10520 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 1995 / Proposed Rules

withdrawal, and the reasons for the

withdrawal, to the original requestor.

Dated: February 17, 1995.

William B. Schultz,

Deputy Commissioner for Policy.

[FR Doc. 95–4690 Filed 2–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–01–F

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.

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
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 1995 / Proposed Rules 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 federallylisted 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
10522 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 38 / Monday, February 27, 1995 / Proposed Rules

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

30 CFR Part 913

[IL–089]

Illinois Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment

period and opportunity for public

hearing.

SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of

a proposed amendment to the Illinois

regulatory program (hereinafter referred

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

Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The

proposed amendment consists of

revisions to 23 parts of Title 62 of the

Illinois Administrative Code (IAC)

pertaining to permit fees, definitions,

coal exploration, permitting,

environmental resources, reclamation

plans, special categories of mining,

small operator assistance, bonding,

performance standards, inspection,

enforcement, civil penalties,

administrative and judicial review, and

certification of blasters. The amendment

is intended to revise the Illinois

program to be consistent with the

corresponding Federal regulations,

incorporate the additional flexibility

afforded by the recently revised Federal

regulations, provide additional

safeguards, clarify ambiguities, and

improve operational efficiency.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by 4:00 p.m., [C.S.T.], March

29, 1995. If requested, a public hearing

on the proposed amendment will be

held on March 24, 1995. Requests to

speak at the hearing must be received by

4:00 p.m., [C.S.T.], on March 14, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

requests to speak at the hearing should

be mailed or hand delivered to Mr.