Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 154 / Friday, August 8, 2008 / Proposed Rules 46213 

rule changes in the future. The 

Commission’s detailed statement of 

reasons for denial of the petitions is the 

product of a careful review of the 

petitioners’ assertions and other 

associated public comments, and is 

supported by the facts before us. In 

these circumstances, the Commission 

does not believe the petitioners’ request 

can fairly, or reasonably, be ‘‘granted’’

in part based on a future undertaking 

which itself had no genesis in the 

petitioners’ requests. 

The Commission’s timely and 

decisive action in response to the two 

petitions serves the interests of the 

Commission and other participants in 

an effective, disciplined, and efficient 

rulemaking petition process. In this 

instance, a decision now has particular 

value since it directly addresses the 

petitioners’ statements of significant 

concern about certain, generic aspects of 

ongoing and future license renewal 

reviews. While the analyses performed 

to respond to these petitions will also 

undoubtedly inform NRC staff proposals 

regarding the next update of the GEIS, 

the Commission does not yet have such 

proposals before it. Any final 

Commission decisions on an updated 

GEIS would be preceded by proposed 

changes, solicitation of public comment, 

and evaluation of all pertinent 

information and public comments. 

Furthermore, a partial ‘‘granting’’ of the 

petition could imply that the 

Commission endorses the petitioners’

requests and will give them greater 

weight than other points of view during 

the GEIS rulemaking. 

As to the other matter raised in 

Commissioner Jaczko’s dissent—that of 

agency review and disposition of 

petitions for rulemaking more 

generally—while petitions for 

rulemaking are indeed opportunities for 

stakeholders to suggest new 

considerations and approaches for 

regulation, Commissioner Jaczko’s 

general concerns about the agency’s 

process for handling rulemaking 

petitions go beyond the subject of the 

Commission’s action on these petitions. 

However, this subject matter is being 

considered, as the Commission has 

instructed NRC staff [SRM dated August 

6, 2007] to conduct a review of the 

agency’s PRM process. At such time as 

staff may recommend, as an outgrowth 

of this review, specific proposals for 

Commission action which would 

strengthen the agency PRM process, the 

Commission will assess such 

recommendations and act on them, as 

appropriate. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day 

of August 2008. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Annette L. Vietti-Cook, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. E8–18291 Filed 8–7–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

30 CFR Part 901 

[SATS No. AL–074–FOR; Docket No. OSM–

2008–0015] 

Alabama Regulatory Program 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment 

period and opportunity for public 

hearing on proposed amendment. 

SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 

(OSM), are announcing receipt of a 

proposed amendment to the Alabama 

regulatory program (Alabama program) 

under the Surface Mining Control and 

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the 

Act). Alabama proposes revisions to its 

regulations regarding permit fees and 

civil penalties. Alabama intends to 

revise its program to improve 

operational efficiency. 

This document gives the times and 

locations that the Alabama program and 

proposed amendment to that program 

are available for your inspection, the 

comment period during which you may 

submit written comments on the 

amendment, and the procedures that we 

will follow for the public hearing, if one 

is requested. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule 

must be received on or before 4 p.m., 

c.t., September 8, 2008, to ensure our 

consideration. If requested, we will hold 

a public hearing on the amendment on 

September 2, 2008. We will accept 

requests to speak at a hearing until 4 

p.m., c.t. on August 25, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following two methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. The proposed rule 

is listed under the agency name 

‘‘OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING 

RECLAMATION AND 

ENFORCEMENT’’ and has been 

assigned Docket ID: OSM–2008–0015. If 

you would like to submit comments 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, 

go to www.regulations.gov and do the 

following. Click on the ‘‘Advanced 

Docket Search’’ button on the right side 

of the screen. Type in the Docket ID 

OSM–2008–0015 and click the submit 

button at the bottom of the page. The 

next screen will display the Docket 

Search Results for the rulemaking. If 

you click on OSM–2008–0015, you can 

view the proposed rule and submit a 

comment. You can also view supporting 

material and any comments submitted 

by others. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Sherry 

Wilson, Director, Birmingham Field 

Office, Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, 135 

Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Homewood, 

Alabama 35209. Please include the 

Docket ID (OSM–2008–0015) with your 

comments. 

We cannot ensure that comments 

received after the close of the comment 

period (see DATES) or sent to an address 

other than the two listed above will be 

included in the docket for this 

rulemaking and considered. 

For additional information on the 

rulemaking process and the public 

availability of comments, see ‘‘III. Public 

Comment Procedures’’ in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

You may receive one free copy of the 

amendment by contacting OSM’s 

Birmingham Field Office. See below FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

You may review a copy of the 

amendment during regular business 

hours at the following locations: 

Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham 

Field Office, Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, 135 

Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Homewood, 

Alabama 35209, Telephone: (205) 290–

7282, swilson@osmre.gov. 

