43974 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 29, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

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 rulemaking 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 

certifies that this rulemaking 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 rulemaking, 

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. 

In making the determination as to 

whether this rulemaking would have a 

significant economic impact, the 

Department relied upon the data and 

assumptions for the counterpart Federal 

regulations. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

This rulemaking is not a major rule 

under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act. This rulemaking: (a) Does 

not have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million; (b) Will not 

cause a major increase in costs or prices 

for consumers, individual industries, 

Federal, State, or local government 

agencies, or geographic regions; and (c) 

Does not have significant adverse effects 

on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to 

compete with foreign-based enterprises. 

This determination is based upon the 

fact that the State submittal, which is 

the subject of this rulemaking, is based 

upon counterpart Federal regulations for 

which an analysis was prepared and a 

determination made that the Federal 

regulation was not considered a major 

rule. 

Unfunded Mandates 

This rulemaking will not impose an 

unfunded mandate on State, local, or 

tribal governments or the private sector 

of $100 million or more in any given 

year. This determination is based upon 

the fact that the State submittal, which 

is the subject of this rulemaking, is 

based upon counterpart Federal 

regulations for which an analysis was 

prepared and a determination made that 

the Federal regulation did not impose 

an unfunded mandate. 

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 901 

Intergovernmental relations, Surface 

mining, Underground mining. 

Dated: August 16, 2018. 

Alfred L. Clayborne, 

Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 30 CFR part 901 is amended 

as set forth below: 

PART 901—ALABAMA 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 901 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. 

■ 2. Section 901.15 is amended in the 

table by adding an entry for ‘‘Alabama 

Administrative Code 880–X–8B–.07’’ in 

chronological order by ‘‘Date of final 

publication’’ to read as follows: 

§ 901.15 Approval of Alabama regulatory 

program amendments. 

* * * * * 

Original amendment submission date Date of final publication Citation/description 

*******

August 14, 2017 ..................................... August 29, 2018 ..................................... Alabama Administrative Code 880–X–8B–.07. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18716 Filed 8–28–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

30 CFR Part 901 

[SATS No. AL–081–FOR; Docket ID: OSM– 

2017–0006; S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 

189S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 

SX064A000 18XS501520] 

Alabama Regulatory Program 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule; approval of 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 

(OSMRE), are approving an amendment 

to the Alabama regulatory program 

(Alabama program) under the Surface 

Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 

1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Alabama 

proposed revisions to its program to 

allow the Alabama Surface Mining 

Commission (ASMC) to revise its 

current permit fee collection procedures 

from the term of the mine permit to 

enable the collection of permit fees over 

the entire life of the mine. The revision 

also defines the life of the mine to be 

from the issuance of the permit through 

the full release of the performance bond. 

DATES: The effective date is September 

28, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Joseph, Acting Director, 

Birmingham Field Office, Office of 

Surface Mining Reclamation and 

Enforcement, 135 Gemini Circle, Suite 

215, Homewood, Alabama 35209. 

Telephone: (205) 290–7282. Email: 

bjoseph@osmre.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Alabama Program 

II. Submission of the Amendment 

III. OSMRE’s Findings 

IV. Summary and Disposition of Comments 

V. OSMRE’s Decision 

VI. Procedural Determinations 

I. Background on the Alabama 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, State laws 

and regulations that govern surface coal 

mining and reclamation operations in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Act and consistent with the Federal 

regulations. See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) 

and (7). On the basis of these criteria, 

the Secretary of the Interior 

conditionally approved the Alabama 

program effective May 20, 1982. You 

can find background information on the 

Alabama program, including the 

Secretary’s findings, the disposition of 

comments, and the conditions of 

approval of the Alabama program in the 

May 20, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 

22030). You can also find later actions 

concerning the Alabama program and 

program amendments at 30 CFR 901.10, 

901.15, and 901.16. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 29, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 43975 

II. Submission of the Amendment 

By email dated June 21, 2017 

(Administrative Record No. AL–0671), 

Alabama sent us an amendment to its 

program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 

et seq.) at its own initiative. 

We announced the receipt of the 

proposed amendment in the January 29, 

2018, Federal Register (83 FR 4011). In 

the same document, we opened the 

public comment period and provided an 

opportunity for a public hearing or 

meeting on the adequacy of the 

amendment. We did not hold a public 

hearing or meeting because no one 

requested one. The public comment 

period ended on February 28, 2018. We 

received 13 public comments 

(Administrative Record No. AL–0671– 

03) that are addressed in the Public 

Comments section of IV, Summary and 

Disposition of Comments, below. 

