# Louisiana Regulatory Program > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A94-28894 ## Record - **Collection:** Federal Register - **Document type:** Uncategorized Document - **Published:** November 23, 1994 ## Text 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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] BILLING CODE 4310-05-M --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A94-28894. Public record. Not legal advice.