Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 186 / Monday, September 25, 2000 / Proposed Rules 57581

(iv) Hypophosphorous acid and its

salts

* * * * *

Dated: August 30, 2000.

Julio F. Mercado,

Deputy Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–24553 Filed 9–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–09–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 926

[SPATS No. MT–021–FOR]

Montana Abandoned Mine Land

Reclamation Plan

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment

period and opportunity for public

hearing on proposed amendment.

SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is

announcing receipt of a proposed

amendment to the Montana abandoned

mine land reclamation (AMLR) plan

(hereinafter, the ‘‘Montana plan’’) under

the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).

Montana proposes revisions to a statute

about AMLR reclamation, proposes

deletion of the AMLR rules in the

Administrative Rules of Montana

(ARM), and proposes a plan of

reorganization of the AMLR program.

Montana intends to revise its AMLR

plan to be consistent with SMCRA, meet

the requirements of the Federal

regulations, and improve operational

efficiency.

DATES: We will accept written

comments on this amendment until 4

p.m., m.d.t., October 25, 2000. If

requested, we will hold a public hearing

on the amendment on October 20, 2000.

We will accept requests to speak until

4 p.m., m.d.t., October 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: You should mail, hand

deliver, or e-mail written comments and

requests to speak at the hearing to Guy

Padgett at the address listed below.

You may review copies of the

Montana plan, this amendment, a listing

of any scheduled public hearings, and

all written comments received in

response to this document 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 Casper Field Office.

Guy Padgett, Director, Casper Field

Office, Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, 100

East ‘‘B’’ Street, Federal Building,

Room 2128, Casper, Wyoming 82601–

1918, Telephone: (307) 261–6550.

Vic Anderson, Chief, Mine Waste

Cleanup Bureau, Remediation

Division, Montana Department of

Environmental Quality, 1520 E. Sixth

Ave., P.O. Box 20091, Helena, MT

59620–0901, Telephone: (406) 444–

4972.

Steve Welch, Chief, Industrial and

Energy Minerals Bureau, Montana

Department of Environment Quality,

1520 E. Sixth Ave., P.O. Box 200901,

Telena, MT 59620–0901, Telephone:

(406) 444–4964.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy

Padgett, Telephone: (307) 261–6550,

Internet address: gpadgett@osmre.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Montana Plan.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment.

III. Public Comment Procedures.

IV. Procedural Determinations.

I. Background on the Montana Plan

On November 24, 1980, the Secretary

of the Interior conditionally approved

the Montana plan as administered by

the Department of State Lands. You can

find general background information on

the Montana plan, including the

Secretary’s findings, the disposition of

comments, and the conditions of

approval of the Montana plan in the

October 24, 1980, Federal Register (45

FR 70445). You can also find later

actions concerning Montana’s plan and

plan amendments at 30 CFR 926.21 and

926.25.

II. Description of the Proposed

Amendment

By letter dated August 15, 2000,

Montana sent us a proposed amendment

to its plan (SPATS No. MT–021–FOR,

Administrative Record No. MT–18–01)

under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).

Montana sent the amendment in

response to the required plan

amendment at 30 CFR 926.21(a) and at

its own initiative. The full text of the

plan amendment is available for you to

read at the locations listed above under

ADDRESSES.

Montana proposes to delete its AMLR

rule definitions of ‘‘abandoned mine

land reclamation fund,’’ ‘‘emergency,’’

and ‘‘extreme danger’’ at ARM 26.4.301

and its definitions of ‘‘abandoned mine

land reclamation fund,’’ ‘‘emergency,’’

‘‘expended,’’ ‘‘extreme danger,’’ ‘‘fund,’’

‘‘left or abandoned in either an

unreclaimed or inadequately reclaimed

condition,’’ ‘‘Montana abandoned mine

reclamation program,’’ and ‘‘reclamation

activities’’ at ARM 26.4.1231.

Montana proposes to delete the AMLR

rules at ARM 26.41232 through

26.41242, which concern the AMLR

fund, eligible lands and water,

reclamation objectives and priorities,

reclamation project evaluation, consent

to enter lands, land eligible for

acquisition, procedures for acquisition,

acceptance of gifts of land, management

of acquired lands, disposition of

reclaimed lands, and reclamation on

private land.

In lieu of the deleted rules, Montana

intends to rely on the requirements of

its AMLR plan and on the statutory

provisions at Montana Code Annotated

(MCA) 82–4–239, 82–4–371, and 82–4–

445. Montana proposes to revise MCA

82–4–239 to reflect the reorganized

duties of the Board of Environmental

Review and Department of

Environmental Quality. Montana has

changed the wording to delete ‘‘Board’’

and insert ‘‘Department’’ as

approporiate. These proposed revisions

are the same as those proposed by

Montana on May 16, 1995 (SPATS No.