III. OSMRE’s Findings 

We are approving the amendment as 

described below. The following are 

findings we made concerning Alabama’s 

amendment under SMCRA and the 

Federal regulations at 30 CFR 732.15 

and 732.17. Any revisions that we do 

not specifically discuss below 

concerning non-substantive wording or 

editorial changes can be found in the 

full text of the program amendment 

available at www.regulations.gov. 

Code of Alabama Section 9–16–83 

Permits—Contents of application; 

reclamation plan; copy of application 

filed for public inspections; insurance; 

blasting plan. 

Alabama proposed revisions to its 

regulations at Code of Alabama section 

9–16–83, allowing the ASMC to revise 

its current permit fee collection 

procedures from the term of the mine 

permit to enable the collection of permit 

fees over the entire life of the mine. The 

revision also defines the life of the mine 

to mean the term of the permit and the 

time required to successfully complete 

all surface coal mining and reclamation 

activities and obtain a full release of the 

performance bond for each bonded area. 

We find that Alabama’s proposed 

amendments do not make its rules or 

regulations less effective than the 

Federal regulations governing permit 

fees found at 30 CFR 777.17. Therefore, 

we are approving Alabama’s revision. 

IV. Summary and Disposition of 

Comments 

Public Comments 

We asked for public comments on the 

amendment. As noted in section II, we 

received 13 comments (Administrative 

Record No. AL–0671–03). The 13 

commenters provided comments that 

were outside the scope of the proposed 

amendment and not germane to the 

topic of surface coal mining in general. 

We are not addressing these comments 

in this final rule for these reasons. The 

full texts of these comments are 

available at www.regulations.gov. 

Federal Agency Comments 

On July 27, 2017, pursuant to 30 CFR 

732.17(h)(11)(i) and section 503(b) of 

SMCRA, we requested comments on the 

amendment from various Federal 

agencies with an actual or potential 

interest in the Alabama program 

(Administrative Record No. AL–0671– 

02). We did not receive any comments. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

Concurrence and Comments 

Under 30 CFR 732.17(h)(11)(ii), we 

are required to get a written concurrence 

from EPA for those provisions of the 

program amendment that relate to air or 

water quality standards issued under 

the authority of the Clean Water Act (33 

U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) or the Clean Air Act 

(42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). None of the 

revisions that Alabama proposed to 

make in this amendment pertain to air 

or water quality standards. Therefore, 

we did not ask EPA to concur on the 

amendment. However, on July 27, 2017, 

under 30 CFR 732.17(h)(11)(i), we 

requested comments from the EPA on 

the amendment (Administrative Record 

No. AL–0671–02). The EPA did not 

respond to our request. 

State Historical Preservation Officer 

(SHPO) and the Advisory Council on 

Historic Preservation (ACHP) 

Under 30 CFR 732.17(h)(4), we are 

required to request comments from the 

SHPO and ACHP on amendments that 

may have an effect on historic 

properties. On July 27, 2017, we 

requested comments on the amendment 

(Administrative Record No. AL–0671– 

02). We did not receive any comments. 

V. OSMRE’s Decision 

Based on the above findings, we are 

approving the Alabama amendment that 

was submitted on June 21, 2017, 

(Administrative Record No. AL–0671). 

To implement this decision, we are 

amending the Federal regulations at 30 

CFR part 901 that codify decisions 

concerning the Alabama program. In 

accordance with the Administrative 

Procedure Act, this rule will take effect 

30 days after the date of publication. 

Section 503(a) of SMCRA requires that 

the State’s program demonstrate the 

State has the capability of carrying out 

the provisions of the Act and meeting its 

purposes. SMCRA requires consistency 

of State and Federal standards. 

VI. Procedural Determinations 

Executive Order 12630—Takings 

This rulemaking does not have 

takings implications. This 

determination is based on the analysis 

performed for the counterpart Federal 

regulation. 

Executive Order 12866—Regulatory 

Planning and Review 

Pursuant to Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Guidance dated October 

12, 1993, the approval of state program 

amendments is exempted from OMB 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice 

Reform 

The Department of the Interior has 

reviewed this rule as required by 

Section 3(a) of Executive Order 12988. 

