Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Proposed Rules 17141

§ 3192.12 What activities may Tribes or

States perform under cooperative

agreements?

Activities carried out under the

cooperative agreement must be in

accordance with the policies of the

appropriate BLM State or field office

and as specified in the agreement, and

may include—

(a) Inspecting tribal oil and gas leases

for compliance with BLM regulations;

(b) Issuing initial Notices of Incidents

of Non-Compliance, Form 3160–9, and

Notices to Shut Down Operation, Form

3160–12;

(c) Conducting investigations; or

(d) Conducting oil transporter

inspections.

§ 3192.13 What activities must BLM keep?

(a) Under cooperative agreements,

BLM continues to—

(1) Issue Notices of Incidents of

Noncompliance that impose monetary

assessments and penalties;

(2) Collect assessments and penalties;

(3) Calculate and distribute shared

civil penalties;

(4) Train and certify Tribal or State

inspectors;

(5) Issue and control inspector

identification cards; and

(6) Identify leases to be inspected,

taking into account the priorities of the

Tribe.

(b) Entering into a cooperative

agreement does not affect the right of

BLM to enter lease sites to conduct

inspections, enforcement, investigations

or other activities necessary to supervise

lease operations.

§ 3192.14 What are the requirements for

Tribal or State inspectors?

(a) BLM must certify Tribal or State

inspectors before they conduct

independent inspections on Indian oil

and gas leases.

(b) The standards for certifying Tribal

or State inspectors must be the same as

the standards used for certifying BLM

inspectors.

(c) Tribal and State inspectors must

satisfactorily complete on-the-job and

classroom training in order to qualify for

certification.

(d) Tribal or State inspectors must

not—

(1) Inspect the operations of

companies in which they, a member of

their immediate family, or their

immediate supervisor, have a direct

financial interest; or

(2) Use for personal gain, or gain by

another person, information he or she

acquires as a result of his or her

participating in the cooperative

agreement.

§ 3192.15 May cooperative agreements be

terminated?

(a) Cooperative agreements may be

terminated at any time if all parties

agree to the termination in writing.

(b) BLM may terminate an agreement

without Tribal or State agreement if

the—

(1) Tribe or State fails to carry out the

terms of the agreement; or

(2) Agreement is no longer needed.

§ 3192.16 How will I know if BLM intends

to terminate my agreement?

(a) If BLM plans to terminate your

agreement because you did not carry out

the terms of the agreement, BLM must

send a notice to you that lists the

reasons BLM plans to terminate the

agreement.

(b) You must send BLM a plan to

correct the problems BLM listed in the

notice.

(c) If you submit a plan for correction

and BLM approves the plan, you have

30 days to correct the problem(s).

(d) If you have not corrected the

problem within 30 days, BLM will send

you a second termination notice.

(e) If you do not respond to the

second notice within 30 days, BLM will

terminate the agreement.

§ 3192.17 Can BLM reinstate cooperative

agreements that have been terminated?

(a) If your cooperative agreement was

terminated by consent, you may request

that BLM reinstate the agreement.

(b) If BLM terminated an agreement

because you did not carry out the terms

of the agreement, you must prove that

you have corrected the problem(s) and

are able to carry out the terms of the

agreement.

(c) BLM will then decide whether or

not your cooperative agreement may be

reinstated and, if so, whether you must

make any changes to the agreement

before it can be reinstated.

§ 3192.18 Can I appeal a BLM decision?

Yes, you may appeal a BLM decision

under the provisions of 43 CFR part 4.

Dated: March 31, 1997.

Bob Armstrong,

Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals

Management.

[FR Doc. 97–9100 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

43 CFR Parts 3400, 3410, 3420, 3440,

3450, 3460, 3470, 3480

[WO–320–1320–02–1A]

RIN 1004–AD11

Coal Management Regulations

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed

rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) requests comments

to assist in the revision of its regulations

governing coal operations on Federally

leased lands. The purpose of the

revision is to clarify and streamline

current processes and policies related to

exploration and post-lease actions and

to comply with the President’s

Government-wide regulatory reform

initiative to eliminate, streamline, or

rewrite regulations in plain English. The

proposed rule will reorganize, clarify

and revise portions of the existing

Federal coal management program

regulations, including exploration

licenses, lease suspensions, lease

administration, diligence, and

exploration and mining operations on

leased Federal coal. Many of the

changes contemplated will be

administrative and procedural in nature

and provide more explicit and coherent

direction for situations not anticipated

by the existing regulations.

DATES: BLM will accept comments until

5:00 p.m. Eastern time on May 9, 1997.

BLM will not necessarily consider

comments received after this time in

developing the proposed rule or include

them in the administrative record.

ADDRESSES: Commenters may mail

written comments to the Bureau of Land

Management, Administrative Record,

Room 401LS, 1849 C Street, NW,

Washington, D.C. 20240; or handdeliver written comments to the Bureau

of Land Management, Administrative

Record, Room 401, 1620 L Street, NW,

Washington, D.C. See the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for

the electronic access and filing address.

