15726 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 58 / Monday, March 27, 1995 / Proposed Rules

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Commission has determined, as part of

its oversight responsibilities, to review

rules and guides periodically. These

reviews will seek information about the

costs and benefits of the Commission’s

rules and guides and their regulatory

and economic impact. The information

obtained will assist the Commission in

identifying rules and guides that

warrant modification or rescission.

If the Commission elects to retain the

Leather Belt Rule after conducting this

review, it intends to update certain

terms to reflect statutory and policy

changes that have occurred since the

Leather Belt Rule was originally

promulgated. The term ‘‘in commerce’’

in 16 CFR 405.1(a) and 405.4 will be

changed to ‘‘in or affecting commerce’’

in conformance with the amended

language of section 5 of the Federal

Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45).

The phrase ‘‘capacity and tendency to

mislead and deceive’’ in 16 CFR

405.2(b) will be changed to conform

with the language regarding deception

that is set forth in Cliffdale Associates,

Inc., 103 F.T.C. 110 (1984) and

subsequent cases. Finally, the language

that ‘‘it constitutes an unfair method of

competition and an unfair and

deceptive act or practice’’ in 16 CFR

405.4 will also be revised to conform

with the standard language for

consumer protection rules.

A. Background

The Leather Belt Rule was

promulgated by the Commission on

June 27, 1964. It applies to the sale or

offering for sale of men’s and boy’s

belts, and women’s and children’s belts

when not offered for sale as part of a

garment. The Rule makes it an unfair

method of competition and an unfair

and deceptive act or practice to

misrepresent a belt’s leather content or

the type of animal hide or skin from

which the belt is made. for example, it

is a violation of the Rule to label a belt

as leather when it is not made from the

hide or skin of an animal.

The Leather Belt Rule also prohibits

the sale or distribution of belts without

adequate disclosures as to their leather

content or type of animal hide or skin

if the appearance of the product would

deceive consumers. For example, it is a

violation of the Rule to sell a belt which

has the appearance of leather, but which

is made of synthetic materials, unless a

disclosure is made on the product or on

a tag or label affixed to the product

which states that the belt is not leather.

B. Issues for Comment

At this time, the Commission solicits

written public comments on the

following questions:

(1) Is there a continuing need for the

Rule?

(a) What benefits has the Rule

provided to purchasers of the products

or services affected by the Rule?

(b) Has the Rule imposed costs on

purchasers?

(2) What changes, if any, should be

made to the rule to increase the benefits

of the Rule to purchasers?

(a) How would these changes affect

the costs the Rule imposes on firms

subject to its requirements?

(3) What significant burdens or costs,

including costs of compliance, has the

Rule imposed on firms subject to its

requirements?

(a) Has the Rule provided benefits to

such firms?

(4) What changes, if any, should be

made to the Rule to reduce the burdens

or costs imposed on firms subject to its

requirements?

(a) How would these changes effect

the benefits provided by the Rule?

(5) Does the Rule overlap or conflict

with other federal, state, or local laws or

regulations?

(6) Since the Rule was issued, what

effects, it any, have changes in relevant

technology or economic conditions had

on the Rule?

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 405

Leather content of belts; Trade

practices.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41–58.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–7467 Filed 3–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 913

[IL–090]

Illinois Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation Enforcement (OSM),

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; pubic 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 pertains to the

merger of the Illinois Department of

Mines and Minerals into the newly

created Illinois Department of Natural

Resources. The amendment is intended

to provide formal notification to OSM of

this pending reorganization.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by 4:00 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 speak at

the hearing must be received by 4:00

p.m., [C.S.T.], on April 11, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

requests to speak at the hearing should

be mailed or hand delivered to Mr.

James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield

Field Office, at the address listed below.

Copies of the Illinois program, the

proposed amendment, a listing of any

scheduled public hearings, 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

Springfield Field Office.

James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield

Field Office, Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement, 511

West Capitol, Suite 202, Springfield,

Illinois 62704, Telephone: (217) 492–

4495.

