Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 82 /Wednesday, April 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules 23405

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

OSM has determined and certifies

pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq.) that

this rule will not impose a cost of $100

million or more in any given year on

local, state, or tribal governments or

private entities.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 901

Intergovernmental relations, Surface

mining, Underground mining.

Dated: April 21, 1998.

Brent Wahlquist,

Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional

Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 98–11342 Filed 4–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 935

[OH–218–FOR; Amendment Number 61R]

Ohio Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of

public comment period.

SUMMARY: OSM is reopening the public

comment period on a proposed

amendment to the Ohio regulatory

program (hereinafter referred to as the

‘‘Ohio program’’) under the Surface

Mining Control and Reclamation Act of

1977 (SMCRA). This amendment

provides that areas reclaimed following

the removal of temporary structures that

are part of the sediment control system,

such as sedimentation ponds, roads, and

small diversions, are not subject to a

revegetation responsibility period and

bond liability period separate from that

of the permit area or increment thereof

served by such facilities. The

amendment also authorizes as a

husbandry practice that not restart the

revegetation responsibility period, the

repair of damage to land and/or

established permanent vegetation that

has been unavoidably disturbed. The

amendment is intended to improve

operational efficiency of the Ohio

program.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before 4:00 p.m. on May

29, 1998. If requested, a public hearing

on the proposed amendments will be

held on May 26, 1998. Requests to

present oral testimony at the hearing

must be received on or before 4:00 p.m.

on May 14, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

requests to speak at the hearing should

be mailed or delivered to George Rieger,

Field Branch Chief, Appalachian

Regional Coordinating Center, at the

address listed below.

Copies of the Ohio 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 requester may receive

one free copy of the proposed

amendment by contacting the OSM

Field Branch, Appalachian Regional

Coordinating Center.

George Rieger, Field Branch Chief,

Appalachian Regional Coordinating

Center, Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, 3

Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15220

Telephone: (412) 937–2153.

Ohio Division of Mines and

Reclamation, 1855 Fountain Square

Court, Columbus, Ohio 43224,

Telephone: (614) 265–1076.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

George Rieger, Field Branch Chief,

Appalachian Regional Coordinating

Center, Telephone: (412) 937–2153.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Ohio Program

On August 16, 1982, the Secretary of

the Interior conditionally approved the

Ohio program. Background information

on the Ohio program, including the

Secretary’s findings, the disposition of

comments, and the conditions of

approval can be found in the August 10,

1982, Federal Register (47 FR 34688).

Subsequent actions concerning

conditions of approval and program

amendments can be found at 30 CFR

935.11, 935.15, and 935.16.

II. Description of the Proposed

Amendment

By letter dated February 11, 1993

(Administrative Record No. OH–1831),

Ohio submitted proposed Program

Amendment Number 61 concerning

augmentative practices. OSM

announced receipt of this amendment in

the April 1, 1993, Federal Register (58

FR 17173) and, in the same notice,

opened the public comment period and

provided opportunity for a public

hearing on the adequacy of the proposed

amendment. The public comment

period closed on May 3, 1993. Since no

one requested an opportunity to provide

testimony at a public hearing, the

scheduled hearing was canceled.

By letter dated June 11, 1993

(administrative Record No. OH–1888),

Ohio submitted additional revisions to

this proposed amendment. OSM

announced receipt of the revised

amendment in the July 6, 1993, Federal

Register (58 FR 36177), and, in the same

notice, reopened the public comment

period and again provided an

opportunity for a public hearing. The

public comment period closed on July

21, 1993. On August 16, 1993 (58 FR

43261), OSM approved most of the

proposed amendment, but deferred

decision on Ohio Administrative Code

(OAC) 1501:13–9–15(F) (5), (6), and (7)

concerning nonaugmentative practices.