MT–017–FOR, Administrative Record

No. MT–14–01). At that time, OSM

found no problems with the revisions to

MCA 82–4–239 but deferred a decision

on it due to a lack of information

concerning the 1995 Montana

reorganization and its impact on the

AMLR plan. (For more information, see

final rule Federal Register notice, 64 FR

3604, dated January 22, 1999.)

Lastly, in this amendment, Montana

presents its 1995 reorganization moving

the AMLR program from the Department

of State Lands to the Department of

Environmental Quality.

III. Public Comment Procedures

Under the provisions of 30 CFR

884.15(a), OSM requests your comments

on whether the amendment satisfies the

applicable State reclamation plan

approval criteria of 30 CFR 884.14. If we

approve the amendment, it will become

part of the Montana plan.

Written Comments

Send your written comments to OSM

at the address given above. Your written

comments should be specific, pertain

only to the issues proposed in this

rulemaking, and include explanations in

support of your recommendations. In

the final rulemaking, we will not

consider or include in the

Administrative Record any comments

received after the time indicated under

DATES or at locations other than the

Casper Field Office.

57582 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 186 / Monday, September 25, 2000 / Proposed Rules

Electronic Comments

Please submit Internet comments as

an ASCII or WordPerfect file avoiding

the use of special characters and any

form of encryption. Please also include

‘‘Attn: SPATS No. MT–021–FOR’’ and

your name and return address in your

Internet message. If you do not receive

a confirmation that we have received

your Internet message, contact the

Casper Field Office at (307) 261–6550.

Availability of Comments

We will make comments, including

names and addresses of respondents,

available for public review during

normal business hours. We will not

consider anonymous comments. If

individual respondents request

confidentiality, we will honor their

request to the extent allowable by law.

Individual respondents who wish to

withhold their name or address from

public review, except for the city or

town, must state this prominently at the

beginning of their comments. We will

make all submissions from

organizations or businesses, and from

individuals identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public review in their entirety.

Public Hearing

If you wish to speak at the public

hearing, contact the person listed under

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4

p.m., m.d.t., October 10, 2000. If you are

disabled and need special

accommodations to attend a public

hearing, please 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 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 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 will be

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 Determination

Executive Order 12630—Takings

This rule does not have takings

implications. This determination is

based on the analysis performed for the

counterpart Federal regulations.

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.

Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice

Reform

The Department of the Interior has

conducted the reviews required by

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 and

has determined that, to the extent

allowable 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 Montana AMLR plans

and revisions thereof since each such

plan is drafted and promulgated by

Montana, not by OSM. Decisions on

proposed Montana AMLR plans and

revisions thereof submitted by a

Montana AMLR are based on a

determination of whether the submittal

meets the requirements of Title IV of

SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1231–1243) and the

applicable Federal regulations at 30 CFR

Parts 884 and 888.

Executive Order 13132—Federalism

This rule does not have Federalism

implications within the meaning of

Executive Order 13132. SMCRA

delineates the roles of the Federal and

State governments with regard to the

regulation of surface coal mining and

reclamation operations. One of the

purposes of SMCRA is to ‘‘establish a

nationwide program to protect society

and the environment from the adverse

effects of surface coal mining

operations.’’ Section 405 of SMCRA

authorized the creation of State AMLR

programs for the purpose of reclaiming

and restoring land and water resources

adversely affected by past coal mining

operations. Section 405(d) of SMCRA

specifies the criteria for the approval

and disapproval of these State

abandoned mine reclamation programs

which are funded at 100 percent by

grants from the Federal government.

National Environmental Policy Act

No environmental impact statement is

required for this rule since agency

decisions on proposed Montana AMLR

plans and revisions thereof are

categorically excluded from compliance

with the National Environmental Policy

Act (42 U.S.C. 4332) by the Manual of

the Department of the Interior (516 DM

6, appendix 8, paragraph 8.4B(29)).

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 Montana

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 established by

SMCRA or previously promulgated by

OSM will be implemented by Montana.

In making the determination as to

whether this rule would have a

significant economic impact, the

Department relied upon the data and

assumptions in the analyses for the

corresponding Federal regulations.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act

This rule is not a major rule under 5

U.S.C. 804(2), the Small Business

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.

This rule (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, geographic

regions, or Federal, State or local

governmental agencies; 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 Montana submittal which is the

subject of this rule is based upon

counterpart Federal regulations for

which an analysis was prepared and a

determination made that the Federal

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 186 / Monday, September 25, 2000 / Proposed Rules 57583

regulation was not considered a major

rule.

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.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 926

Abandoned mine reclamation

programs, Intergovernmental relations,

Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: September 18, 2000.

