[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 205 (Monday, October 23, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63223-63225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27163]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 931
[SPATS No. NM-041-FOR]
New Mexico 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.
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SUMMARY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is
announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the New Mexico
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regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``New Mexico program'') under the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation act of 1977 (SMCRA). The
proposed amendment consists of recodification of the New Mexico Surface
Coal Mining Regulations. The amendment is intended to revise the New
Mexico program to improve operational efficiency and assure that the
New Mexico Surface Coal Mining Regulations are codified according to
the New Mexico administrative procedures.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4 p.m., m.d.t., November
22, 2000. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will
be held on November 17, 2000. Requests to present oral testimony at the
hearing must be received by 4 p.m., m.d.t., on November 7, 2000.
ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and
requests to speak at the hearing to Willis L. Gainer at the address
listed below.
You may review copies of the New Mexico program, the amendment, a
listing of any scheduled public hearings, and all written comments
received in response to this document at the addresses listed below
during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding
holidays. You may receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting
OSM's Albuquerque Field Office.
Willis L. Gainer, Director, Albuquerque Field Office, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 505 Marquette Avenue, NW., Suite
1200, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
Mining and Minerals Division, New Mexico Energy & Minerals Department,
2040 South Pacheco Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505, Telephone: (505)
827-5970
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Willis L. Gainer, Telephone: (505)
248-5096, Internet address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the New Mexico Program
On December 31, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the New Mexico program. General background information on the
New Mexico program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition
of comments, and the conditions of approval of the New Mexico program
can be found in the December 31, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 86459).
Subsequent actions concerning New Mexico's program and program
amendments can be found at 30 CFR 931.11, 931.15, 931.16, and 931.30.
II. Proposed Amendment
By letter dated September 22, 2000 (administrative record No. NM-
840), New Mexico submitted a proposed amendment to its program pursuant
to SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). New Mexico submitted the proposed
amendment at its own initiative. New Mexico proposes to recodify the
New Mexico Surface Coal Mining Regulations.
Specifically, New Mexico proposes to recodify its regulations from
Title 19 (Natural Resources and Wildlife), Chapter 8 (Coal Mining),
Part 2 (Coal Surface Mining) of the New Mexico Administrative Code
(NMAC), Subparts 1 through 34, to Title 19, Chapter 8 of NMAC, Parts 1
through 34, or 19.8 NMAC Parts 1-34. No substantive changes to the text
of the New Mexico regulations that are counterpart to SMCRA are
proposed.
The only significant text revisions New Mexico proposes are at
19.8.1.5. and 19.8.1.108. New Mexico proposes to revise Section 5 to
clarify the effective date of the regulations as follows:
19.8.1.5 Effective Date: November 29, 1997, unless a later date
is cited at the end of a section.
New Mexico proposes to revise Section 108 to reinsert previously
approved language that was unintentionally removed when New Mexico
recodified it regulations in 1997. New Mexico proposes to reinsert the
following:
19.8.1.108 Suspension of Rules or Regulations (None) Section 1-
11 CSMC Rule 80-1, as adopted May 15, 1980, is hereby repealed,
provided, however, that such repeal shall not be deemed to affect
the authority of persons to engage in or carry out any surface coal
mining operations if he has a permit under Laws 1972, Chapter 68,
and such permit has not expired pursuant to the Act or 19.8 NMAC
Parts 1-34, so long as he complies with the provisions of the Act,
the permit and 19.8 NMAC Parts 1-34.
III. Public Comment Procedures
We will make comments, including names and addresses of
respondents, available for public review during normal business hours.
We will not consider anonymous comments. If individual respondents
request confidentiality, we will honor their request to the extent
allowable by law. Individual respondents who wish to withhold their
name or address from public review, except for the city or town, must
state this prominently at the beginning of their comments. We will make
all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, available for public review in their entirety.
Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use
of special characters and nay form of encryption. Please also include
``Attn: SPATS No. NM-041-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 Albuquerque Field Office at
(505) 248-5096.
Your written comments should be specific and pertain only to the
issues proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support
of the commenter's recommendations. In the final rulemaking, we will
not necessarily consider or include in the Administrative Record any
comments received after the time indicated under DATES or at locations
other than the Albuquerque Field Office.
In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are
requesting comments on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the
applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve
the amendment, it will become part of the New Mexico program.
Comments received after the time indicated under DATES or at
locations other than the Albuquerque Field Office will not necessarily
be considered in the final rulemaking or included in the administrative
record.
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.,
m.d.t., on November 7, 2000. 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. 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.
To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we
request, if possible, that each person who testifies at a public
hearing provide us with a written copy of his or her testimony. The
public hearing will continue on the specified date until all persons
scheduled to speak have been 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 all persons scheduled to
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speak and persons present in the audience who wish to speak have been
heard.
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 the 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
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 12988
The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required
by section 3 of the Executive Order 12988 (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.
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 (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 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.
Unfunded Mandates
This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any
given year on any governmental entity or the private sector.
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 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.
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.
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.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 931
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: October 11, 2000.
Peter A. Rutledge,
Acting Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 00-27163 Filed 10-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M