Randall C. Johnson, Director, Alabama 

Surface Mining Commission, 1811 

Second Avenue, P.O. Box 2390, Jasper, 

Alabama 35502–2390, Telephone: (205) 

221–4130. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham 

Field Office. Telephone: (205) 290–

7282. E-mail: swilson@osmre.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Alabama Program 

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment 

III. Public Comment Procedures 

IV. Procedural Determinations 

I. Background on the Alabama Program 

Section 503(a) of the Act permits a 

State to assume primacy for the 

regulation of surface coal mining and 

reclamation operations on non-Federal 

and non-Indian lands within its borders 

by demonstrating that its program 

includes, among other things, ‘‘* * * a 

State law which provides for the 

regulation of surface coal mining and 

reclamation operations in accordance 


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46214 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 154 / Friday, August 8, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

with the requirements of this Act. 

* * *; and rules and regulations 

consistent with regulations issued by 

the Secretary pursuant to this Act.’’ See 

30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On the 

basis of these criteria, the Secretary of 

the Interior (Secretary) conditionally 

approved the Alabama program on May 

20, 1982. You can find background 

information on the Alabama program, 

including the Secretary’s findings, the 

disposition of comments, and the 

conditions of approval in the May 20, 

1982, Federal Register (47 FR 22030). 

You can also find later actions 

concerning the Alabama program and 

program amendments at 30 CFR 901.10, 

901.15, and 901.16. 

II. Description of the Proposed 

Amendment 

By letter dated July 18, 2008 

(Administrative Record No. AL–0658), 

Alabama sent us an amendment to its 

program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 

et seq.) at its own initiative. Below is a 

summary of the changes proposed by 

Alabama. The full text of the program 

amendment is available for you to read 

at the locations listed above under 

ADDRESSES. 

Alabama proposes to revise its 

regulations at Alabama Rule 880–X–8B–

.07 regarding permit fees by: 

(1) Increasing the acreage fee, 

(2) Requiring an acreage fee on all 

bonded acreage covered in a permit 

renewal, and 

(3) Increasing the basic fees for the 

following types of applications: permit; 

coal exploration; permit renewal; permit 

transfer; permit revision involving only 

an incidental boundary revision; permit 

revision involving an insignificant 

alteration to the mining and reclamation 

plan; and permit revision involving a 

significant alteration to the mining and 

reclamation plan. 

Alabama also proposes to revise its 

regulations at Alabama Rule 880–X–

11D–.06 regarding civil penalty amounts 

by increasing the dollar amounts of the 

penalties. 

III. Public Comment Procedures 

Under the provisions of 30 CFR 

732.17(h), we are seeking your 

comments on whether the amendment 

satisfies the applicable program 

approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we 

approve the amendment, it will become 

part of the State program. 

Written Comments 

Send your comments to us by one of 

the two methods specified above. Your 

written comments should be specific, 

pertain only to the issues proposed in 

this rulemaking, and include 

explanations in support of your 

recommendations. We cannot ensure 

that comments received after the close 

of the comment period (see DATES) or 

sent to an address other than the two 

listed above (see ADDRESSES) will be 

included in the docket for this 

rulemaking and considered. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Public Hearing 

If you wish to speak at the public 

hearing, contact the person listed under 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 

p.m., c.t. on August 25, 2008. If you are 

disabled and need reasonable 

accommodations to attend a public 

hearing, contact the person listed under 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. We 

will arrange the location and time of the 

hearing with those persons requesting 

the hearing. If no one requests an 

opportunity to speak, we will not hold 

a hearing. If there is only limited 

interest in participating at a public 

hearing, a public meeting or 

teleconference rather than a hearing 

may be held. If we hold a public 

meeting or teleconference, a notice of 

the event will be posted to the docket 

for this rulemaking at 

www.regulations.gov, and a summary of 

the event will be included in the docket 

for this rulemaking. 

To assist the transcriber and ensure an 

accurate record, we request, if possible, 

that each person who speaks at the 

public hearing provide us with a written 

copy of his or her comments. The public 

hearing will continue on the specified 

date until everyone scheduled to speak 

has been given an opportunity to be 

heard. If you are in the audience and 

have not been scheduled to speak and 

wish to do so, you will be allowed to 

speak after those who have been 

scheduled. We will end the hearing after 

everyone scheduled to speak and others 

present in the audience who wish to 

speak, have been heard. 

IV. Procedural Determinations 

Executive Order 12630—Takings 

This rule does not have takings 

implications. This determination is 

based on the analysis performed for the 

counterpart Federal regulation. 

Executive Order 12866—Regulatory 

Planning and Review 

This rule is exempted from review by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under Executive Order 12866. 

Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice 

Reform 

The Department of the Interior has 

conducted the reviews required by 

section 3 of Executive Order 12988 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 

because each 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. 

Executive Order 13132—Federalism 

This rule does not have Federalism 

implications. SMCRA delineates the 

roles of the Federal and State 

governments with regard to the 

regulation of surface coal mining and 

reclamation operations. One of the 

purposes of SMCRA is to ‘‘establish a 

nationwide program to protect society 

and the environment from the adverse 

effects of surface coal mining 

operations.’’ Section 503(a)(1) of 

SMCRA requires that State laws 

regulating surface coal mining and 

reclamation operations be ‘‘in 

accordance with’’ the requirements of 

SMCRA, and section 503(a)(7) requires 

that State programs contain rules and 

regulations ‘‘consistent with’’

regulations issued by the Secretary 

pursuant to SMCRA. 

