[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29867-29869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7917]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 924
[Docket No. MS-018-FOR]
Mississippi 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: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the
Mississippi regulatory program (Mississippi program) under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act).
Mississippi proposes a revision to its statutes regarding valid
existing rights as it pertains to designation of lands as unsuitable
for surface coal mining operations. Mississippi intends to revise its
program to be consistent with SMCRA.
This document gives the times and locations that the Mississippi
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: We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4 p.m.,
c.t., June 23, 2006. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the
amendment on June 19, 2006. We will accept requests to speak at a
hearing until 4 p.m., c.t. on June 8, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. MS-018-
FOR, by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include Docket No. MS-018-FOR in
the subject line of the message.
Mail/Hand Delivery: Arthur W. Abbs, Director, Birmingham
Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 135
Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Homewood, Alabama 35209
Fax: (205) 290-7280
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this rulemaking. For detailed instructions on
submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking
process, see the ``Public Comment Procedures'' heading of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
Docket: For access to the docket to review copies of the
Mississippi program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled public
hearings, and all written comments received in response to this
document, you must go to the address listed below during normal
business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. You may
receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting OSM's Birmingham
Field Office.
Arthur W. Abbs, Director, Birmingham Field Office, Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 135 Gemini Circle, Suite
215, Homewood, Alabama 35209. Telephone: (205) 290-7282. E-mail:
[email protected].
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following location:
Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology, 2380
Highway 80 West, Jackson, Mississippi 39289-1307. Telephone: (601) 961-
5500.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arthur W. Abbs, Director, Birmingham
Field Office. Telephone: (205) 290-7282. E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Mississippi Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the Mississippi 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
[[Page 29868]]
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 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 approved the
Mississippi program on September 4, 1980. You can find background
information on the Mississippi program, including the Secretary's
findings and the disposition of comments in the September 4, 1980,
Federal Register (45 FR 58520). You can also find later actions
concerning the Mississippi program and program amendments at 30 CFR
924.10, 924.15, 924.16, and 924.17.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated April 5, 2006 (Administrative Record No. MS-0402),
Mississippi sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C.
1201 et seq.). Mississippi sent the amendment at its own initiative.
Below is the change Mississippi proposes.
Mississippi Code Annotated Section 53-9-71(4)
Mississippi's statute at section 53-9-71(4) currently reads as
follows: (4) After July 1, 1979, and subject to valid rights existing
on August 3, 1977, no surface coal mining operations shall be
permitted.
Mississippi proposes to revise section 53-9-71(4) to read as
follows: (4) After July 1, 1979, and subject to valid rights, no
surface coal mining operations shall be permitted.
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 written or electronic comments to OSM at the address
given 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 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 Birmingham Field Office may not
be logged in.
Electronic Comments
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: Docket No. MS-018-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 Birmingham
Field Office at (205) 290-7282.
Availability of Comments
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.
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 June 8,
2006. 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.
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.
Public Meeting
If only one person requests an opportunity to speak, we may hold a
public meeting rather than a public hearing. If you wish to meet with
us to discuss the amendment, please 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 make a
written summary of each meeting a part of the administrative record.
IV. Procedural Determinations
Executive Order 12630--Takings
In this rule, the State is adopting valid existing rights standards
that are similar to the standards in the Federal definition at 30 CFR
761.5. Therefore, this rule has the same takings implications as the
Federal valid existing rights rule. The takings implications assessment
for the Federal valid existing rights rule appears in part XXIX.E. of
the preamble to that rule. See 64 FR 70766, 70822-27, December 17,
1999.
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
[[Page 29869]]
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 Federally-recognized 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 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 Mississippi program
does not regulate coal exploration and surface coal mining and
reclamation operations on Indian lands. Therefore, the Mississippi
program has no effect on Federally-recognized 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 924
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: April 20, 2006.
Ervin J. Barchenger,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
[FR Doc. E6-7917 Filed 5-23-06; 8:45 am]
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