Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2001 / Proposed Rules 34137

other personnel from the IRS and

Treasury participated in its

development.

List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 1

Income taxes, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirement.

Withdrawal of Notices of Proposed

Rulemaking

Accordingly, under the authority of

26 U.S.C. 7805, the notices of proposed

rulemaking published in the Federal

Register on July 31, 1984 (49 FR 30528)

and August 31, 1984 (49 FR 34523) are

withdrawn.

Robert E. Wenzel,

Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

[FR Doc. 01–16021 Filed 6–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 918

[SPATS No. LA–020–FOR]

Louisiana Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment

period and opportunity for public

hearing.

SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is

announcing receipt of a proposed

amendment to the Louisiana regulatory

program (Louisiana program) under the

Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).

Louisiana proposes to add standards for

measuring revegetation success on

pastureland. Louisiana intends to revise

the Louisiana program to be consistent

with the corresponding Federal

regulations and to improve operational

efficiency.

This document gives the times and

locations that the Louisiana program

and the proposed amendment to that

program are available for your

inspection, the comment period during

which you may submit written

comments on the amendment, and the

procedures that we will follow for the

public hearing, if one is requested.

DATES: We will accept written

comments until 4 p.m., c.d.t., July 27,

2001. If requested, we will hold a public

hearing on the amendment on July 23,

2001. We will accept requests to speak

at the hearing until 4 p.m., c.d.t. on July

12, 2001.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand

deliver written comments and requests

to speak at the hearing to Michael C.

Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office, at

the address listed below.

You may review copies of the

Louisiana program, the 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 Tulsa Field Office.

Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa

Field Office, Office of Surface Mining,

5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 470, Tulsa,

Oklahoma 74135–6547, Telephone:

(918) 581–6430.

Louisiana Department of Natural

Resources, Office of Conservation,

Injection and Mining Division, 625 N .

4th Street, P. O. Box 94275, Baton

Rouge, LA 70804, Telephone: (504) 342–

5540.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa

Field Office. Telephone: (918) 581–

6430. Internet: mwolfrom@osmre.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Louisiana

Program

On October 10, 1980, the Secretary of

the Interior approved the Louisiana

program. You can find background

information on the Louisiana program,

including the Secretary’s findings and

the disposition of comments in the

October 10, 1980, Federal Register (45

FR 67340). You can find later actions

concerning the Louisiana program at 30

CFR 918.15 and 918.16.

II. Description of the Proposed

Amendment

By letter dated June 1, 2001

(Administrative Record No. LA–365.04),

Louisiana sent us an amendment to its

program under SMCRA and the Federal

regulations at 30 CFR 732.17(b).

Louisiana sent the amendment in

response to our letters dated March 24,

1999, and August 16, 2000, that we sent

to Louisiana under 30 CFR 732.17

(Administrative Record Nos. LA–365

and LA365.01, respectively). Below is a

summary of the revegetation success

guidelines proposed by Louisiana. The

full text of the program amendment is

available for your inspection at the

locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

1. Section A: Introduction

Section A describes the purpose of the

revegetation success guidelines for

pastureland. It also summarizes the

State regulation at Louisiana

Administrative Code (LAC) 43:XV.5423

that applies to ground cover and

production success on pastureland.

2. Section B: General Revegetation

Requirements

Section B describes the

determinations that the Commissioner

of Conservation (Commissioner) must

make in order for the requirements of

LAC 43:XV.5417 to be considered

satisfied. LAC 43:XV.5417 provides

general requirements for revegetation of

all approved post-mining land uses.

3. Section C: Success Standards and

Measurement Frequency

Section C provides success standards

and measurement frequency

information for ground cover and forage

production. It also provides

requirements for reference areas.

4. Section D: Sampling Procedures

Section D.1. provides standards for

sampling pastureland. Section D.2.a.

describes approved methods for

measuring ground cover. Section D.2.b.

describes factors that may affect

production yields. It also describes

approved methods for evaluating

production. Section D.3. provides

criteria for choosing and using test

plots. Finally, section D.4. describes

how to determine the size of a sample

for ground cover and productivity.

