Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2004/02/03/04-2130/texas-regulatory-program
Timestamp: 2018-04-21 12:41:17
Document Index: 119551953

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u200912', '§\u200912', '§\u2009335', '§\u200912', '§\u2009335', '§\u200912', '§\u2009335', '§\u200912']

A Proposed Rule by the Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office on 02/03/2004
We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4 p.m., c.s.t., March 4, 2004. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment on March 1, 2004. We will accept requests to speak at a hearing until 4 p.m., c.s.t. on February 18, 2004.
69 FR 5102
5102-5105 (4 pages)
TX-051-FOR
04-2130
A. 16 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Section 12.3 Definitions
B. 16 TAC Section 12.142 Operation Plan: Maps and Plans
C. 16 TAC Section 12.145 Reclamation Plan: General Requirements For Surface Mining
D. 16 TAC Section 12.187 Reclamation Plan: General Requirements For Underground Mining
E. 16 TAC Section 12.197 Operation Plan: Maps and Plans
F. 16 TAC Section 12.384 Backfilling and Grading: General Requirements
G. 16 TAC Section 12.385 Backfilling and Grading: General Grading Requirements
H. 16 TAC Section 12.552 Backfilling and Grading: General Grading Requirements
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/04-2130 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/04-2130
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Texas regulatory program (Texas program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Texas proposes revisions to and additions of regulations regarding coal combustion by-products and coal combustion products. Texas intends to revise its program to clarify how the use and disposal of coal combustion by-products and coal combustion products are regulated at coal mine sites in Texas.
Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 470, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135-6547, Telephone: (918) 581-6430, Internet address: mwolfrom@osmre.gov.
Surface Mining and Reclamation Division, Railroad Commission of Texas, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Capitol Station, P.O. Box 12967, Austin, Texas 78711-2967, Telephone (512) 463-6900.
By letter dated December 9, 2003 (Administrative Record No. TX-656), Texas sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Texas sent the amendment at its own initiative. Below is a summary of the changes proposed by Texas. The full text of the program amendment is Start Printed Page 5103available for you to read at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
Texas proposes to amend this section by adding new paragraphs (33) and (34) defining “coal combustion by-products” and “coal combustion products,” respectively. Texas also proposes to renumber existing paragraphs (33) through (193) as paragraphs (35) through (195).
Texas proposes to add new paragraph (2)(L) to require that each permit application contain maps and plans of the proposed permit and adjacent areas which show the approximate location of any area in which coal combustion by-products will be disposed.
Texas proposes to add new paragraph (b)(10) to read as follows:
(10) a description of any planned use of coal combustion products designed to achieve approximate original contour or any proposal to dispose of coal combustion by-products in a manner that achieves approximate original contour. When additional time to conduct rough backfilling and grading is requested to allow for the use of coal combustion products or the disposal of coal combustion by-products, the description shall include a planned time frame for those activities. The proposed time frame may include extensions of the time frames under § 12.384(a) of this title (relating to Backfilling and Grading: General Requirements) to facilitate the cost-effective utilization of coal combustion products and by-products considering generation rates, transportation issues, market conditions, and other relevant factors. Ancillary features (e.g., sediment control structures, roads, and other infrastructure) associated with the use of coal combustion products or coal combustion by-products shall be considered mining-related activities which the permittee may retain within the Commission's mining permit for the life of the reclamation project until final bond release.
(10) a description of any planned use of coal combustion products designed to achieve approximate original contour or any proposal to dispose of coal combustion by-products in a manner that achieves approximate original contour. When additional time to conduct rough backfilling and grading is requested to allow for the use of coal combustion products or the disposal of coal combustion by-products, the description shall include a planned time frame for those activities. The proposed time frame may include extensions of the time frames under § 12.551(a) of this title (relating to Backfilling and Grading: General Requirements) to facilitate the cost-effective utilization of coal combustion products and by-products considering generation rates, transportation issues, market conditions, and other relevant factors. Ancillary features (e.g., sediment control structures, roads, and other infrastructure) associated with the use of coal combustion products or coal combustion by-products shall be considered mining-related activities which the permittee may retain within the Commission's mining permit for the life of the reclamation project until final bond release.
Texas proposes to add new paragraph (2)(N) to require that each permit application contain maps and plans of the proposed permit and adjacent areas which show the approximate location of any area in which coal combustion by-products will be disposed.
Texas proposes to revise paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(4) to reference proposed new section 12.145(b)(10).
Texas proposes to add new paragraph (f) to read as follows:
(f) In the case of a reclamation plan in which coal combustion products are designed to achieve approximate original contour or coal combustion by-products are proposed to be disposed of in a manner that achieves approximate original contour, the following information shall be submitted as applicable:
(1) an affidavit from the generator certifying that any coal combustion products to be used are exempt from the definition of “solid waste” under 30 TAC § 335.1(131)(H) (relating to Definitions) or TCEQ letter-authorization as referenced in Table 1 of § 12.3(33) of this title (relating to Definitions);
(2) an affidavit from the generator certifying that any coal combustion by-product disposal operations are in compliance with 30 TAC § 335.2-335.8 (relating to Permit Required; Technical Guidelines; General Prohibitions; Deed Recordation of Waste Disposal; Notification Requirements; Financial Assurance Required; and Closure and Remediation) and 30 TAC Chapter 335, Subchapter R (relating to Waste Classification);
(3) documentation (e.g., a signed lease or an affidavit from the landowner) that the landowner has consented to the use of coal combustion products or the disposal of coal combustion by-products on the landowner's property;
(4) chemical analyses of a representative sample of any coal combustion products planned to be used or any coal combustion by-products proposed to be disposed; and
(5) an estimated timeframe for the use of coal combustion products or the disposal of coal combustion by-products as part of the timetable submitted under § 12.145(b)(1) of this title (relating to Reclamation Plan: General Requirements for Surface Mining).
(2) an affidavit from the generator certifying that any coal combustion by-product disposal operations are in compliance with 30 TAC § 335.2 “ 335.8 (relating to Permit Required; Technical Guidelines; General Prohibitions; Deed Recordation of Waste Disposal; Notification Requirements; Financial Assurance Required; and Closure and Remediation) and 30 TAC Chapter 335, Subchapter R (relating to Waste Classification);
(5) an estimated timeframe for the use of coal combustion products or the disposal of coal combustion by-products as part of the timetable submitted under § 12.187(b)(1) of this title (relating to Reclamation Plan: General Requirements for Underground Mining).
Send your written or electronic comments to OSM at the address given above. Your written comments should Start Printed Page 5104be specific, pertain only to the issues proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of your recommendations. We will not consider or respond to your comments when developing the final rule if they are received after the close of the comment period (see DATES). We will make every attempt to log all comments into the administrative record, but comments delivered to an address other than the Tulsa Field Office may not be logged in.
Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII or Word file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include “Attn: TX-051-FOR” and your name and return address in your Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have received your Internet message, contact the Tulsa Field Office at (918) 581-6430.
If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 p.m., c.s.t. on February 18, 2004. If you are disabled and need special 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.
The revisions made at the initiative of the State do not have Federal counterparts and have been reviewed and a determination made that they do not have takings implications. This determination is based on the fact that the provisions have no substantive effect on the regulated industry.
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 Start Printed Page 5105major Federal actions within the meaning of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
The Department of the Interior certifies that the provisions in 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.). This determination is based upon the fact that the provisions are not expected to have a substantive effect on the regulated industry.
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 provisions are not expected to have a substantive effect on the regulated industry.
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 provisions are not expected to have a substantive effect on the regulated industry.
[FR Doc. 04-2130 Filed 2-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-U