Comments will be available for public

review at the L Street address from 7:45

a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Eastern time, Monday

through Friday, excluding Federal

holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill

Radden-Lesage, (202) 452–0350

(Commercial or FTS).
17142 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Proposed Rules

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Comment Procedures

II. Background

III. Description of Information Solicited

I. Public Comment Procedures

Your written comments should be

specific; be confined to issues outlined

in the notice; explain the reason for any

recommended change; and where

possible, reference the specific section

or paragraph of the current regulations

which you are addressing. BLM

appreciates any and all comments, but

those most useful and likely to

influence decisions on the content of

the proposed rule are those that either

are supported by quantitative

information or studies or include

citations to and analyses of the

applicable laws and regulations. Except

for comments provided in electronic

format, commenters should submit two

copies of their written comments, where

practicable. Comments received after

the time indicated under the DATES

section or at locations other than those

listed in the ADDRESSES section will not

necessarily be considered or included in

the administrative record of this rule.

Electronic Access and Filing Address

Commenters may transmit comments

electronically via the Internet to

WOComment@wo.blm.gov. Please

submit comments as an ASCII file and

avoid the use of special characters or

encryption. Please include ‘‘Attn:

AD11’’ and your name and address in

your message. If you do not receive a

confirmation from the system that we

have received your Internet message,

contact us directly at (202) 452–5030.

II. Background

On July 12, 1991, BLM published a

proposed rule to simplify and

streamline existing Federal coal

management program regulations at 43

CFR Parts 3400, 3410, 3420, 3440, 3450,

3460, 3470, and 3480 (56 FR 32002).

This rule proposed to revise portions of

the existing Federal coal management

program regulations, specifically those

relating to exploration licenses, lease

suspensions, lease management,

diligence, and exploration. In response

to this proposal, BLM received 31 sets

of comments. The initial comment

period was to close on September 12,

1991, but was extended an additional 30

days, closing on October 12, 1991.

Subsequently, BLM completed its

analysis and prepared a draft final rule.

On March 4, 1995, the President

issued a memorandum to all Federal

Departments and Agencies directing

them to simplify their regulations. BLM

reviewed its rules and identified about

1,000 pages in the Code of Federal

Regulations that would be eliminated,

streamlined or rewritten in ‘‘plain

English.’’ Because the draft rules were

written before the regulatory reform

initiative, they were not written in plain

English and therefore, required

redrafting.

In October 1996, the National Mining

Association (NMA) requested that BLM

repropose this rulemaking due to the

Association’s perception that substantial

restructuring and other changes in the

electric utility industry have occurred

since the comment period on the 1991

proposed rule. NMA asserted that

additional public comment was

warranted due to deregulation of the

electric transmission industry,

implementation of the Clean Air Act

Amendments of 1990, the need to

preserve industry’s flexibility to

accommodate dynamic changes in coal

markets, and the need to avoid imposing

additional regulatory burdens. BLM also

received a request from a Senator in a

prominent coal-producing State

objecting to final promulgation of the

1991 regulations due to his concern that

there have been changes in the market

since 1991. To give interested members

of the public the opportunity to identify

any changes in the industry and coal

markets which may not have been

considered in the 1991 proposal and to

recommend regulatory modifications

that may be warranted as a consequence

of these changed circumstances, BLM

withdrew the 1991 rulemaking on its

coal management program on February

14, 1997 (see 62 FR 6910). This notice

is intended to solicit additional

information relating to any relevant

changes which have occurred since

1991 in the coal industry and coal

markets and how such changes affect

BLM’s regulatory program.

III. Description of Information Solicited

Many of the changes BLM is planning

to make are for the purpose of

streamlining and clarifying the coal

management regulations. Readers

should note that BLM does not plan to

address public participation in the coal

leasing process in this rulemaking effort.

That topic will be addressed separately,

in connection with a pending case,

Environmental Policy Institute v. Baca,

No. 93–5029 (D.C.Cir.), appealing NRDC

v. Jamison, 815 F.Supp. 454 (1992).

Therefore, BLM is not soliciting

comments on public participation in the

coal leasing process at this time. Nor is

BLM now soliciting additional comment

on issues raised by our pending logical

mining units rule, which was proposed

on December 28, 1994 (59 FR 66874).

Areas we are considering for proposed

revision include, but are not limited to

the following:

• Definitions of terms, including

‘‘commercial quantities,’’ ‘‘continued

operation,’’ and ‘‘maximum economic

recovery;’’

• Incidental exploration;

• Duration of licenses to mine;

• Application of 30 U.S.C.

201(a)(2)(A) to lessee qualifications;

• Acceptable payment instruments

for fees and rentals;

• Clarification that the 8% royalty

rate for coal produced by underground

mining operations does not apply to

existing leases issued with a higher

royalty rate;

• Types of lease assignments

requiring BLM approval;

• Notification requirements for lease

readjustments;

• Use of the Office of Surface Mining

Applicant Violator System under 30

CFR 773.15(b) to screen applicants;

• Lease suspensions;

• Use or sale of coal extracted for

‘‘test burns’’;

• Royalty rate reductions; and

• Inspection and enforcement and

production verification.

Other revisions to the current coal

management regulations may also be

considered, but in general, the scope of

this rulemaking is expected to be

limited to exploration and post-lease

actions.

BLM requests specific quantitative

information and documentation as to:

(1) changes in the coal industry and

markets since 1991;

(2) how these changes relate to the

current rules;

(3) the impacts of these changes (and

their extent or magnitude) on coal

operations on Federal lands and nonFederal lands; and

(4) any suggestions as to how these

impacts can be addressed within the

current statutory or regulatory

framework, and if they cannot be

addressed within the current

regulations, the need for and nature of

any regulatory changes suggested.

We also welcome suggestions for

consolidation, reorganization, and

improvements in clarity and readability.

Dated: April 3, 1997.

Sylvia V. Baca,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and

Minerals Management.

[FR Doc. 97–9101 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P