5. Section E: Data Submission and

Analysis

Section E describes when and how a

permittee should submit data to the

Commissioner for review.

6. Section F: Maps

Section F describes what a permittee

must include on the maps he or she

submits when submitting a proposed

reclamation phase III release or data

from a previously approved plan to the

Commissioner.

7. Section G: Mitigation Plans

Section G describes when a permittee

must submit a mitigation plan to the

Commissioner. It also describes what

the mitigation plan must include.

8. Appendices

Appendix A describes how to choose

horizontal and vertical coordinates in

establishing the location of sampling

sites on the reclaimed area. Appendices

B, C, and D provide formats for

submitting data on ground cover,

sampling frames, and whole release area

harvesting, respectively. Appendix E

provides T-Tables for use in calculating

sample adequacy of ground cover and

productivity data. Appendices F and G

34138 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2001 / Proposed Rules

provide examples of using the sample

adequacy formula for ground cover and

hay production measurements,

respectively. Appendices H, I, and J

provide examples for performing

statistical analysis on ground cover

measurements, sampling frame data,

and whole release area harvesting,

respectively. Appendix K provides the

average yields per acre of pasture by soil

for DeSoto and Red River Parishes. It

also describes how to calculate yield

adjustments when test plots and

reference plots fall on different soil

series. Appendix L provides examples

of some acceptable plant species for

permanent ground cover. Finally,

Appendix M provides a list of

references.

III. Public Comment Procedures

Under the provisions of 30 CFR

732.17(h), we are seeking comments on

whether the proposed amendment

satisfies the applicable program

approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we

approve the amendment, it will become

part of the Louisiana program.

Written Comments: If you submit

written or electronic comments on the

proposed rule during the 30-day

comment period, they should be

specific, should be confined to issues

pertinent to the notice, and should

explain the reason for your

recommendation(s). We may not be able

to consider or include in the

Administrative Record comments

delivered to an address other than the

one listed above (see ADDRESSES).

Electronic Comments: Please submit

Internet comments as an ASCII,

WordPerfect, or Word file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption. Please also include ‘‘Attn:

SPATS NO. LA–020–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 Tulsa

Field Office at (918) 581–6430.

Availability of Comments: Our

practice is to make comments, including

names and home addresses of

respondents, available for public review

during regular business hours at OSM’s

Tulsa Field Office (see ADDRESSES).

Individual respondents may request that

we withhold their home address from

the administrative record, which we

will honor to the extent allowable by

law. There also may be circumstances in

which we would withhold from the

administrative record a respondent’s

identity, as allowable by law. If you

wish us to withhold your name and/or

address, you must state this

prominently at the beginning of your

comment. However, we will not

consider anonymous 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 inspection 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., c.d.t. on July 12,

2001. We will arrange the location and

time of the hearing with those persons

requesting the hearing. If no one

requests an opportunity to speak at the

public hearing, the hearing will not be

held.

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 testimony. The public

hearing will continue on the specified

date until all persons scheduled to

speak have 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 all persons scheduled to

speak and persons present in the

audience who wish to speak have been

heard.

If you are disabled and need a special

accommodation to attend a public

hearing, contact the person listed under

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Public Meeting: If only one person

requests an opportunity to speak at a

hearing, a public meeting, rather than a

public hearing, may be held. If you wish

to meet with us to discuss the proposed

amendment, you may request a meeting

by contacting the person listed under

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All

such meetings are open to the public

and, if possible, we will post notices of

meetings at the locations listed under

ADDRESSES. We will also make a written

summary of each meeting a part of the

Administrative Record.

IV. Procedural Determinations

Executive Order 12866—Regulatory

Planning and Review

This rule is exempted from review by

the Office of Management and Budget

under Executive Order 12866.

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 13132—Federalism

This rule does not have federalism

implications. 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 503(a)(1) of

SMCRA requires that State laws

regulating surface coal mining and

reclamation operations be ‘‘in

accordance with’’ the requirements of

SMCRA, and section 503(a)(7) requires

that State programs contain rules and

regulations ‘‘consistent with’’

regulations issued by the Secretary

under SMCRA.

