[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 185 (Monday, September 24, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48841-48845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23732]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 915
[SPATS No. IA-012-FOR]
Iowa Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)
is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Iowa regulatory
program (Iowa program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Iowa proposes revisions to its April
1999 revegetation success guidelines concerning normal husbandry
practices; minimum planting arrangements and tree and shrub stocking
requirements for recreational, wildlife, and forested lands; and
criteria for dry weight determinations for corn, soybean, oat, and
wheat crops. Iowa intends to revise its program to be consistent with
the corresponding Federal regulations.
This document gives the times and locations that the Iowa program
and the proposed amendment to that program are available for public
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: We will accept written comments until 4 p.m., c.d.t., October
24, 2001. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment
on October 19, 2001. We will accept
[[Page 48842]]
requests to speak at the hearing until 4 p.m., c.d.t. on October 9,
2001.
ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and
requests to speak at the hearing to John W. Coleman, Mid-Continent
Regional Coordinating Center, at the address listed below.
You may review copies of the Iowa 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 Mid-
Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
John W. Coleman, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center, Office
of Surface Mining, Alton Federal Building, 501 Belle Street, Alton,
Illinois 62002, Telephone: (618) 463-6460.
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Division of
Soil Conservation, Henry A. Wallace Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319,
Telephone: (515) 281-6147.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John W. Coleman, Mid-Continent
Regional Coordinating Center. Telephone: (618) 463-6460. Internet:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Iowa 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 with the requirements of the Act * * *; and
rules and regulations consistent with regulations issued by the
Secretary pursuant to the Act.'' See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On
the basis of this criteria, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Iowa program on January 21, 1981. You can find background
information on the Iowa program, including the Secretary's findings,
the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the
January 21, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 5885). You can find later
actions on the Iowa program at 30 CFR 915.10, 915.15, and 915.16.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated August 17, 2001 (Administrative Record No. IA-446),
Iowa sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA and the Federal
regulations at 30 CFR 732.17(b). Iowa sent the amendment in response to
required program amendments at 30 CFR 915.16(b), (d), and (e). Iowa is
proposing changes to its April 1999 revegetation success guidelines,
entitled ``Revegetation Success Standards and Statistically Valid
Sampling Techniques.'' Below is a summary of the changes proposed by
Iowa. The full text of the Iowa program amendment is available for
public inspection at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
A. Normal Husbandry Practices
Section III, Part H of Iowa's April 1999 revegetation success
guidelines describes normal husbandry practices that can be used by the
permittee in the repair of rills and gullies without restarting the
responsibility period. It includes requirements for terrace repair and
maintenance; riprap repair and maintenance; land smoothing and
reseeding; and liming, fertilizing and interseeding. In our final rule
dated November 26, 1999, we did not approve Section III, Part H because
Iowa did not submit documentation that demonstrated that the proposed
normal husbandry practices were the usual or expected state, form,
amount, or degree of management performed habitually or customarily to
prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect of the resources on
similar unmined lands in the State (64 FR 66388-66389). We required
Iowa to either remove its guidelines for normal husbandry practices at
Section III, Part H or submit documentation that support the proposed
normal husbandry practices. We codified this requirement at 30 CFR
915.16(b).
In response to the required program amendment at 30 CFR 915.16(b),
Iowa proposed changes to Section III, Part H of its April 1999
revegetation success guidelines and included documentation for support
of the proposed normal husbandry practices. The documentation included
copies of four publications: (1) Iowa Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) Conservation Practice Standard 466, Land Smoothing; (2)
Iowa NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 590, Nutrient Management; (3)
Iowa NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 600, Terraces; and (4) Iowa
State University Extension Service Publication Pm-1097, Interseeding
and No-till Pasture Renovation.
Iowa is proposing the following substantive changes to Section III,
Part H:
1. Iowa is revising Section III, Part H, Step 1 concerning terrace
repair and maintenance by removing Item (e). Item (e) allows the
extension of a terrace to intercept additional drainage area when the
extension is no greater than 25 percent of the original terrace length.
Items (f) and (g) were relettered as (e) and (f), respectively.
2. Iowa is revising Section III, Part H, Step 2 concerning riprap
repair and maintenance by removing Item (b). Item (b) allows the
extension of an undersized ditch when the extension is no more than a
25 percent increase in the length of the ditch. Items (c) and (d) were
relettered as (b) and (c), respectively.
3. Iowa is revising Section III, Part H, Step 4(a) concerning lime
applications. The revised provision reads as follows:
(a) Lime Applications: Lime applications may be made based on
soil test recommendations for the appropriate crop or vegetation.
These maintenance applications should follow the guidelines of
Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Practice
Standard, Nutrient Management (Acre), Code 590. Prior to any lime
applications the Permittee shall be required to submit, to the
Division, the original copies of the soil test recommendations and a
map of the permit area indicating where each soil sample was taken.
Under no circumstances will lime applications greater than the soil
test recommendations for that crop or vegetative cover be permitted.
If subsequent submittals of lime weight tickets show any lime
applications in a significant excess of the soil test
recommendations, it shall be grounds for the Division to restart the
responsibility period.
4. Iowa is revising Section III, Part H, Step 4(b) concerning
fertilizer applications. The revised provision reads as follows:
(b) Fertilizer Applications: Fertilizer applications may be made
based on soil test recommendations for the appropriate crop or
vegetation. These maintenance applications should follow the
guidelines of Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation
Practice Standard, Nutrient Management (Acre), Code 590. Prior to
any fertilizer applications the Permittee shall be required to
submit, to the Division, the original copies of the soil test
recommendations and a map of the permit area indicating where each
soil sample was taken. Under no circumstances will the fertilizer
applications be greater than the soil test recommendations for that
crop (at a realistic median crop yield) or vegetative cover be
permitted. If subsequent submittals of fertilizer weight tickets
prove that any fertilizer applications were in significant excess of
the soil test recommendations, that shall be grounds for the
Division to restart the responsibility period.
5. Iowa is revising the introductory paragraph of Section III, Part
H, Step 4(c) concerning interseeding by adding the following sentence
to the end of the paragraph:
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Any species to be interseeded must be approved by the Division
before the seed is planted.
6. Iowa is revising Section III, Part H, Step 4(c)(ii) to read as
follows:
(ii) Interseeding of a single species in the permit approved
seeding mixture, or interseeding of a replacement species, that has
been approved by the Division, to improve the vegetative cover when
unfavorable weather conditions adversely affect the germination
success of the original revegetation effort.
7. Finally Iowa is deleting the existing provisions at Section III,
Part H, Step 4(c)(iv) and (v).
B. Recreational, Wildlife, and Forested Lands
Section IV, Part E of Iowa's April 1999 revegetation success
guidelines contains the revegetation success standards for recreational
areas, wildlife areas, and forested lands. In our final rule dated
November 26, 1999, we approved Section IV, Part E with two exceptions
(64 FR 66388). First, Iowa's guidelines did not contain any planting
arrangement provisions for these land uses as required by 30 CFR
816.116(b)(3)(i) and 817.116(b)(3)(i). Second, Iowa did not submit any
documentation to prove that the State agencies responsible for the
administration of forestry and wildlife programs approved its minimum
stocking provisions as required by 30 CFR 816.116(b)(3)(i) and
817.116(b)(3)(i). We required Iowa to either add planting arrangement
provisions for recreational, wildlife, and forested land to its
guidelines and obtain program-wide concurrence from the State agencies
responsible for the administration of forestry and wildlife programs or
add a provision to its guidelines that requires permit-specific
concurrence for planting arrangements from the State agencies
responsible for the administration of forestry and wildlife programs.
We also required Iowa to either obtain program-wide concurrence for its
minimum stocking provisions or add a provision to its guidelines that
requires permit-specific concurrence for minimum stocking from the
State agencies responsible for the administration of forestry and
wildlife programs. We codified these requirements at 30 CFR
915.16(d)(1) and (2).
Iowa is proposing the following changes to Section IV, Part E to
address our required program amendments at 30 CFR 915.16(d)(1) and (2).
1. Iowa is adding the following new provision to the beginning of
the second paragraph of Section IV, Part E:
The wildlife and recreational lands have site specific
vegetation. Each permit with these types of post-mining land use
have been approved by the Division in concurrence with the Iowa
Department of Natural Resources.
2. Iowa is adding the following new provision to Section IV, Part
E, Step 2:
2. Tree and Shrub Stocking Requirements: The tree and shrub
planting shall be spaced such that there are a minimum of five
hundred (500) seedlings per acre. Acceptable tree and shrub spacing,
which will meet or exceed the minimum number of seedlings per acre,
are listed below. Narrower spacing is used for timber production.