Illinois Department of Mines and

Minerals, 300 West Jefferson Street,

Suite 300, Springfield Illinois 62791,

Telephone: (217) 782–4970.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield

Field Office, Telephone: (217) 492–

4495.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Illinois Program

On June 1, 1982, the Secretary of the

Interior conditionally approved the

Illinois program. Background

information on the Illinois program,

including the Secretary’s findings, the

disposition of comments, and the

conditions of approval can be found in

the June 1, 1982, Federal Register (47

FR 23883). Subsequent actions

concerning the conditions of approval

and program amendments can be found

at 30 CFR 913.15, 913.16, and 913.17.

II. Description of the Proposed

Amendment

By letter dated March 3, 1995

(Administrative Record No. IL–1700),
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 58 / Monday, March 27, 1995 / Proposed Rules 15727

Illinois submitted a proposed

amendment to its program pursuant to

SMCRA. Illinois submitted the proposed

amendment at it own initiative. In

accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(b),

Illinois notified OSM that effective July

1, 1995, the Illinois Department of

Mines and Minerals will cease to exist

in name only. It will be redesignated the

Office of Mines and Minerals.

Specifically, the Illinois Department

of Mines and Minerals will be merged

into the new Illinois Department of

Natural Resources by virtue of Executive

Order Number 2 (1995) signed by the

Governor of Illinois, on March 1, 1995.

Article V, Section 11 of the Constitution

of the State of Illinois authorizes the

Governor to reassign functions among or

reorganize executive agencies which are

directly responsible to him in order to

simplify the organizational structure of

the Executive Branch, to improve

accountability, to increase accessibility,

and to achieve efficiency and

effectiveness in operation.

Executive Order Number 2 (1995)

contains the following applicable

provisions:

Part I, paragraph C, provides that

‘‘[t]he Department of Natural Resources

shall have within it an Office of Mines

and Minerals which shall be responsible

for the functions previously vested in

the Department of Mines and Minerals.

. . .;

Part II, paragraph C, transfers the

Surface-Mined Land Conservation and

Reclamation Act (225 ILCS 715/1 et

seq.) [State Act for the initial program]

and the Surface Coal Mining Land

Conservation and Reclamation Act (225

ILCS 720.1.01 et seq.) [State Act for the

permanent program] from the

Department of Mines and Minerals to

the Department of Natural Resources

along with the rights, powers, and

duties incidental to these Acts;

In Part III, paragraph A abolishes the

Department of Mines and Minerals,

paragraph B abolishes the office of the

Director of Mines and Minerals, and

paragraph C transfer personnel

previously assigned to the Department

of Mines and Minerals to the

Department of Natural Resources; and

Part IV, paragraph F, provides that

‘‘[t]his Executive Order shall not affect

the legality of any rules in the Illinois

Administrative Code that are in force on

the effective date of this Executive

Order that have been duly adopted by

the agencies reorganized under this

Order. As soon as practicable hereafter,

the Department of Natural Resources

* * * shall propose and adopt under

the Illinois Administrative Procedure

Act such rules as may be necessary to

consolidate and clarify the rules of the

various reorganized agencies that will

now be administered by the successor

agency.’’

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

Illinois program.

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 Springfield Field Office

will not necessarily be considered in the

final rulemaking or included in the

Administrative Record.

Public Hearing

Persons wishing to speak 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. The location and time of the

hearing will be arranged with those

persons requesting the hearing. If no one

requests an opportunity to speak 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 speak have been heard.

Persons in the audience who have not

been scheduled to speak, and who wish

to do so, will be heard following those

who have been scheduled. The hearing

will end after all persons scheduled to

speak and persons present in the

audience who wish to speak have been

heard.

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. Persons wishing

to meet with OSM representatives to

discuss the proposed amendment may

request a meeting by contacting the

persons listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT.’’ All such

meetings will be open to the public and,

if possible, notice 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.

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.

IV. Procedural Determinations

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).

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, 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 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 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

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(c)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.

4332(2)(C)).

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.).

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
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