. Discussion of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated December 1, 1997 (Administrative Record VA-938), 
the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) submitted 
numerous amendments to the Virginia program. The DMME stated that the 
purpose of the amendments is to address issues identified by OSM 
pursuant to 30 CFR 732.17(d). The DMME stated that the proposed 
amendments are intended to be materially consistent with the 
corresponding Federal standards.
    The proposed amendments are as follows:
    4VAC 25-130-701.5  Definitions. Two definitions are amended: 
``Previously mined area'' and ``other treatment facilities.''
    4VAC 25-130-779.22  Land use information. This provision is 
proposed for deletion.
    4VAC 25-130-779.25  Cross sections, maps, and plans. Subsections 
(a) and (b) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-780.23  Reclamation Plan; Land Use Information. 
Subsections (a), (b), and (c) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-780.25  Reclamation Plan: Siltation Structures, 
Impoundments, Banks, Dams and Embankments. Subsections (a), (b), (c), 
and (f) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-780.35  Disposal of excess spoil. Subsection (b) is 
amended.
    4VAC 25-130-783.25  Cross sections, maps and plans. Subsection (a) 
is amended and renumbered.
    4VAC 25-130-784.15  Reclamation Plan: Land Use Information. The 
existing language is deleted and replaced with new language.
    4VAC 25-130-784.16  Reclamation Plan: Siltation Structures, 
Impoundments, Banks, Dams, and Embankments. Subsections (a), (b), (c), 
and (f) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-784.23  Operation plan; maps and plans. Subsections (b) 
and (c) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-800.40  Requirements for release of performance bond. 
New subsection (a)(3) is added.
    4VAC 25-130-816.46  Hydrologic balance; siltation structures. 
Subsections (a), (b), and (c) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-816.49  Impoundments. Subsections (a) and (c) are 
amended.
    4VAC 25-130-816.74  Disposal of excess spoil; preexisting benches. 
Subsections (a) through (g) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-816.81  Coal mine waste; general requirements. 
Subsections (a) and (c) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-816.89  Disposal of noncoal mine wastes. Subsection (d) 
is deleted.
    4VAC 25-130-816.104  Backfilling and grading; thin overburden. The 
existing introductory paragraph is

[[Page 67017]]

deleted and replaced by new language, and existing paragraph (a) is 
revised and renumbered.
    4VAC 25-130-816.105  Backfilling and grading; thick overburden. The 
existing introductory paragraph is deleted and replaced by new 
language, and existing paragraph (a) is revised and renumbered.
    4VAC 25-130-817.46  Hydrologic balance; siltation structures. 
Subsections (a), (b), and (c) are amended.
    4VAC 25-130-817.49  Impoundments. Subsections (a) and (c) are 
amended.
    4 VAC 25-130-817.74  Disposal of excess spoil; preexisting benches. 
Subsections (a) through (g) are amended.
    4 VAC 25-130-817.81  Coal mine waste; general requirements. 
Subsections (a) and (c) are amended.
    4 VAC 25-130-817.89  Disposal of noncoal mine Wastes. Subsection 
(d) is deleted.
    4 VAC 25-130-823.11  Applicability. Subsection (a) is amended.
    4 VAC 25-130-840.11  Inspections by the division. Subsections (f), 
(g), and (h) are amended.
    4 VAC 25-130-843.14  Service of notices of violation, cessation 
orders, and show cause orders. Subsection (a)(2) is amended.
    4 VAC 25-130-845.17  Procedures for assessment of civil penalties. 
Subsection (b) is amended.
    4 VAC 25-130-845.18  Procedures for assessment conference. 
Subsections (a) and (b), and new subsection (d) is added.
    4 VAC 25-130-845.19  Request for hearing. Subsection (a) is 
amended.
    4 VAC 25-130-846.17  Assessment of an individual civil penalty. 
Subsection (b)(3) is deleted and replaced by a new subsection (c).

III. Public Comment Procedures

    In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), OSM is now 
seeking comment on whether the amendments proposed by Virginia satisfy 
the applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If the 
amendments are deemed adequate, they will become part of the Virginia 
program.

Written Comments

    Written comments should be specific, pertain only to the issues 
proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of the 
commenter's recommendations. Comments received after the time indicated 
under DATES or at locations other than the Big Stone Gap Field Office 
will not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included 
in the Administrative Record.

Public Hearing

    Persons wishing to comment at the public hearing should contact the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by close of 
business on January 7, 1998. If no one requests an opportunity to 
comment at a public hearing, 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 responses and appropriate questions.
    The public hearing will continue on the specified date until all 
persons scheduled to comment have been heard. Persons in the audience 
who have not been scheduled to comment, and who wish to do so, will be 
heard following those scheduled. The hearing will end after all persons 
scheduled to comment and persons present in the audience who wish to 
comment have been heard.

Public Meeting

    If only one person requests an opportunity to comment at a hearing, 
a public meeting, rather than a public hearing, may be held. Persons 
wishing to meet with OSM representatives to discuss the proposed 
amendments may request a meeting at the Big Stone Gap Field Office 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 part 
of the Administrative Record.
    Any disabled individual who has need for a special accommodation to 
attend a public hearing should contact the individual listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

VI. 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 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 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 
counterpart 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 counterpart Federal regulations.

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.

[[Page 67018]]

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 946

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: December 10, 1997.
Allen D. Klein,
Regional Director, Appalachian Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 97-33431 Filed 12-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M