13858 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 1995 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

30 CFR Part VII

Establishment of an Advisory

Committee to Negotiate Regulations

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Secretary of the Interior is

administratively establishing an

advisory committee to be known as the

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement Negotiated

Rulemaking Committee on Coal Refuse

Disposal. This notice is published in

accordance with the Federal Advisory

Committee Act (FACA), and the

Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990. The

notice is attached as an appendix.

The Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)

seeks comments on the establishment of

the advisory committee chartered to

negotiate a rule on Coal Refuse Disposal,

and nominations for its membership.

Issues to be considered by the advisory

committee include general permits,

baseline hydrologic studies and

hydrologic requirements at refuse sites,

the application of valid existing rights to

coal refuse sites, the collection of

Abandoned Mine Land fees from

companies processing coal refuse for

reuse, and other environmental

protection standards. OSM anticipates

that the negotiation process will help

resolve at least some of these

outstanding issues.

DATES: Interested parties may file

comments and/or nominations for

Committee Membership on or before

April 13, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written Comments: Handdeliver to the Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement,

Administrative Record, room 660, 800

North Capitol Street, Washington, DC:

or mail to the Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement,

Administrative Record, room 660 NC,

1951 Constitution Avenue NW.,

Washington, DC 20240. Comments may

also be sent electronically through the

Internet to: OSMRULES@OSMRE.GOV.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Melanie Wilson, Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,

1951 Constitution Avenue NW., room

52, Washington, DC 20240, (202) 208–

4609. For the hearing impaired, contact

TTD (202) 208–2737.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Negotiated Rulemaking

II. Subject and Scope of Rule for Negotiated

Rulemaking

III. How Does Negotiated Rulemaking Work?

IV. What is the Purpose of the Committee?

V. How are Committee Members Selected?

VI. Who Has Been Contacted to Participate in

this Process?

VII. Will All of These Groups Participate in

the Regulatory Negotiation Process?

VIII. How Can You Participate in the Process?

I. Negotiated Rulemaking

The purpose of a negotiated

rulemaking committee (or ‘‘reg neg’’ as

it is frequently called) is to develop a

consensus on a proposed rule. Before

establishing such a committee, § 583(a)

of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act

directs the head of an agency to

consider whether—

• There is a need for the rule

• There are a limited number of

identifiable interests that will be

affected by the rule

• There is a reasonable likelihood

that a committee can be convened with

a balanced representation of persons

who can adequately represent those

interests and are willing to negotiate in

good faith to reach a consensus on a

proposed rule

• There is a reasonable likelihood

that a committee will reach consensus

on the proposed rule within a fixed

period of time

• The negotiated rulemaking will not

unreasonably delay the notice of

proposed rulemaking and the issuance

of the final rule

• The agency has adequate resources

and is willing to commit such resources,

including technical assistance, to the

committee, and

• The agency, to the maximum extent

possible consistent with the legal

obligations, will use the consensus of

the committee with respect to the

proposed rule as the basis for the rule

proposed by the agency for notice and

comment.

‘‘Consensus’’ in tern means the

unanimous concurrence among the

interests represented on the negotiated

rulemaking committee unless the

committee explicitly adopts some other

definition. Thus, under the Negotiated

Rulemaking Act, each interest on the

committee has a veto: nothing can be

adopted by the committee over the

dissent of an interest. That has served to

provide important protection for the

parties and to help the parties focus on

developing an entire regulation. This

definition also means that the agency

itself participates in the negotiations in

a manner similar to that of any other

party.

Negotiated rulemaking has been used

quite successfully to address highly

controversial subjects in a practical

manner. For that reason, OSM thought

it would be an appropriate process to

use for the coal refuse rule.

II. Subject and Scope of Rule for

Negotiated Rulemaking

Numerous coal refuse piles exist

throughout the coal fields in the eastern

United States. These piles are a major

source of aesthetic and environmental

degradation. A significant number of

these piles, however, still contain large,

potentially marketable quantities of

coal. Modern technology enables the

recovery of the coal in these piles, and

in some cases the direct utilization of

the material, for example in refuse

burning power plants, electric power

generation and co-generation facilities.

Under current law and policies,

permitting and performance standards

are the same for refuse pile operations

as for any other mining operations.

Section 2503 of the Energy Policy Act of

1992 requires the publication of new

regulations on permitting and

performance standards that distinguish

between (1) operations that reprocess

abandoned coal refuse on-site and (2)

those that completely remove

abandoned coal refuse from a site for the

direct use of such coal refuse or for the

reprocessing of such coal refuse at

another location. These standards must

recognize the distinct differences

between these operations and other

surface coal mining operations.

The committee will try to reach

consensus on the major issues that

could not be resolved in the draft

rulemaking, specifically:

• Environmental protection standards

• Permits

• The application of valid existing

rights to coal refuse sites

• Abandoned mine land fees

If the committee is able to reach

consensus on these issues, the

committee will propose a rule on coal

refuse.

In addition, the committee may also

address other appropriate remining

issues that may arise from the

discussion of coal refuse.

III. How Does Negotiated Rulemaking

Work?

Negotiated Rulemaking typically

occurs in two stages:

1. The Convening Stage. During this

stage, an outside neutral party assists

the agency in selecting participants to

ensure balanced representation and

helps the agency identify which specific

issues should be negotiated. He or she

educates the participants about the
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 1995 / Proposed Rules 13859

negotiation process and attempts to get

the parties to commit to the product that

will be produced. Convening typically

takes one or two months.

2. The Negotiation Stage. This stage

typically takes six to eight months.