Brent Wahlquist,

Regional Director, Western Regional

Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 00–24581 Filed 9–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 926

[SPATS No. MT–020–FOR]

Montana 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: The Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is

announcing receipt of a proposed

amendment to the Montana regulatory

program (hereinafter, the ‘‘Montana

program’’) under the Surface Mining

Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

(SMCRA). Montana proposed revisions

to, and additions of statutes about, the

definition of what constitutes a mine

operator, the notice requirements for

alternate reclamation plans; the use of

introduced species on lands mined,

disturbed, or redisturbed after May 2,

1978, and reseeded prior to January 1,

1984; a new statute section concerning

subsidence; and other editorial

revisions. Montana intends to revise its

program to be consistent with SMCRA,

provide additional safeguard, clarify

ambiguities, and improve operational

efficiency.

DATES: We will accept written

comments on this amendment until 4

p.m., m.d.t. October 25, 2000. If

requested, we will hold a public hearing

on the amendment on October 20, 2000.

We will accept requests to speak until

4 p.m., m.d.t. on October 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: You should mail, hand

deliver, or e-mail written comments and

requests to speak at the hearing to Guy

Padgett at the address listed below.

You may review copies of the

Montana program, this amendment, a

listing of any scheduled public hearings,

and all written comments received in

response to this document 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 Casper Field Office.

Guy Padgett, Director, Casper Field

Office, Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, 100

East ‘‘B’’ Street, Federal Building,

Room 2128, Casper, Wyoming 82601–

1918, Telephone: (307) 261–6550. Steve Welch, Chief, Industrial and

Energy Minerals Bureau, Montana

Department of Environmental Quality,

1520 E. Sixth Ave., P.O. Box 200901,

Helena, MT 59620–0901, Telephone:

(406) 444–4964.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy

Padgett, Telephone: (307) 261–6550.

Internet: gpadgett@osmre.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Montana Program.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment.

III. Public Comment Procedures.

IV. Procedural Determinations.

I. Background on the Montana Program

On April 1, 1980, the Secretary of the

Interior conditionally approved the

Montana program. You can find

background information on the Montana

program, including the Secretary’s

findings, the disposition of comments,

and conditions of approval of the

Montana program in the April 1, 1980,

Federal Register (45 FR 21560). You can

also find later actions concerning

Montana’s program and program

amendments at 30 CFR 926.15, 926.16,

and 926.30.

II. Description of the Proposed

Amendment

By letters dated July 20 and August

17, 2000, Montana sent us a proposed

amendment to its program

(Administrative Record No. MT–17–01)

under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).

Montana sent the amendment in

response to a June 5, 1996, letter

(Administrative Record No. MT–17–03)

that we sent to Montana in accordance

with 30 CFR 732.17(c), and to include

the changes made at its own initiative

by the 1997 State legislature. In

addition, Montana has included

revisions from the 1995 State legislature

which OSM approved in the January 22,

1999, Federal Register (64 FR 3604).

The full text of this program amendment

is available for you to read at the

locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

The provisions of the Montana Code

Annotated (MCA) that Montana

proposes to revise or add are: 82–4–

203(21), MCA (Definitions); 82–4–

232(7), MCA (Area mining requiredbond-alternative plan); 82–4–233, MCA

(Planting of vegetation following

grading of disturbed area); 82–4–243,

MCA (Subsidence); 82–4–253(2), MCA

(Suit for damage to water supply); and

82–4–254(4), MCA (Violation-PenaltyWaiver).

Specifically, Montana proposes to

revise the Montana program to (1)

include uranium mining using in situ

methods in the definition of operator;

(2) require newspaper publication of

alternate reclamation plans; (3) allow

introduced species to compose a major

or dominant component of the

reclaimed vegetation for lands mined,

disturbed, or redisturbed after May 2,

1978, and seeded prior to January 1,

1984; (4) allow for the prompt repair or

compensation for material damage to

any occupied residential dwelling and

related structures and to any

noncommercial building resulting from

subsidence caused by underground

mining operations; (5) promptly replace

any drinking, domestic, or residential

water supply from a well or spring that

was in existence prior to the permit

application that has been affected by

contamination, diminution, or

interruption resulting from underground

coal mining operations; (6) include an

editorial revision to MCA 82–4–253(2);

and (7) propose a revision at MCA 82–

4–254(4) to reflect the 1995 State

reorganization to designate a director of

environmental quality.

III. Public Comment Procedures

Under the provisions of 30 CFR

732.17(h), OSM requests 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

Montana program.

Written Comments

Send your written comments to OSM

at the address given above. Your written

comments should be specific, pertain

only to the issues proposed in this

rulemaking, and include explanations in

support of your recommendations. In

the final rulemaking, we will not

necessarily consider or include in the

Administrative Record any comments

received after the time indicated under

‘‘DATES’’ or at locations other than the

Casper Field Office.

Electronic Comments

Please submit Internet comments as

an ASCII file avoiding the use of special