Alabama Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 901

Alabama Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

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

Alabama abandoned mine land reclamation plan (hereinafter referred to

as the ``Alabama plan'') under the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed amendment consists of

revisions and additions to the Alabama plan pertaining to the

incorporation of contractor bidder eligibility screening under OSM's

Applicant Violator System for the reclamation of coal and noncoal

sites; exclusion of certain noncoal sites from reclamation; requirement

of submission of Form OSM-76 upon project completion; and, removal of

the fourth priority for noncoal reclamation sites. These changes would

be applicable to reclamation of both nonemergency and emergency

Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AMLR) projects. The amendment is

intended to revise the Alabama plan to be consistent with the

corresponding Federal regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., E.S.T. January

18, 1995. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will

be held on January 13, 1995. Requests to speak at the hearing must be

received by 4:00 p.m., E.S.T. on January 3, 1995.

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

be mailed or hand delivered to Jesse Jackson, Jr., Director, Birmingham

Field Office, at the address listed below.

Copies of the Alabama plan, 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 Birmingham Field Office:

Jesse Jackson, Jr., Director, Birmingham Field Office, Office of

Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Birmingham Field Office,

135 Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Birmingham, Alabama 35209, Telephone:

(205) 290-7287

Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, Abandoned Mine Lands

Program, 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36130, Telephone: (205)

242-8265

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Director,

Birmingham Field Office, Telephone: (205) 290-7287.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Alabama Plan

Title IV of SMCRA established an AMLR program for the purposes of

reclaiming and restoring lands and water resources adversely affected

by past mining. This program is funded by a reclamation fee imposed

upon the production of coal. As enacted in 1977, lands and waters

eligible for reclamation were those that were mined or affected by

mining and abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation status prior

to August 3, 1977, and for which there was no continuing reclamation

responsibility under State or Federal law. The AML Reclamation Act of

1990 (Pub. L. 101-508, title VI, Subtitle A, Nov. 5, 1990, effective

Oct. 1, 1991) amended SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq., to provide changes

in the eligibility of project sites for AML expenditures. Title IV of

SMCRA now provides for reclamation of certain mine sites where the

mining occurred after August 3, 1977. These include interim program

sites where bond forfeiture proceeds were insufficient for adequate

reclamation and sites affected any time between August 4, 1977, and

November 5, 1990, for which there were insufficient funds for adequate

reclamation due to the insolvency of the bond surety. Title IV provides

that a State with an approved AMLR plan has the responsibility and

primary authority to implement the program.

On May 20, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Alabama

plan. Background information on the Alabama plan, including the

Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the approval of

the plan can be found in the May 20, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR

22062). Subsequent actions concerning the conditions of approval and

amendments to the plan can be found at 30 CFR 901.25.

The Secretary adopted regulations at 30 CFR Part 884 that specify

the content requirements of a State reclamation plan and the criteria

for plan approval. The regulations provide that a State may submit to

the Director proposed amendments or revisions to the approved

reclamation plan. If the amendments or revisions change the scope of

major policies followed by the State in the conduct of its reclamation

program, the Director must follow the procedures set out in 30 CFR

884.14 in approving or disapproving an amendment or revision.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

By letter dated December 5, 1994 (Administrative Record No. AL-

512), Alabama submitted a proposed amendment to its plan pursuant to

SMCRA. Alabama submitted the proposed amendment in response to a

September 26, 1994, letter (Administrative Record No. AL-511) that OSM

sent to Alabama in accordance with 30 CFR 884.15(d). The provisions of

the Alabama plan proposed for revision are ``Administrative and

Management Structure of the Alabama Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation

Program Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 884.13(d)'' to incorporate contractor

bidder eligibility screening under OSM's Applicant Violator System for

the reclamation of coal and noncoal sites; and ``Ranking and Selection

Procedures Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 884.13(c)(2)'' to exclude certain

noncoal sites from reclamation; to require submission of Form OSM-76

upon project completion; and, to remove the fourth priority for noncoal

reclamation sites. The changes would be applicable to reclamation of

both nonemergency and emergency AMLR projects.

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 Alabama 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 Birmingham 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.,

E.S.T. on January 3, 1995. 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.

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.

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 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 and Tribal abandoned

mine land reclamation plans and revisions thereof since each such plan

is drafted and adopted by a specific State or Tribe, not by OSM.

Decisions on proposed State and Tribal abandoned mine land reclamation

plans and revisions thereof submitted by a State or Tribe as based on a

determination of whether the submittal meets the requirements of Title

IV of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1231-1243) and the Federal regulations at 30 CFR

Parts 884 and 888.

National Environmental Policy Act

No environmental impact statement is required for this rule since

agency decisions on proposed State and Tribal abandoned mine land

reclamation plans and revisions thereof are categorically excluded from

compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332)

by the Manual of the Department of the Interior [516 Dm 6, appendix 8,

paragraph 8.4B(29)].

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule does not contain information collection requirements that

require approval by the Office of Management and Budget 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 submittal which is the subject of this rule is based upon

corresponding 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. In making the

determination as to whether this rule would have a significant economic

impact, the Department relied upon the data and assumptions in the

analyses for the corresponding Federal regulations.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 901

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: December 13, 1994.

Richard J. Seibel,

Acting Assistant Director, Eastern Support Center.

[FR Doc. 94-31094 Filed 12-16-94; 8:45 am]

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