The Department has determined that 

this Federal Register document meets 

the criteria of Section 3 of Executive 

Order 12988, which is intended to 

ensure that the agency review its 

legislation and proposed regulations to 

minimize litigation; and that the 

agency’s legislation and regulations 

provide a clear legal standard for 

affected conduct rather than a general 

standard, and promote simplification 

and burden reduction. Because Section 

3 focuses on the quality of Federal 

legislation and regulations, the 

Department limited its review under 

this Executive Order to the quality of 

this Federal Register document and to 

changes to the Federal regulations. The 

review under this Executive Order did 

not extend to the language of the State 

regulatory program or to the program 

amendment that the State of Alabama 

drafted. 

Executive Order 13132—Federalism 

This rule is not a ‘‘[p]olicy that [has] 

Federalism implications’’ as defined by 

Section 1(a) of Executive Order 13132, 

because it does not have ‘‘substantial 

direct effects on the States, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government.’’ Instead, this rule 

approves an amendment to the Alabama 

program submitted and drafted by that 

State. OSMRE reviewed the submission 

with fundamental federalism principles 

in mind as set forth in Section 2 and 3 

of the Executive Order and with the 

principles of cooperative federalism as 

set forth in SMCRA. See, e.g., 30 U.S.C. 

1201(f). As such, pursuant to Section 

503(a)(1) and (7) (30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) 

and (7)), OSMRE reviewed the program 

amendment to ensure that it is ‘‘in 


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43976 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 29, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

accordance with’’ the requirements of 

SMCRA and ‘‘consistent with’’ the 

regulations issued by the Secretary 

pursuant to SMCRA. 

Executive Order 13175—Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

In accordance with Executive Order 

13175, we have evaluated the potential 

effects of this rulemaking on Federallyrecognized Tribes and have determined 

that the rulemaking does not have 

substantial direct effects on one or more 

Tribes, on the relationship between the 

Federal government and Tribes, or on 

the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Tribes. The basis for 

this determination is that our decision 

is on a State regulatory program and 

does not involve Federal regulations 

involving Indian lands. 

Executive Order 13211—Regulations 

That Significantly Affect the Supply, 

Distribution, or Use of Energy 

Executive Order 13211 of May 18, 

2001, requires agencies to prepare a 

Statement of Energy Effects for a 

rulemaking that is (1) considered 

significant under Executive Order 

12866, and (2) likely to have a 

significant adverse effect on the supply, 

distribution, or use of energy. Because 

this rulemaking is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866 and is not 

expected to have a significant adverse 

effect on the supply, distribution, or use 

of energy, a Statement of Energy Effects 

is not required. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

This rulemaking does not require an 

environmental impact statement 

because 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 rulemaking 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 

certifies that this rulemaking 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 rulemaking, 

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. 

In making the determination as to 

whether this rulemaking would have a 

significant economic impact, the 

Department relied upon the data and 

assumptions for the counterpart Federal 

regulations. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

This rulemaking is not a major rule 

under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act. This rulemaking: (a) Does 

not have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million; (b) Will not 

cause a major increase in costs or prices 

for consumers, individual industries, 

Federal, State, or local government 

agencies, or geographic regions; and (c) 

Does not have significant adverse effects 

on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to 

compete with foreign-based enterprises. 

This determination is based upon the 

fact that the State submittal, which is 

the subject of this rulemaking, is based 

upon counterpart Federal regulations for 

which an analysis was prepared and a 

determination made that the Federal 

regulation was not considered a major 

rule. 

Unfunded Mandates 

This rulemaking will not impose an 

unfunded mandate on State, local, or 

Tribal governments or the private sector 

of $100 million or more in any given 

year. This determination is based upon 

the fact that the State submittal, which 

is the subject of this rulemaking, is 

based upon counterpart Federal 

regulations for which an analysis was 

prepared and a determination made that 

the Federal regulation did not impose 

an unfunded mandate. 

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 901 

Intergovernmental relations, Surface 

mining, Underground mining. 

Dated: August 16, 2018. 

Alfred L. Clayborne, 

Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 30 CFR part 901 is amended 

as set forth below: 

PART 901—ALABAMA 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 901 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. 

■ 2. Section 901.15 is amended in the 

table by adding an entry for ‘‘Code of 

Alabama Section 9–16–83’’ in 

chronological order by ‘‘Date of final 

publication’’ to read as follows: 

§ 901.15 Approval of Alabama regulatory 

program amendments. 

* * * * * 

Original amendment submission date Date of final publication Citation/description 

*******

June 21, 2017 ........................................ August 29, 2018 ..................................... Code of Alabama Section 9–16–83. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18719 Filed 8–28–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES