Illinois Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

30 CFR Part 913

Illinois Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public

hearing.

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SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the

Illinois regulatory program (hereinafter the ``Illinois program'')

under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).

The proposed amendment consists of revisions to the Illinois Surface

Coal Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act (State Act)

pertaining to small operator assistance, vegetation requirements for

lands eligible for remining, and fees and civil penalties. The proposed

amendment is intended to incorporate the additional flexibility

afforded by SMCRA, as amended, and improve operational efficiency.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m. on October 31,

1994. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will be

held on October 24, 1994. Requests to speak at the hearing must be

received by 4:00 p.m. on October 14, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to speak at the hearing should

be mailed or hand delivered to Mr. James F. Fulton, Director, at the

address listed below.

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.

Copies of the Illinois program, the proposed amendment, a listing

of any scheduled public hearings, 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 Springfield Field Office.

James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield Field Office, Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 511 West Capitol, Suite 202,

Springfield, Illinois 62704, Telephone: (217) 492-4495

Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals, 300 West Jefferson Street,

Suite 300, Springfield, Illinois 62791, Telephone: (217) 782-4970

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield

Field Office, Telephone: (217) 492-4495.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Illinois Program

On June 1, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally

approved the Illinois program. Background information on the Illinois

program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of

comments, and the conditions of approval can be found in the June 1,

1982, Federal Register (47 FR 23883). Subsequent actions concerning the

conditions of approval and program amendments can be found at 30 CFR

913.15, 913.16, and 913.17.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

By letter dated September 9, 1994, (Administrative Record No. IL-

1550) Illinois submitted a proposed amendment to its program pursuant

to SMCRA. Illinois submitted the proposed amendment at its own

initiative. The proposed amendment incorporates statutory changes to

the State Act at 225 ILCS 720/2.02, Contents of Permit Application;

3.15, Vegetation; and 9.07, Fees and Forfeitures. The revised statutes

were enacted through Public Act 88-599 (HB 2349), and they were signed

into law by the Governor of Illinois on September 1, 1994.

Public Act 88-599 amended 225 ILCS 720/2.02(b) of the State Act

concerning small operator assistance for consistency with Section

507(c) of SMCRA, as amended by Section 2513 of the Energy Policy Act of

1992. At subsection (b), Illinois proposes raising the annual coal

production cap from 100,000 to 300,000 tons at all locations for

eligibility for its small operator assistance program (SOAP).

Subsection (b) is also amended by deleting reference to the current

services and adding the following new or enhanced services: (1) the

determination of probable hydrologic consequences, including the

engineering analyses and designs necessary for the determination; (2)

the development of cross-section maps and plans; (3) the geologic

drilling and statement of results of test borings and core samplings;

(4) the collection of archaeological information and any other

archaeological and historical information required by the Department,

and the preparation of plans necessitated thereby; (5) pre-blast

surveys; and (6) the collection of site-specific resource information

and production of protection and enhancement plans for fish and

wildlife habitats and other environmental values required by the

Department under this Act. Subsection (b) if further amended by adding

the following SOAP assistance reimbursement requirement: A coal

operator that has received assistance pursuant to this subsection shall

reimburse the regulatory authority for the cost of the services

rendered if the program administrator finds that the operator's actual

and attributed annual production of coal for all locations exceeds

300,000 tons during the 12 months immediately following the date on

which the operator is issued the surface coal mining and reclamation

permit.

Public Act 88-599 amended 225 ILCS 720/3.15 of the State Act by

adding new subsection (e) concerning vegetation requirements for lands

eligible for remining. Subsection (e) was added for consistency with

Section 515(b) of SMCRA, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 1992.

Proposed subsection (e) reads as follows: On lands eligible for

remining, the operator shall assume the responsibility for successful

revegatation for a period of 2 full years after the last year of

augmented seeding, fertilizing, irrigation, or other work in order to

assure compliance with the applicable standards of the Act. This does

not preclude responsible land management practices on portions of the

total area as deemed necessary and approved by the Department.

Public Act 88-599 added 30 ILCS 105/6z-36 to the State Finance Act

to establish the Coal Mine Regulatory Fund. It also amended 225 ILCS

720/9.07 of the State Act by requiring all fees and civil penalties

collected under the State Act be deposited into the Coal Mine

Regulatory Fund. Section 6z-36 specifies that moneys in the Fund shall

be annually appropriated to the Department of Mines and Minerals for

the enforcement of coal mining regulatory laws and rules adopted by the

Department under those laws.

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 Illinois program.

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 Springfield Field Office

will not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included

in the Administrative Record.

Public Hearing

Persons wishing to speak at the public hearing should contact the

person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m. on

October 14, 1994. The location and time of the hearing will be arranged

with those persons requesting the hearing. If no one requests an

opportunity to speak 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 speak have been heard. Persons in the audience who

have not been scheduled to speak, and who wish to do so, will be heard

following those who have been scheduled. The hearing will end after all

persons scheduled to speak and persons present in the audience who wish

to speak have been heard.

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. 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

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 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, 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 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 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 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.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 913

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: September 23, 1994.

Tim L. Dieringer,

Acting Assistant Director Eastern Support Center.

[FR Doc. 94-24132 Filed 9-28-94; 8:45 am]

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