Executive Order 13175—Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

In accordance with Executive Order 

13175, we have evaluated the potential 

effects of this rule on Federallyrecognized Indian tribes and have 

determined that the rule does not have 

substantial direct effects on one or more 

Indian tribes, on the relationship 

between the Federal Government and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 154 / Friday, August 8, 2008 / Proposed Rules 46215 

Indian tribes, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes. 

This determination is based on the fact 

that the Alabama program does not 

regulate coal exploration and surface 

coal mining and reclamation operations 

on Indian lands. Therefore, the Alabama 

program has no effect on Federallyrecognized Indian tribes. 

Executive Order 13211—Regulations 

That Significantly Affect the Supply, 

Distribution, or Use of Energy 

On May 18, 2001, the President issued 

Executive Order 13211 which requires 

agencies to prepare a Statement of 

Energy Effects for a rule that is (1) 

considered significant under Executive 

Order 12866, and (2) likely to have a 

significant adverse effect on the supply, 

distribution, or use of energy. Because 

this rule is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866 and is not 

expected to have a significant adverse 

effect on the supply, distribution, or use 

of energy, a Statement of Energy Effects 

is not required. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

This rule does not require an 

environmental impact statement 

because 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)). 

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 

certifies 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, 

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. 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. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

This rule is not a major rule under 5 

U.S.C. 804(2), the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. 

This rule: (a) Does not have an annual 

effect on the economy of $100 million; 

(b) Will not cause a major increase in 

costs or prices for consumers, 

individual industries, Federal, State, or 

local government agencies, or 

geographic regions; and (c) Does not 

have significant adverse effects on 

competition, employment, investment, 

productivity, innovation, or the ability 

of U.S.-based enterprises to compete 

with foreign-based enterprises. This 

determination is based upon the fact 

that the State submittal, which is the 

subject of this rule, is based upon 

counterpart Federal regulations for 

which an analysis was prepared and a 

determination made that the Federal 

regulation was not considered a major 

rule. 

Unfunded Mandates 

This rule will not impose an 

unfunded mandate on State, local, or 

tribal governments or the private sector 

of $100 million or more in any given 

year. This determination is based upon 

the fact that the State submittal, which 

is the subject of this rule, is based upon 

counterpart Federal regulations for 

which an analysis was prepared and a 

determination made that the Federal 

regulation did not impose an unfunded 

mandate. 

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 901 

Intergovernmental relations, Surface 

mining, Underground mining. 

Dated: July 23, 2008. 

Len Meier, 

Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent 

Region. 

[FR Doc. E8–18297 Filed 8–7–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

36 CFR Part 7 

RIN 1024–AD71 

Special Regulation: Areas of the 

National Park System, National Capital 

Region 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The National Park Service 

(NPS) is proposing to amend regulations 

governing viewing of the Inaugural 

parade by the public, demonstrators, 

and the Presidential Inaugural 

Committee. The proposed rule would 

extend the duration and extent of 

demonstrations and special events in 

Washington, DC, including the 

Inaugural, the Lighting of the National 

Christmas Tree and Christmas Pathway 

of Peace, the Cherry Blossom Festival, 

the Fourth of July Celebration, and the 

Festival of American Folklife. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 22, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit your 

comments, identified by Regulatory 

Information Number 1024–AD71, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail or hand delivery: National 

Park Service, Regional Director, 

Division of Park Programs, 1100 Ohio 

Drive, SW., Room 128, Washington, DC 

20242. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

National Park Service, National Capital 

Region, Division of Park Programs, 1100 

Ohio Drive, SW., Room 128, 

Washington, DC 20242. Telephone: 

(202) 619–7275. Fax: (202) 401–2430. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On March 20, 2008, the District Court 

in ANSWER Coalition v. Kempthorne, 

537 F.Supp.2d 183 (D.D.C. March 20, 

2008) found that the National Park 

Service’s practice and procedure of 

submitting an application on behalf of 

the Presidential Inaugural Committee 

(PIC) violated its regulations with 

respect to the duration of special events 

and the related timing of the submission 

of the application. The Court stated, 

however, that ‘‘[i]f the government 

thinks it appropriate to lengthen the 

amount of time for which permits may 

be granted under the regulations—

perhaps even only for the Inauguration 

period and no other—the government 

may explicitly amend the regulations 

that apply to all permit applicants.’’ 537 

F.Supp.2d at 203–204. 

Pennsylvania Avenue is among the 

world’s most famous streets and is 

located in the heart of the Nation’s 

Capital. America’s history has marched, 

paraded, promenaded, and protested its 

way up and down Pennsylvania 

Avenue. Areas must be available to the 

public as well as demonstrators to view 

the Inaugural parade. ‘‘The Inauguration 

is not a private event.’’ ANSWER 

Coalition v. Kempthorne, 2008 U.S. Dist. 

Lexis 21443* 15 (emphasis in original) 

(referencing Mahoney v. Babbitt, 105 

F.3d at 1458 D.C. Cir. 1997). And the 


rfrederick on PRODPC74 with PROPOSALS