[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10520-10522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4683]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 902


Alaska Permanent Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), 
Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public 
hearing on proposed program amendment.

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing the receipt of a proposed amendment to the 
Alaska permanent regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Alaska 
program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 
(30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) (SMCRA). The proposed amendment consists of 
revisions to rules pertaining to fees, adoption by reference, general 
permitting requirements, permit application information requirements, 
environmental resource information requirements, reclamation and 
operation plan, processing of permit applications, permitting for 
special categories of mining, exploration, small operator assistance 
program, bonding, performance standards, inspection and enforcement, 
and general provisions. The amendment is intended to revise the Alaska 
program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations, 
clarify ambiguities, and improve operational efficiency. The amendment 
consists of proposed changes to the Alaska program as required by Part 
902.16 of the Code of Federal Regulations and program deficiency 
letters dated November 1, 1989, February 7, 1990, and January 15, 1993.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.s.t. March 29, 
1995. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will be 
held on March 24, 1995. Requests to present oral testimony at the 
hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.s.t. on March 14, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to Guy 
Padgett at the address listed below.
    Copies of the Alaska program, the proposed amendment, and all 
written comments received in response to this notice 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 contracting OSM's 
Casper Field Office.

Guy Padgett, Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, Casper Field Office, 100 East B Street, Room 2128, Casper, 
WY 82601-1918, (307) 261-5776
Mr. Jules Tileston, Director, Division of Mining and Water Resources, 
Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 3601 C Street, Suite 800, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99503-5935, (907) 762-5163

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy Padgett, Director, Telephone: 
(307) 261-5776.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Background on the Alaska Program
    On March 23, 1983, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally 
approved the Alaska program as administered by the Alaska Department of 
Natural Resources. General background information on the Alaska 
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and conditions of approval of the Alaska program can be found 
in the March 23, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 12274). Subsequent 
actions concerning Alaska's program and program amendments can be found 
at 30 CFR 902.15 and 902.16.

II. Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated January 26, 1995 and FAX transmittals dated 
February 13 and 14, 1994 (Administrative Record No. AK IV-01), Alaska 
submitted proposed Amendment IV to its permanent program pursuant to 
SMCRA (SPATS AK-004-FOR). Alaska's proposed Amendment IV consists of: 
changes to the Alaska program as required by 30 CFR Part 902.16; 
changes in response to program deficiency letters from OSM dated 
November 1, 1989, February 7, 1990, and January 15, 1993; and changes 
to Alaska's own initiative. The provisions of the Alaska Administrative 
Code (AAC) that Alaska proposes to revise are: 11 AAC 05.010(a)(9) and 
11 AAC 90.011, fees; 11 AAC 90.001, adoption of rules by reference; 11 
AAC 90.002, responsibilities; 11 AAC 90.003, interim permits; 11 AAC 
90.023, identification of interests and compliance information; 11 AAC 
90.025, authority to enter and ownership information; 11 AAC 90.045(a), 
geology description; 11 AAC 90.049, surface water information; 11 AAC 
90.083(b), reclamation plan requirements, roads; 11 AAC 90.097, 
transportation facilities; 11 AAC 90.099, placement of coal mine waste 
in underground workings; 11 AAC 90.117, processing of permit 
applications; 11 AAC 90.125, commissioner's findings; 11 AAC 90.126, 
improvidently issued permits; 11 AAC 90.127, permit conditions; 11 AAC 
90.129, permit revisions and renewals; 11 AAC 90.149, alluvial valley 
floors; 11 AAC 90.163, exploration that substantially disturbs or is 
conducted in areas designated unsuitable for mining; 11 AAC 90.173, 
eligibility for small operator assistance; 11 AAC 90.207, self-bonding 
provisions; 11 AAC 90.321, hydrologic balance; 11 AAC 90.323, water 
quality standards; 11 AAC 90.325, diversions and conveyance of flow; 11 
AAC 90.327, stream channel diversions; 11 AAC 90.336, impoundment 
design and construction; 11 AAC 90.337, impoundment inspection; 11 AAC 
90.341, underground mine discharges; 11 AAC 90.345, surface and ground 
water monitoring; 11 AAC 90.375, public notice of blasting; 11 AAC 
90.391, disposal of excess spoil or coal mine waste; 11 AAC 90.401, 
coal mine waste, refuse piles; 11 AAC 90.407, coal mine waste, dams and 
embankments; 11 AAC 90.409, coal mine waste, return to underground 
workings; 11 AAC 90.423, protection of fish and wildlife; 11 AAC 
90.443, backfilling and grading; 11 AAC 90.457, Revegetation success 
standards; 11 AAC 90.491, construction and maintenance of roads and 
other transportation and support facilities; 11 AAC 90.601, 
inspections; 11 AAC 90.613, cessation orders, 11 AAC 90.901, 
applicability; 11 AAC 90.902, exception for coal extraction incidental 
to the extraction of other minerals; 11 AAC 90.907, public 
participation; and 11 AAC 90.911, definitions.
    Specifically, Alaska proposes to:

--Revise 11 AAC 05.010(a)(9) and 90.011 to move the regulatory 
requirements for permit fees to the fee provisions for the whole 
department, and to set a fee for incidental boundary revisions;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.002 and delete 90.003, to eliminate provisions for 
continued operation or exploration under interim permits;
--Repeal and readopt 11 AAC 90.023 to clarify and add requirements for 
identification of ownership and control interests and compliance 
histories;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.025 to require ownership information for owners, 
lessees, and purchasers of record of [[Page 10521]] the surface and 
coal to be affected and owners of record of surface and mineral estates 
contiguous to the proposed permit area;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.045 to clarify the geologic strata for which permit 
application information is required.
--Revise 11 AC 90.049 to add ``alkalinity'' as a parameter required in 
surface water information;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.083 to require plans and schedule for road 
reclamation;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.097 to require descriptions of temporary fords and 
low water crossings;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.117(b) to clarify conditional permit issuance when 
unabated violations are under appeal;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.125 to add written findings regarding unabated 
violations for application approval or permit issuance;
--Add a new rule at 11 AAC 90.126 regarding permits subsequently found 
to have been improvidently issued due to unabated violations, including 
requirements for abatement plans or permit suspension or revocation;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.127 to require updates of ownership and control 
information when certain cessation orders are issued;
--Repeal and readopt 11 AAC 90.129 to add additional application 
requirements and procedures for major revisions, to revise the time 
schedules for processing of revisions, and to clarify that revisions 
are processed separately from associated renewal applications;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.149 to require that permit application information 
for alluvial valley floors include factors contributing to the 
collection and storage of water, regulation of flow of ground or 
surface waters, and water availability;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.163 to require a permit application for exploration 
in areas designated unsuitable for mining, for removal of more than 250 
tons of coal under an exploration permit to require that coal testing 
is necessary for development of a surface coal mining operation for 
which a permit will soon be submitted, and to require that the 
demonstration must evidence that the entire reserve will not be removed 
and that other means of exploration are not adequate;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.173 to alter the proportions of coal produced by 
other operations that would be attributed to an applicant for small 
operator assistance under various ownership and control scenarios;
--Add at 11 AAC 90.207 new requirements for self-bonding;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.321, 90.325, 90.327, and 90.341 to replace the 
phrases ``water treatment facility[ies],'' ``treatment facilities,'' 
and ``erosion control structures'' with the phrase ``siltation 
structures;''
--Revise 11 AAC 90.336 to require spillways for a 100-year, 6-hour 
storm event for impoundments meeting the criteria of 30 CFR 77.216(a), 
and for a 25-year, 6-hour storm event for impoundments not meeting 
those criteria;
--Add a new requirement at 11 AAC 90.337 that all impoundments be 
inspected quarterly for structural weakness or other hazardous 
conditions;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.345 to require that surface water monitoring be 
conducted at both upstream and downstream monitoring sites in all 
receiving water bodies;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.391 to allow coal mine waste to be placed in excess 
spoil fills under certain circumstances, and to add requirements for 
slope protection and revegetation or other surface protection;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.401 to grant the commissioner discretion in allowing 
less than four feet of cover on refuse piles;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.407 to provide spillway design and operation for 
dams and embankments of coal mine waste that meet the criteria of 30 
CFR 77.216(a);
--Revise 11 AAC 90.423 to require reports of state-listed or federally-
listed species, to add consultation requirements for determining 
whether the operation may proceed, and to add requirements for, on 
request, informing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of certain 
resource information;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.443 to require that all spoil generated and all 
reasonably available spoil be used to backfill remining operations, and 
to allow for use of spoil for blending in non-steep slope areas;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.457 to require, for some land uses, consultation 
with state agencies in specifying stocking and planting requirements, 
to add utility and time-in-place requirements for woody species to be 
counted, and to specify normal husbandry practices;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.491 to add design, construction, maintenance, and 
reclamation requirements for roads and facilities;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.601 by adding new requirements allowing the 
commission to establish inspection frequency on certain abandoned 
sites;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.603 by adding new requirements for updating 
ownership and control information after issuance of a cessation order;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.901 by adding provisions allowing for termination of 
jurisdiction and reassertion of jurisdiction in specified 
circumstances;
--Add a new rule at 11 AAC 90.902 specifying the requirements for 
exemption from regulation for coal extraction incidental to the 
extraction of other minerals;
--Revise 11 AAC 90.907 to allow for provision of documents to the 
public by mail in some instances, and to require the availability of 
documents for five years after bond release;
--Repeal and readopt 11 AAC 90.911 (definitions), including revision or 
addition of the definitions of ``alluvial valley floor,'' 
``applicant,'' ``best technology currently available,'' ``coal,'' 
``collateral bond,'' ``commissioner,'' ``compaction,'' ``cumulative 
measurement period,'' ``cumulative production,'' ``cumulative 
revenue,'' ``current assets,'' ``current liabilities,'' ``department,'' 
``existing structure,'' ``fixed assets,'' ``fragile land,'' ``historic 
land,'' ``imminent danger to the health and safety of the public,'' 
``incidental boundary revision,'' ``intermittent stream,'' 
``irreparable damage to the environment,'' ``liabilities,'' ``major 
revision,'' ``mining area,'' ``natural hazard land,'' ``net worth,'' 
``operation,'' ``operator,'' ``other minerals,'' ``ownership or 
control,'' ``parent corporation,'' ``perennial stream,'' ``performing 
any function or duty under this Act,'' ``permanent,'' ``permit,'' 
``permit area,'' ``permittee,'' ``person,'' ``previously mined area,'' 
``reclamation plan,'' ``significant imminent environmental harm to 
land, air, or water resources,'' ``siltation structure,'' ``soil 
horizons,'' ``soil survey,'' ``surface coal mining and reclamation 
operation,'' ``surface coal mining operations,'' ``[SMCRA],'' 
``tangible net worth,'' ``topsoil,'' and ``unwarranted failure to 
comply''; and
--In the above and in other rules, make minor editorial and 
codification revisions.
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 [[Page 10522]] program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. 
If the amendment is deemed adequate, it will become part of the Alaska 
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 Casper Field Office will not 
necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in the 
administrative record.

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.s.t. on March 14, 1995. 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 specific 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 12778

    The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required 
by section 2 of Executive Order 12778 (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.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 902

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

    Dated: February 21, 1995.
Peter A. Rutledge,
Acting Assistant Director, Western Support Center.
[FR Doc. 95-4683 Filed 2-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M