[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 49 (Thursday, March 13, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11805-11807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-6352]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 906

[SPATS No. CO-034-FOR]


Colorado 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.

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    Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is 
announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Colorado regulatory 
program (hereinafter, the ``Colorado program'') under the Surface 
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed 
amendment consists of, in addition to several nonsubstantive editorial 
revisions, revisions to Colorado's rules pertaining to (1) the 
applicability of Colorado's rules and language identifying where 
referenced material may be viewed; (2) definitions; (3) the requirement 
to repeal any State rule required by a Federal law or rule which is 
repealed; (4) the operations plan permit application requirements; (5) 
experimental practices; (6) the right of successive permit renewal; (7) 
transfer, assignment or sale of permit rights; (8) terms and conditions 
of an irrevocable letter of credit; (9) performance standards for 
sedimentation ponds; (10) embankment design for sedimentation ponds; 
(11) sign and markers for temporary and permanent cessation of 
operations; (12) availability of records; and (13) a permittee's 
failure to abate a violation. The amendment is intended to revise the 
Colorado program to clarify ambiguities and improve operational 
efficiency.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., M.D.T., April 
14, 1997. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will 
be held on April 7, 1997. Requests to present oral testimony at the 
hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., M.D.T., on March 28, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to James 
F. Fulton at the address listed below.
    Copies of the Colorado program, the proposed amendment, 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 
requester may receive one free copy of the proposed amendment by 
contacting OSM's Denver Field Division.

James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, 
Colorado 80202-5733
Michael B. Long, Director, Division of Minerals and Geology, Department 
of Natural Resources, 1313 Sherman St., Room 215, Denver, Colorado 
80203, Telephone: (303) 866-3567

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Telephone: (303) 844-
1424.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Colorado Program

    On December 15, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved

[[Page 11806]]

the Colorado program. General background information on the Colorado 
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and the conditions of approval of the Colorado program can be 
found in the December 15, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 82173). 
Subsequent actions concerning Colorado's program and program amendments 
can be found at 30 CFR 906.11, 906.15, and 906.16.

II. Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated February 25, 1997, Colorado submitted a proposed 
amendment (administrative record No. CO-683) to its program pursuant to 
SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Colorado submitted the proposed 
amendment at its own initiative. Colorado proposed to revise the 
following provisions of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation 
Act, Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.):
    C.R.S. 34-33-1.01 and 1.01(9), concerning applicability of 
Colorado's rules, to include the statements, respectively, that ``[a] 
written statement on the basis and purpose of the amendments to these 
Rules adopted by the Board on December 18, 1996 is hereby incorporated 
in these Rules by reference pursuant to C.R.S. 1995, 24-4-103(4) and is 
available at the Office of the Mined Land Reclamation Board'' and 
``[a]ll materials [cited in these rules] incorporated by reference are 
available for inspection at State Publications Depository Libraries, 
through inter-library loan, and at the Division office located in Room 
215, Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado 80203. 
The Division Director can provide further information regarding how the 
incorporated material may be obtained or examined;''
    C.R.S. 34-33-104(4), concerning the definition of ``[a]ctive mining 
area,'' to remove the parenthetical reference stating ``as used in 
4.05.2(7);''
    C.R.S. 34-33-1.04(21), concerning definition of ``[c]oal,'' to 
remove language identifying where material incorporated by reference 
may be viewed;
    C.R.S. 34-33-104(41), concerning the definition of ``[e]mployee,'' 
to add the parenthetical statement ``regarding employee financial 
interests in Section 1.10;''
    C.R.S. 34-33-1.13, concerning the requirement to repeal any State 
rule required by a Federal law or rule which is repealed, to require 
that the repeal of the State rule become effective ninety, rather than 
sixty, days after publication of the repeal of the Federal rule in the 
Federal Register;
    C.R.S. 34-33-2.05.3(3)(b)(i)(D), concerning the operations plan 
permit application requirements for mine facilities, to remove a 
reference to ``design requirements'' where discussing exemptions for 
existing structures at 2.07.6;
    C.R.S. 34-33-2.05.3(3)(c)(ii), concerning the operations plan 
permit application requirements for mine facilities, to correct the 
referenced citations to performance standards for roads, conveyors, or 
road systems;
    C.R.S. 34-33-2.06.2(3), concerning experimental practices, to 
require the approval of the Director of OSM as the authorized 
representative of the Secretary of the United States Department of 
Interior;
    C.R.S. 34-33-2.06.6(2)(a)(i), concerning requirements for permit 
applications involving prime farmlands, to delete language identifying 
where referenced material may be viewed;
    C.R.S. 34-33-2.08.5(2)(b)(ii), concerning the right of successive 
permit renewal, to require that a copy of the newspaper notice to be 
placed in a local newspaper in accordance with the requirements of 
2.07.3(2) with proof of publication made a part of the renewal 
application not later than 4 weeks after the last date of publication;
    C.R.S. 34-33-2.08.6(6), concerning transfer, assignment or sale of 
permit rights, to require that (1) the Division shall initially notify 
the appropriate parties of its ``proposed'' decision, (2) if no 
informal hearing is requested, the Division shall issue and implement 
the proposed decision as final within 5 days after the close of the 30 
day period provided for the filing of a request for a formal hearing, 
and (3) no permit shall be transferred until the applicant has filed a 
performance bond with the Division and the Division has approved it;
    C.R.S. 34-33-3.02.4(2)(d)(i), concerning terms and conditions of an 
irrevocable letter of credit, to provide that the letter of credit may 
be issued by a bank not located in the State of Colorado if the letter 
is confirmed by a bank located in the State, or if, at the Board's 
discretion, the letter is determined to be an acceptable letter of 
credit;
    C.R.S. 34-33-4.02.2(2) and 4.30.1(3) and 2(3), concerning signs and 
markers and cessation of operations, respectively, to (1) notify OSM 
that it never promulgated previously proposed and approved language 
requiring the mine identification sign to include the name, address, 
and telephone number of the Division office where the mining and 
reclamation permit is filed, and (2) require that as soon as a 
temporary cessation extends beyond 30 days or when operations have 
permanently ceased, the operator shall modify the mine identification 
sign to include the name, address, and telephone number of the Division 
office where the mining and reclamation permit is filed, until such 
time as the Division terminates jurisdiction over the surface coal 
mining operation;
    C.R.S 34-33-4.05.6(6)(a), concerning performance standards for 
sedimentation ponds, to require that a pond meeting the size criteria 
of 4.05.6(12) be designed to control, at a minimum, the probable 
maximum precipitation of a 25-year 24-hour event, rather than a 24-hour 
event;
    C.R.S. 34-33-4.05.6(11)(h), concerning embankment design for 
sedimentation ponds, to correct the referenced citation for size 
criteria;
    C.R.S. 34-33-5.02.4(1), concerning availability of records, to 
require that (1) all but confidential information be available to the 
public at the Division office and at a convenient place in the area of 
mining to which the information pertains until ``the Division has 
terminated jurisdiction at the surface coal mining operation, pursuant 
to 3.03.3(1), and (2) after the Division has terminated jurisdiction, 
copies of all but confidential information will be maintained and 
available for public review, or provided promptly by mail at the 
request of interested parties, for at least 5 years after the 
expiration of the period during which the subject operation is active 
or is covered by any portion of a reclamation bond, whichever is later; 
and
    C.R.S. 34-33-5.03.3(5), concerning a permittee's failure to abate a 
violation, to correct the referenced citation for an order to show 
cause.

III. Public Comment Procedures

    In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), OSM is 
seeking comments on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the 
applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If the amendment 
is deemed adequate, it will become part of the Colorado program.

1. 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 Denver Field Office will not 
necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in the 
administrative record.

[[Page 11807]]

2. Public Hearing

    Persons wishing to testify at the public hearing should contact the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., 
M.D.T., on March 28, 1997. 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. The location 
and time of the hearing will be arranged with those persons requesting 
the hearing. If no one requests an opportunity to testify at the 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 testify have been heard. Persons in the audience 
who have not been scheduled to testify, and who wish to do so, will be 
heard following those who have been scheduled. The hearing will end 
after all persons scheduled to testify and persons present in the 
audience who wish to testify have been heard.

3. Public Meeting

    If only one person requests an opportunity to testify 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 
amendment may 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, notices of meetings will be posted at the 
locations listed under ADDRESSES. A written summary of each meeting 
will be made a part of the administrative record.

IV. Procedural Determinations

1. 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).

2. 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 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 the Federal regulations at 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.

3. 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)).

4. 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.).

5. 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 that 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.

6. 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 906

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: March 5, 1997.
Richard J. Seibel,
Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 97-6352 Filed 3-12-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M