Wider spacing and planting in groups or clumps is used for wildlife
and recreational tree and shrub plantings. These group or clump
plantings should consist of a minimum of five (5) or more trees, and
fifteen (15) or more shrubs per group.
Tree and Shrub Spacing for Planting
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Number of
Spacing in feet seedlings
per acre
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5 x 5...................................................... 1,742
5 x 10..................................................... 871
6 x 6...................................................... 1,210
6 x 10..................................................... 726
7 x 7...................................................... 889
7 x 10..................................................... 622
8 x 8...................................................... 681
8 x 10..................................................... 545
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3. The existing provisions in Section IV, Part E, Step 2 were
renumbered to Step 3.
C. Corn, Soybean, Oat, and Wheat Crops
Section V of Iowa's April 1999 revegetation success guidelines
contains sampling procedures and techniques to determine productivity
for corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, and forage crops; to determine ground
cover percentage; and to determine if trees and shrubs meet minimum
density standards. In our final rule dated November 26, 1999, we
approved Section V of Iowa's April 1999 revegetation success guidelines
with one exception (64 FR 66388). We did not fully approve Section V,
Part A, Item 2, which contains the grain sampling techniques for test
plot harvesting, because it did not specify how the permittee is to
obtain the dry weight of the test plot grain samples. The dry weight is
used in a calculation to determine the moisture percentage for each
test plot sample. We required Iowa to revise its April 1999
revegetation success guidelines at Section V, Part A, Step 2 by adding
a provision that specifies the standard method that permittees are to
use for obtaining the dry weight of test plot grain samples. We
codified this requirement at 30 CFR 915.16(e).
In response to the required amendment at 30 CFR 915.16(e), Iowa is
adding the following new provision to the beginning of Step 2(l):
(l) The grain samples collected and labeled in Step 2.g. above
must be oven dried until a constant dry weight is obtained. Weighing
will be performed immediately after oven drying to avoid absorption
of water from humid air. This dry weight will equal zero percent
(0%) moisture. All samples will be adjusted to the appropriate
percent moisture for that grain.
III. Public Comment Procedures
Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking 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 Iowa program.
Written Comments: If you submit written or electronic comments on
the proposed rule during the 30-day comment period, they should be
specific, should be confined to issues pertinent to the notice, and
should explain the reason for your recommendation(s). We may not be
able to consider or include in the Administrative Record comments
delivered to an address other than the one listed above (see
ADDRESSES).
Electronic Comments: Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII,
WordPerfect, or Word file avoiding the use of special characters and
any form of encryption. Please also include ``Attn: SPATS NO. IA-012-
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 Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center at
(618) 463-6460.
Availability of Comments: Our practice is to make comments,
including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public
review during regular business hours at OSM's Mid-Continent Regional
Coordinating Center (see ADDRESSES). Individual respondents may request
that we withhold their home address from the administrative record,
which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be
circumstances in which we would withhold from the administrative record
a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at
the beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous
comments. We
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will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their
entirety.
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.d.t. on October 9, 2001. We will arrange the location and time of the
hearing with those persons requesting the hearing. If no one requests
an opportunity to speak 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 speaks 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 speak and persons present in the audience who wish
to speak have been heard.
If you are disabled and need a special accommodation to attend a
public hearing, contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
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. If you wish to meet with us to discuss the proposed amendment,
you may request a meeting by contacting the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All such meetings are open to the public
and, if possible, we will post notices of meetings at the locations
listed under ADDRESSES. We will also make a written summary of each
meeting a part of the Administrative Record.
IV. Procedural Determinations
Executive Order 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review
This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and
Budget under Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 12630--Takings
This rule does not have takings implications. This determination is
based on the analysis performed for the counterpart Federal
regulations.
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 under SMCRA.
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, 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 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 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 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
Section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that a
decision on a proposed State regulatory program provision does not
constitute a major Federal action within the meaning of section
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C.
4332(2)(C)). A determination has been made that such decisions are
categorically excluded from the NEPA process (516 DM 8.4.A).
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not contain information collection requirements that
require approval by the Office of Management and Budget 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 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.
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.
Unfunded Mandates
This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any
given year
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on any governmental entity or the private sector.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 915
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: August 30, 2001.
Charles E. Sandberg,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 01-23732 Filed 9-21-01; 8:45 am]
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