[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 26, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13117-13119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7288]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 931
[SPATS No. NM-037-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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is
announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the New Mexico regulatory
program (hereinafter, the ``New Mexico program'') under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed
amendment consists of revisions to or additions of rules pertaining to
permit application contents for contour maps of the permit area and
operations exclusively under reclamation, permit approval or denial,
contents of bond release applications, timeliness of backfilling and
grading, approval of small depressions, performance standards for all
roads and primary roads, and blaster examination and certification
requirements. The amendment is intended to revise the New Mexico
program to incorporate the additional flexibility afforded by the
revised Federal regulations, as
[[Page 13118]]
amended, and improve operational efficiency.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t., April
25, 1996. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will
be held on April 22, 1996. Requests to present oral testimony at the
hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t., on April 10, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to Guy
Padgett at the address listed below.
Copies of the New Mexico program, the proposed amendment, and all
written comments received in response to this document will be
available for public review at the addresses listed below during normal
business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Each
requester may receive one free copy of the proposed amendment by
contacting OSM's Albuquerque Field Office.
Guy Padgett, 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 and Minerals
Department, 2040 South Pacheco Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505,
Telephone: (505) 827-5970
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy Padgett, Telephone: (505) 248-
5081.
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 March 11, 1996, New Mexico submitted a proposed
amendment to its program pursuant to SMCRA (administrative record No.
NM-773, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). New Mexico submitted the proposed
amendment at its own initiative. The provisions of the Coal Surface
Mining Commission (CSMC) rules that New Mexico proposes to revise or
add are:
CSMC Rule 80-1-5-23(a), concerning general requirements for permit
applications, by adding a reference to Part 15 for mines exclusively
under reclamation;
CSMC Rule 80-1-8-25(k), concerning contour maps with a maximum of 5
foot contour intervals in permit applications, by deleting specific
requirements at CSMC Rule 80-1-8-25(k) (1) through (3) for showing the
existing land surface configuration for the proposed affected areas and
adding the requirement that the existing land surface configuration be
shown for the proposed permit area;
CSMC Rule 80-1-11-19(c), concerning criteria for permit approval or
denial, by adding the word ``hydrological'' to the phrase ``probable
cumulative hydrological impacts'' and the acronym ``(CHIA)'' following
the phrase;
CSMC Rule 80-1-14-40(a), concerning bond release applications, by
adding a new paragraph (a)(2) which summarizes the minimum contents of
an application for a bond release and revising recodified paragraph
(a)(3) to delete a bond release application content requirement that is
now part of new paragraph (a)(2);
CSMC Rule 80-1-15, concerning minimum requirements for permit
applications for coal mining operations exclusively under reclamation,
by adding a new Part 15 which consists of requirements for: general
information at 15-11, information concerning identification of
interests at 15-12(a) through (j), compliance information at 15-13(a)
through (d), right of entry and operation information at 15-14(a) and
(b), permit term information at 15-15(a) and (b), personal injury and
property damage insurance information at 15-16, identification of other
licenses and permits at 15-17(a) through (d), identification of
location of public office for filing of application at 15-18, newspaper
advertisement and proof of publication at 15-19, general environmental
resources information at 15-20(a) through (f), the operation plan at
15-21(a) and (b), the fish and wildlife plan at 15-22(a) and (b), the
reclamation plan including protection of the hydrologic balance,
postmining land uses, and ponds, impoundments, banks, dams, and
embankments, at respectively, 15-23(a) and (b), 15-24(a) through (e),
15-25(a) and (b), and 15-26(a) through (e), and protection of public
parks and historic places at 15-27;
CSMC 80-1-20-101(a), concerning backfilling and grading
requirements for contour mining, open pit mining, and strip mining, by
deleting from 20-101(a)(1) through (3) all time limits by which
backfilling and grading must commence so that the existing distance
limits are the only measure of when backfilling and grading must
commence, and replacing the term ``area strip mining'' with the term
``strip mining'' at 20-101(a)(3);
CSMC 80-1-20-102(c), concerning backfilling and grading to create
small depressions, to add the allowance for New Mexico to approval
small depressions if they create and enhance wildlife habitat;
CSMC 80-1-20-150(b), concerning performance standards for all
roads, to delete the requirement at 20-150(b)(9) that all roads have,
at a minimum, a static safety factor of 1.3 for all embankments;
CSMC 80-1-20-151(a), concerning performance standards for primary
roads, to add at 20-151(a)(5) the requirement that all primary roads
have a static factor of safety of 1.3, at a minimum, for all
embankments; and
CSMC 80-1-33-14 and 80-1-33-15, concerning examination and
certification for blasters, by deleting the existing requirements and
replacing them with new requirements for (1) examination at 33-14(a)
and (b) that include a written exam to demonstrate competence and a
minimum of one year of practical field experience and (2) certification
at 33-15(a) through (e) that include requirements for certification
every four years, suspension and revocation of certification,
recertification (by reexamination, training, and demonstration),
protection of certification, and conditions for maintaining
certification.
III. Public Comment Procedures
In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), OSM is
seeking comments on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the
applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If the amendment
is deemed adequate, it will become part of the New Mexico program.
1. Written Comments
Written comments should be specific, pertain only to the issues
proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of the
commenter's recommendations. 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.
2. 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.,
[[Page 13119]]
m.d.t., on April 10, 1996. 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.
Filing of a written statement at the time of the hearing is
requested as it will greatly assist the transcriber. Submission of
written statements in advance of the hearing will allow OSM officials
to prepare adequate responses and appropriate questions.
The public hearing will continue on the specified date until all
persons scheduled to testify have been heard. Persons in the audience
who have not been scheduled to testify, and who wish to do so, will be
heard following those who have been scheduled. The hearing will end
after all persons scheduled to testify and persons present in the
audience who wish to testify have been heard.
3. 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 with 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
1. 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).
2. Executive Order 12778
The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required
by section 2 of Executive Order 12778 (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.
3. 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 of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4332(2)(C)).
4. 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.).
5. 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 OMS 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.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 931
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: March 19, 1996.
Russell F. Price,
Acting Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 96-7288 Filed 3-25-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M