OSM reopened a public comment

period on September 15, 1993 (58 FR

48333) for the provisions OAC 1501:13–

9–15(F) (6) and (7) as originally

submitted on February 11, 1993, and

revised on June 11, 1993, with regard to

removal of sedimentation ponds and

associated areas. The comment period

closed on October 15, 1993. This notice

also included similar proposed

revisions to the Kentucky and Illinois

regulations as well as a discussion of

OSM’s proposed policy concerning

restart of the revegetation responsibility
23406 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 82 /Wednesday, April 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules

period upon the removal of required

sedimentary control structures.

By letter dated April 14, 1998

(Administrative Record Number OH–

2175–00), Ohio submitted revised

language of the Program Amendment

# 61R. Subsection (f)(4) provides for

practices that will not be considered

augmentative when the practice and the

rate of applecation is an accepted local

practice for comparable unmined lands

that can be expected to continue as a

postmining practice. Subsection (F)(5)

provides for the nonaugmentative repair

of areas that held required sediment

control structures. Subsection (F)(6)

provides the minimum time that

vegetation established or reestablished

under subsections (F)(4)(c) and (F)(5)

must have been seeded prior to a

request for Phase III bond release. The

proposed language is as follows.

OAC 1501:13–9–15(F)(4)

(c) Reseeding and adding soil

amendments when necessary to repair

damage to land and/or established

permanent vegetation, that is

unavoidably disturbed in order to meet

the reclamation standards of this

chapter, provided that:

(I) The damage is not caused by a lack

of planning, design, or implemention of

the mining and reclamation plan,

inappropriate reclamation practices on

the part of the permittee, or the lack of

established permanent vegetation; and

(II) The total acreage of repaired areas

under paragraphs (F)(4) (b) & (c) of this

rule does not exceed ten percent of the

total land affected, with no individual

area exceeding three acres.

OAC 1501:13–9–15(F)(5)

Reseeding of areas that have been

unavoidably disturbed in the course of

gaining access for removal of structures

that are part of the sediment control

system or initial seeding of areas upon

which the sediment control system was

located and subsequently removed will

not restart the period of extended

responsibility for revegetation success.

OAC 1501:13–9–15(F)(6)

For the purposes of paragraphs

(F)(4)(c) and (F)(5) of this rule,

permanent vegetation that is established

or reestablished on these areas must

have been seeded a minimum of twelve

months prior to the request for Phase III

bond release.

III. Public Comment Procedures

In accordance with the provisions of

30 CFR 732.17(h), OSM is now seeking

comments on the proposed

amendments. Comments should address

whether the amendments satisfy the

applicable program approval criteria of

30 CFR 732.15. If the amendments are

deemed adequate, they will become part

of the Ohio program.

Written Comments

Written comments should be specific,

pertain only to the issues proposed in

this notice and include explanations in

support of the commenter’s

recommendations. Comments received

after the time indicated under DATES or

at locations other than the Appalachian

Regional Coordinating Center will not

necessarily be considered in the final

rulemaking or included in the

Administrative Record.

Public Hearing

Persons wishing to testify at the

public hearing should contact the

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT by the close of

business on May 14, 1998. If no one

requests an opportunity to testify at the

public hearing by that date, 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 remarks

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

scheduled. The hearing will end after all

persons scheduled to testify and persons

present in the audience who wish to

testify have been heard.

Public Meeting

If only one person or group requests

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

amendments 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 in advance at

the locations listed under ADDRESSES. A

written summary of each public meeting

will be made a part of the

Administrative Record.

IV. 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 12778

(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 corresponding 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

corresponding Federal regulations.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 82 /Wednesday, April 29, 1998 / Proposed Rules 23407

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 935

Intergovernmental relations, Surface

mining, Underground mining.

Dated: April 21, 1998.

Michael K. Robinson,

Acting Regional Director, Appalachian

Regional Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 98–11281 Filed 4–28–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 943

[SPATS No. TX–035–FOR]

Texas Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening and

extension of public comment period on

proposed amendment.

SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of

revisions pertaining to a previously

proposed amendment to the Texas

regulatory program (hereinafter referred

to as the ‘‘Texas program’’) under the

Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The

revisions for Texas’ proposed

regulations pertain to terms and

conditions of the bond, release of

performance bond, backfilling and

grading, and prime farmland.