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

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 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

Section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C.

1292(d)) provides that a decision on a

proposed State regulatory program

provision does not constitute a major

Federal action within the meaning of

section 102(2)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42

U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). A determination has

been made that such decisions are

categorically excluded from the NEPA

process (516 DM 8.4.A).

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule does not contain

information collection requirements that

require approval by the Office of

Management and Budget under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3507 et seq.).

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2001 / Proposed Rules 34139

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.

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, federal, state, or

local government agencies, or

geographic regions.

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 rule 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 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 918

Intergovernmental relations, Surface

mining, Underground mining.

Dated: June 11, 2001.

John W. Coleman,

Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent

Regional Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 01–16039 Filed 6–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[C0–001–0063b; FRL–7000–8]

Determination of Attainment for the

Carbon Monoxide National Ambient Air

Quality Standard for Metropolitan

Denver; State of Colorado

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This proposed action makes a

determination of attainment for the

carbon monoxide (CO) National

Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)

for the metropolitan Denver CO

nonattainment area which was

classified as ‘‘serious.’’ The Denver area

was required by the Clean Air Act

Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 to attain

the CO NAAQS by December 31, 2000.

This determination is based on

complete, quality assured ambient air

quality monitoring data for the years

1998, 1999, and 2000. In the Final Rules

section of this Federal Register, EPA is

approving the determination of

attainment for the carbon monoxide CO

NAAQS for the metropolitan Denver CO

nonattainment area as a direct final rule

without prior proposal because the

Agency views this action as

noncontroversial and anticipates no

adverse comments. A detailed rationale

for the approval is set forth in the direct

final rule. If no adverse comments are

received in response to this proposed

rule, no further activity is contemplated

in relation to this rule. If EPA receives

adverse comments, the direct final rule

will be withdrawn and all public

comments received will be addressed in

a subsequent final rule based on this

proposed rule. EPA will not institute a

second comment period on this action.

Any parties interested in commenting

on this action should do so at this time.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be received in writing by July 27,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be

mailed to: Richard R. Long, Director, Air

and Radiation Program, Mailcode 8P–

AR, United States Environmental

Protection Agency, Region VIII, 999

18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado

80202–2466.

Copies of the documents relevant to

this action are available for public

inspection between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00

p.m., Monday through Friday at the

following office:

United States Environmental

Protection Agency, Region VIII, Air

Program, 999 18th Street, Suite 300,

Denver, Colorado 80202–2466

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim

Russ, Air and Radiation Program,

Mailcode 8P–AR, United States

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region VIII, 999 18th Street, Suite 300,

Denver, Colorado 80202–2466;

Telephone number (303) 312–6479

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See the

information provided in the Direct Final

action of the same title which is located

in the Rules section of this Federal

Register.

Dated: June 13, 2001.

Jack W. McGraw,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region VIII.

[FR Doc. 01–15874 Filed 6–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[NC95–200034b; FRL–6994–1]

Approval and Promulgation of

Implementation Plans; North Carolina:

Approval of Revisions to

Miscellaneous Volatile Organic

Compounds Regulations Within the

North Carolina State Implementation

Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to

approve the State Implementation Plan

(SIP) revision submitted by the State of

North Carolina for the purpose of

adopting, amending and repealing

regulations relating to volatile organic

compounds (VOCs). In the Final Rules

Section of this Federal Register, the

EPA is approving the State’s SIP

revision as a direct final rule without

prior proposal because the Agency

views this as a noncontroversial

submittal and anticipates no adverse

comments. A detailed rationale for the

approval is set forth in the direct final

rule. If no significant, material, and

adverse comments are received in

response to this rule, no further activity

is contemplated. If EPA receives adverse

comments, the direct final rule will be

withdrawn and all public comments

received will be addressed in a

subsequent final rule based on this rule.

The EPA will not institute a second

comment period on this document. Any

parties interested in commenting on this

document should do so at this time.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before July 27, 2001.