Again, a neutral outside party is often

used to facilitate group meetings, which

are generally held once a month. The

goal of this stage is to produce

regulatory language and, if possible,

preamble text.

IV. What is the Purpose of the

Committee?

The purpose of the Committee is to

provide a forum to discuss the

regulatory and reclamation issues of

concern to the public, primacy States

which regulate surface coal mining,

environmental groups, coal mine region

residents, industry, the Congress, and

other State and Federal agencies.

V. How Are Committee Members

Selected?

The Secretary of the Interior will

appoint 20–25 members to the

Committee to represent a cross-section

of those who are interested in and

directly affected by this proposed

rulemaking. OSM has sought the advice

of an outside neutral professional

convener in an effort to carefully

monitor membership to ensure that

there is a balance among those interests

affected by the Surface Mining Control

and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C.

1201 et seq.). Members will represent

the following segments of the

population in appropriate mix and

balance for the task at hand.

Categories of Members

• Environmental groups

• Representatives from the coal refuse

removal and reprocessing industry

• Primary states with responsibility

for regulating surface coal mining

operations

• General coal mining industry

• Citizens/residents of areas with

significant deposits of coal refuse

VI. Who Has Been Contacted to

Participate in this Process?

The following parties were identified

as potentially affected interests and

were contacted during the convening

stage of the process.

Environmental Groups

Citizen’s Coal Council

Kentucky Resources Council, Inc.

National Wildlife Federation

Western Pennsylvania Land

Conservancy

West Virginia Highlands Conservancy

Armstrong Conservation District

Industry

Inter-Power/AHICon Partners

Western Kentucky Coal Association

Kentucky Coal Association

Pennsylvania Coal Association

WV Mining & Reclamation Assoc.

Gilberton Power Company

Inter-Power Development Corporation

National Coal Association

American Mining Congress

Consol, Inc.

States

Interstate Mining Compact Commission

West Virginia Department of

Environmental Protection

Pennsylvania Department of

Reclamation

Illinois Division of Land Reclamation

Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation

Council

Kentucky Department for Surface

Mining

Federal

Office of Surface Mining

Environmental Protection Agency

VII. Will All of These Groups

Participate in the Regulatory

Negotiation Process?

No. First, the Secretary of the Interior

will select committee members based on

whether the entity will be substantially

affected by this rule. Second, some of

the groups, for various reasons, may

decide not to participate in this specific

regulatory negotiation.

VIII. How Can You Participate in the

Process?

If you believe that your interests may

not have been adequately represented

by any of the parties listed above you

may apply for, or nominate another

entity for membership on the committee

to represent your interests. Each

application for nomination must

include:

1. The name of the applicant or

nominee and a description of the

interests the entity will represent.

2. Evidence that the applicant or

nominee is authorized to represent

parties related to the interests the entity

proposes to represent.

3. A written commitment that the

applicant or nominee shall actively

participate in good faith in the

development of the rule under

consideration.

4. The reasons that the entities

specified above do not adequately

represent the interests of the entity

submitting the application or

nomination.

The OSM will advise the Secretary

whether that entity should be added to

the group. The decision will be based on

whether the entity would be

substantially affected by the rule and

whether that entity is already

adequately represented in the

negotiating group.

IX. What Happens After the Committee

Members are Selected?

Once membership in the Committee

has been selected, an organizational

meeting will be held to develop the

specific issues and groundrules for how

the negotiation will be conducted. The

location and dates of future meetings

will be published in the Federal

Register. Meetings will be open to the

public unless specifically noted as being

closed in the Federal Register, as

authorized by FACA.

X. Conclusion

OSM requests public comment on

whether: (1) It should establish a

Federal Advisory Commission, (2) it has

properly identified the interests that are

significantly affected by the key issues

listed above, (3) the suggested

committee membership reflects a

balanced representation of these

interests, and (4) regulatory negotiation

is appropriate for this rulemaking.

Dated: March 2, 1995.

Bob Armstrong,

Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals

Management.

Appendix

This notice is published in accordance

with Section 9(a) (2) of the Federal Advisory

Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. (1988).

Following consultation with the General

Services Administration and the Office of the

Management and Budget, notice is hereby

given that the Secretary of the Interior is

administratively establishing an advisory

committee to be known as the Office of

Surface Mining Reclamation and

Enforcement Negotiated Rulemaking

Committee on Coal Refuse Disposal.

The purpose of the Committee is to provide

a forum to discuss a variety of regulatory and

reclamation issues of concern to the public,

primacy States which regulate surface coal

mining, environmental groups, coal mine

region residents, industry, the Congress, and

other State and Federal agencies.

The Secretary of the Interior will appoint

20–25 members to the Committee to

represent a cross-section of those who are

interested in and directly affected by

regulatory and reclamation activities. OSM

has sought the advice of an outside neutral

professional convener in an effort to carefully

monitor membership to ensure that there is

a balance among those interests affected by

the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation

Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Members

will represent the following segments of the

population in appropriate mix and balance

for the task at hand.

Categories of Members:

* Environmental groups;
13860 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 1995 / Proposed Rules

* Representatives from the coal refuse

removal and reprocessing industry;

* Primacy States with responsibility for

regulating surface coal mining operations;

* General coal mining industry; and

* Citizens/residents of areas with

significant deposits of coal refuse.

Certification

I hereby certify that the administrative

establishment of the Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement Negotiated

Rulemaking Committee on Coal Refuse

Disposal is necessary and in the public

interest in connection with the performance

of duties imposed on the Department of the

Interior by the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et.

seq.).

Dated: August 18, 1994.

Bruce Babbitt,

Secretary of the Interior.

[FR Doc. 95–6226 Filed 3–13–95; 8:45 am]

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