The amendment is intended to revise

the Texas program to be consistent with

the corresponding Federal regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by 4:00 p.m., c.d.t., May 14,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be mailed or hand delivered to Michael

C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office

at the address listed below.

Copies of the Texas 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 Tulsa Field Office.

Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa

Field Office, Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, 5100

East Skelly Drive, Suite 470, Tulsa,

Oklahoma 74135–6547, Telephone:

(918) 581–6430.

Surface Mining and Reclamation

Division, Railroad Commission of

Texas, 1701 North Congress Avenue,

P.O. Box 12967, Austin, Texas 78711–

2967, Telephone: (512) 463–6900.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa

Field Office, Telephone: (918) 581–

6430.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Texas Program

II. Discussion of the Proposed Amendment

III. Public Comment Procedures

IV. Procedural Determinations

I. Background on the Texas Program

On February 16, 1980, The Secretary

of the Interior conditionally approved

the Texas program. General background

information on the Texas program,

including the Secretary’s findings, the

disposition of comments, and the

conditions of approval can be found in

the February 27, 1980, Federal Register

(45 FR 12998). Subsequent actions

concerning the Texas program can be

found at 30 CFR 943.10, 943.15, and

943.16.

II. Discussion of the Proposed

Amendment

By letter dated December 1, 1997

(Administrative Record No. TX–644),

Texas submitted a proposed amendment

to its program pursuant to SMCRA.

Texas submitted the proposed

amendment in response to a June 17,

1997, letter (Administrative Record No.

640) that OSM sent to Texas in

accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(c).

Texas proposed to amend Chapter 12 of

the Texas Administrative Code (TAC).

OSM announced receipt of the

proposed amendment in the December

29, 1997, Federal Register (62 FR

67598) and invited public comment on

its adequacy. The public comment

period ended January 28, 1998.

During its review of the amendment,

OSM identified concerns relating to

release of performance bond and

backfilling and grading. OSM notified

Texas of the concerns by letter dated

February 12, 1998 (Administrative

Record No. TX–644.06). Texas

responded in a letter dated March 6,

1998 (Administrative Record No. TX–

644.07), by submitting the following

revisions to its proposed amendment:

1. § 12.309, Terms and Conditions of

the Bond. Texas proposed the following

new provision at §12.309(1):

Persons with an interest in collateral

posted as a bond, and who desire notification

of actions pursuant to the bond, shall request

the notification in writing to the Commission

at the time collateral is offered.

2. § 12.312, Procedure for Seeking

Release of Performance Bond. at

§ 12.312(b)(2), Texas proposed to

replace citation references to

‘‘§ 12.313(c)’’ with citation references to

‘‘§ 12.313(d).’’

3. § 12.387, Backfilling and Grading—

This Overburden. Texas revised its

proposal at § 12.387(2) to require the

permittee to meet the requirements of

§§ 12.385 and 12.386 (relating to

Backfilling and Grading: General

Requirements, and to Backfilling and

Grading: Covering Coal and Acid- and

Toxic-Forming Materials). Texas

previously proposed only to require the

permittee to meet the requirements of

§ 12.385.

4. § 12.388, Backfilling and Grading—

Thick Overburden. Texas revised its

proposal at § 12.388(2) to require the

permittee to meet the requirements of

§§ 12.385 and 12.386 (relating to

Backfilling and Grading: General

Requirements, and to Backfilling and

Grading: Covering Coal and Acid-and

Toxic-Forming Materials). Texas

previously proposed only to require the

permittee to meet the requirements of

§ 12.385.

5. 12.620, Prime Farmland—

Applicability and Special Requirements.

Texas withdrew the previously

proposed revisions to this section of its

regulations.

III. Public Comment Procedures

OSM is reopening the comment

period on the proposed Texas program

amendment to provide the public an

opportunity to reconsider the adequacy

of the proposed amendment in light of

the additional materials submitted. 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

Texas 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 Tulsa Field Office will

not necessarily be considered in the

final rulemaking or included in the

Administrative Record.