15728 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 58 / Monday, March 27, 1995 / Proposed Rules

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.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 913

Intergovernmental relations, Surface

mining, Underground mining.

Dated: March 16, 1995.

Ronald C. Recker,

Acting Assistant Director, Eastern Support

Center.

[FR Doc. 95–7439 Filed 3–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

30 CFR Part 925

Missouri 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 amendment.

SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of

a proposed amendment to the Missouri

regulatory program (hereinafter, the

‘‘Missouri 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 and statutes along

with supporting documentation and

information pertaining to its alternative

bonding system. The amendment is

intended to revise the Missouri program

to be consistent with the corresponding

Federal regulations and SMCRA.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by 4 p.m., c.s.t. April 26, 1995.

If requested, a public hearing on the

proposed amendment will be held on

April 21, 1995. Requests to present oral

testimony at the hearing must be

received by 4 p.m., c.s.t. on April 11,

1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be mailed or hand delivered to Michael

C. Wolfrom at the address listed below.

Copies of the Missouri 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 Kansas City Field

Office.

Michael C. Wolfrom, Acting Director,

Kansas City Field Office, Office of

Surface Mining Reclamation and

Enforcement, 934 Wyandotte, Room

500, Kansas City, MO 64105

Missouri Department of Natural

Resources, Land Reclamation

Program, P.O. Box No. 176, Jefferson

City, MO 65102, Telephone: (314)

751–4041

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael C. Wolfrom, Telephone: (816)

374–6405.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Missouri Program

On November 21, 1980, the Secretary

of the Interior conditionally approved

the Missouri program. General

background information on the Missouri

program, including the Secretary’s

findings, the disposition of comments,

and the conditions of approval of the

Missouri program can be found in the

November 21, 1980, Federal Register

(45 FR 77017). Subsequent actions

concerning Missouri’s program and

program amendments can be found at

30 CFR 925.12, 925.15, and 925.16.

II. Proposed Amendment

By letter dated March 7, 1995,

Missouri submitted a proposed

amendment to its program pursuant to

SMCRA (administrative record No. MO–

617). Missouri submitted the proposed

amendment in response to a January 30,

1986 letter (administrative record No.

MO–351) that OSM sent to Missouri in

accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(c), and

in response to the required program

amendments at 30 CFR 925.16(g). The

provisions of the Revised Statutes of

Missouri (RSMo) and the Code of State

Regulations (CSR) that Missouri

proposed to revise were: Section

444.830.1. and 3. (RSMo), Bond

requirements, when a bond must be

filed, the amount of a bond, and

allowance for bond substitution; Section

444.950. (RSMo), Phase I reclamation

bond requirements; Section 444.960.1.

and 5. (RSMo), establishment, purpose,

and duties of the coal mine reclamation

fund; Section 444.965.1., 3., 4., 5. and 6.

(RSMo), Assessment for fund; 10 CSR

40–7.011, Bond Requirements; 10 CSR

40–7.021, Duration and Release of

Reclamation Liability; 10 CSR 40–7.041,

Form and Administration of the Coal

Mine Land Reclamation Fund. In

addition Missouri has submitted: (1) A

narrative explaining the current and

projected balances of the bond pools; (2)

a discussion of how each outstanding

required program amendment of the

final rule Federal Register of May 8,

1991 (56 FR 21281) (administrative

record No. MO–536) will be resolved;

(3) an explanation of how the

deficiencies identified in OSM’s issue

letter dated March 9, 1994

(administrative record No. MO–592)

will be resolved; (4) a table of

reclamation cost estimates for all

permits except those that represent a

minimal liability to the bond pools; (5)

a statement from the Missouri Attorney

General that explains the legal basis for

using Abandoned Mine Land Funds for

the reclamation of Bill’s Coal

Forfeitured Project; and (6) copies of the

revised bond forms utilized by Missouri.

Specifically, Missouri proposes to

revise its statute and regulations: (1) To

remove the option to file a full cost

Phase I bond; (2) to provide that the per

acre bond amounts are minimums that

may be adjusted annually by the

commission based upon calculations

conducted by the State director; (3) to

provide that annual adjustments to the

bond amount will not be more than

$250 per acre per year with a maximum

of $5,000 per acre for all areas except

coal preparation areas, and $500 per

year with a maximum of $15,000 per

acre for coal preparation areas; (4) to

require that the minimum bond will not

be less than $10,000 per permit; (5) to

require that all promulgated rules must

be approved by the joint committee on

administrative rules; (6) to allow the

commission to retain up to 20 percent

of the amount of the bond at Phase I

liability release and retain that amount

until the release of Phase III liability; (7)

to require the total amount of the Phase

I bond to be available for the completion

of all phase of reclamation in the event

of bond forfeiture; and (8) to require

monies to continue to be accumulated

in the CMLR Fund until they are

sufficient to complete reclamation of

permits revoked prior to September 1,

1988.

In addition, Missouri is revising its

regulations to: (1) Provide new

definitions of Phase I Bond, Phase II

bond, Phase III bond, and surety bond;

(2) require for incremental bonding that

disturbances are prohibited prior to

acceptance of the bond and that a

schedule of increments be provided; (3)

require that Phase I bond be retained on

unreclaimed temporary structures; (4)

allow the release of bond from

undisturbed lands when further
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 58 / Monday, March 27, 1995 / Proposed Rules 15729

disturbances from surface mining have

ceased; (5) require that the permit shall

terminate on all areas where all bonds

have been released; and (6) require at

Phase III release that the operator

provide evidence that an affidavit has

been recorded at the county lands

affected by underground mining,

augering, covered slurry ponds, or other

underground activities that could

impact future land use for lands where

Phase I reclamation was completed on

or after September 1, 1992.

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

program approval criteria of 30 CFR

732.15. If the amendment is deemed

adequate, it will become part of the

Missouri 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 Kansas City 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., c.s.t.

on April 11, 1995. Any disabled

individual who has need for a special

accommodation to attend a public

hearing should contact the individual

listing 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 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

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 of 1969 (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 925

Intergovernmental relations, Surface

mining, Underground mining.

Dated: March 16, 1995.

Charles E. Sandberg,

Acting Assistant Director, Western Support

Center.

[FR Doc. 95–7437 Filed 3–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

30 CFR Part 944

Utah Permanent Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),

Interior.

ACTION: Withdrawal of proposed

amendment.

SUMMARY: OSM is announcing the

withdrawal of a proposed amendment to

the Utah permanent regulatory program

(hereinafter, the ‘‘Utah program’’) under

the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA, 30

U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). The amendment

consisted of revisions that Utah

proposed to its liability self-insurance

rule.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This withdrawal is

effective March 27, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas E. Ehmett, Telephone: (505)

766–1486.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter

dated October 4, 1994, Utah submitted

a proposed amendment to its program

pursuant to SMCRA (administrative

record No. UT–979). Utah submitted the