Louisiana Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

30 CFR Part 918

Louisiana Regulatory Program

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

Interior.

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

hearing on proposed amendment.

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

Louisiana regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Louisiana program'')

under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. The

proposed amendment consists of revisions to Louisiana's revegetation

success regulations and a policy statement pertaining to tree stocking

for forest land. The amendment is intended to revise the Louisiana

program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., c.s.t. December

23, 1994. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will

be held on December 19, 1994. Requests to present oral testimony at the

hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., c.s.t. on December 8, 1994. 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.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to James

H. Moncrief at the address listed below.

Copies of the Louisiana 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 Tulsa Field Office.

James H. Moncrief, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 550,

Tulsa, OK 74135-6548

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, P.O.

Box 94275, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9275, Telephone: (504) 342-5540

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James H. Moncrief, Telephone: (918)

581-6430.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Louisiana Program

On October 10, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally

approved the Louisiana program. General background information on the

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

of comments, and the conditions of approval of the Louisiana program

can be found in the October 10, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 67340).

Subsequent actions concerning Louisiana's program and program

amendments can be found at 30 CFR 918.15 and 918.16.

II. Proposed Amendment

By letter dated November 2, 1994, Louisiana submitted a proposed

amendment to its program pursuant to SMCRA (administrative record No.

LA-351). Louisiana submitted the proposed amendment in response to the

required program amendments at 30 CFR 918.16 (a) and (b) with the

intent of making its program consistent with the corresponding Federal

regulations.

Louisiana proposes to recodify Louisiana Surface Mining Regulations

(LSMR) Sec. 53123 as Sec. 5423.

Louisiana also proposes to revise LSMR 5423.B.4, standards for

success of revegetation at final bond release on reclaimed lands

developed for forestry. Existing LSMR 5423.B.4 requires that ``[a]t the

time of final bond release there shall be 450 well-distributed free-to-

grow live pine trees of the same age per acre or 250 well-distributed

live hardwood trees of the same age per acre'' and that ``[c]countable

stems shall be a minimum of three years old.'' Louisiana proposes to

revise LSMR 5423.B.4 to include the requirement that countable tree

stems used in determining the success of stocking and the adequacy of

the plant arrangement shall ``have utility for the approved forestry

postmining land use and be healthy.'' Louisiana also proposes Policy

Statement No. PS-5 to clarify that 100 percent of the threes counted to

determine revegetation success must be in place for a minimum of 60

percent of the minimum responsibility period (i.e., a minimum 3 years

of the minimum 5-year responsibility period).

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 Louisiana 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 Tulsa 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.,

c.s.t. on December 8, 1994. 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 ((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

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 918

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: November 17, 1994.

Charles E. Sandberg,

Acting Assistant Director, Western Support Center.

[FR Doc. 94-28894 Filed 11-22-94; 8:45 am]

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