[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 79 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21534-21536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-9574]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 943
[SATS No. TX-059-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2010-0001]
Texas 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 Texas
regulatory program (Texas program) under the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Texas proposes revisions to
its regulations regarding annual permit fees. Texas intends to revise
its program to improve operational efficiency.
This document gives the times and locations that the Texas 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.d.t., May 26, 2010. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on
the amendment on May 21, 2010. We will accept requests to speak at a
hearing until 4 p.m., c.d.t. on May 11, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. TX-059-
FOR, by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``Docket No. TX-059-
FOR'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail/Hand Delivery: Alfred L. Clayborne, Director, Tulsa
Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,
1645 South 101st East Avenue, Suite 145, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74128-4629.
Fax: (918) 581-6419.
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 Texas
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 Tulsa Field Office or going
to http://www.regulations.gov. Alfred L. Clayborne, Director, Tulsa
Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,
1645 South 101st East Avenue, Suite 145, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74128-4629,
Telephone: (918) 581-6430, E-mail: [email protected].
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following location: 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alfred L. Clayborne, Director, Tulsa
Field Office. Telephone: (918) 581-6430. E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Texas Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the Texas 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 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 conditionally approved
the Texas program effective February 16, 1980. You can find background
information on the Texas program, including the Secretary's findings,
the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval of the
Texas program in the February 27, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 12998).
You can also find later actions concerning the Texas program and
program amendments at 30 CFR 943.10, 943.15 and 943.16.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated January 5, 2010 (Administrative Record No. TX-666),
Texas 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 Texas. The full text of the program amendment is available
for you to read at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
Texas proposes to revise its regulation at 16 Texas Administrative
Code (TAC) section 12.108(b) regarding annual permit fees by:
(1) Decreasing the amount of the fee for each acre of land within
the permit area on which coal or lignite was actually removed during
the calendar year,
(2) Increasing the amount of the fee for each acre of land within a
permit area covered by a reclamation bond on December 31st of the year,
and
(3) Increasing the amount of the fee for each permit in effect on
December 31st of the year.
Texas fully funds its 50% state share of costs to regulate the coal
mining industry with fees paid by the coal industry. Texas charges
various fees to meet these costs including permit application fees, and
annual fees for lands in various stages of mining and reclamation. The
proposed fee revisions are intended to provide incentives for industry
to accomplish reclamation and achieve bond release as quickly as
possible. This would be achieved by decreasing the fee per acre where
coal or lignite is removed, and increasing both the fee for each acre
under permit and the fee for each permit which remains active on
December 31st of each year. By making these changes, companies are
encouraged to make every effort to achieve bond release before the end
of each year.
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.
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Electronic or Written Comments
If you submit written comments, they should be specific, confined
to issues pertinent to the proposed regulations, and explain the reason
for any recommended change(s). We appreciate any and all comments, but
those most useful and likely to influence decisions on the final
regulations will be those that either involve personal experience or
include citations to and analyses of SMCRA, its legislative history,
its implementing regulations, case law, other pertinent State or
Federal laws or regulations, technical literature, or other relevant
publications.
We cannot ensure that comments received after the close of the
comment period (see DATES) or sent to an address other than those
listed (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.d.t. on May
11, 2010. 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.
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
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 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.
The basis for this determination is that our decision is on a State
regulatory program and does not involve Federal regulations involving
Indian lands.
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
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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 943
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: January 22, 2010.
Ervin J. Barchenger,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the
Federal Register on Wednesday, April 21, 2010.
[FR Doc. 2010-9574 Filed 4-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P