Kansas Permanent Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 916

Kansas Permanent Regulatory Program

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

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening and extension of public comment period

on proposed amendment.

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SUMMARY: OSM is reopening the public comment period and announcing the

receipt of revisions to a previously submitted amendment to the Kansas

permanent regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Kansas program'')

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

The revised amendment proposes further changes to provisions of the

Kansas regulations pertaining to administrative hearing procedures,

permit revisions, and revegetation success for underground mining. The

amendment is intended to revise the State program to be consistent with

the corresponding Federal standards, clarify ambiguities, and improve

operational efficiency.

This document sets forth the times and locations that the Kansas

program and proposed amendment to that program are available for public

inspection, the comment period during which interested persons may

submit written comments on the proposed amendment.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4 p.m., c.s.t., April 14,

1994.

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

R. Ennis at the address listed below.

Copies of the Kansas program the proposed amendment, and all

written comments received in response to this notice 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 amendments by contacting OSM's

Kansas City Field Office:

Jerry R. Ennis, Director, Kansas City Field Office, Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 934 Wyandotte, room 500, Kansas

City, MO 64105, Telephone: (816) 374-6405.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Bureau of Environmental

Remediation, Surface Mining Section, 1501 S. Joplin, P.O. Box 1418,

Pittsburg, KS 66762, lephone: (316) 231-8615.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry R. Ennis, telephone: (816) 374-

6405.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Kansas Program

On January 21, 1981, the Secretary of Interior conditionally

approved the Kansas program. General background information on the

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

comments, and the conditions of approval of the Kansas program can be

found in the January 21, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 5892).

Subsequent actions concerning Kansas' program and program amendment can

be found at 30 CFR 916.12, 916.15, and 916.16.

II. Discussion of Proposed Amendment

By letter dated September 14, 1993, (Administrative Record No. KS-

567) Kansas submitted a proposed amendment to its program pursuant to

SMCRA. Kansas submitted the proposed amendment with the intent of

satisfying the required program amendments at 30 CFR 916.16 (a), (b),

and (c) and at the States own initiative to improve its program.

OSM announced receipt of the proposed amendment in the September

27, 1993, Federal Register (58 FR 50302) and, in the same notice,

opened the public comment period and provided opportunity for a public

hearing on the adequacy of the proposed amendment. The public comment

period ended on October 27, 1993. The public hearing scheduled for

October 22, 1993, was not held because no one requested an opportunity

to testify.

By letter dated January 26, 1994 (Administrative Record No. KS-

540), OSM provided Kansas with its concerns about the September 14,

1993, amendment submission. In response to OSM's letter, Kansas

submitted a revised amendment by letters dated March 9, 1994

(Administrative Record No. KS-575), and March 10, 1994 (Administrative

Record No. KS-576). This new amendment submission contains further

revisions to Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, and 15 of the Kansas Administrative

Regulations (K.A.R.). The amendment proposes several changes to the

format and nonsubstantive wording changes to clarify the regulations.

The substantive changes proposed by Kansas are discussed briefly below:

(1) Intervention

K.A.R. 47-4-14a(c)(7): Kansas proposes that said petition shall set

out the interest of the petitioner and why his/her interest is or may

be affected.

(2) Public Hearings

K.A.R. 47-4-14a(d)(6)(E)(iii): Kansas proposes that notice under

this subsection may include all types of information provided in

section (d)(6) (A) through (D) or may consist of a brief statement

indicating the subject matter, parties, time, place where the hearing

will be held, locations where the general public may meet for hearings

which are conducted electronically, and nature of the hearing, manner

in which copies of the notice to the parties may be inspected and

copied, and the name and telephone number of the presiding officer.

(3) Civil Penalties

K.A.R. 47-5-5a(a)(10): Kansas proposes to adopt by reference 30 CFR

846.5 concerning definitions for individual civil penalties and

Sec. 846.18(c) concerning delinquent payment with minor modifications

to make the language State specific.

(4) Inspection and Enforcement, Substitution of Terms

K.A.R. 47-15-1a(b)(21): Kansas proposes that 30 CFR 843.15(e) has

been replaced with the requirement that an informal public hearing

shall be conducted in accordance with K.A.R. 47-4-14a.

(5) Underground Mining Revegetation, Standards of Success

K.A.R. 47-9-1(d)(39): Kansas proposes to add at its adoption by

reference of 30 CFR 817.116(a) subsection (a)(3) that data being used

for bond release will be submitted to the surface mining section

annually. This includes data for the last augmented seeding which will

start the extended liability period. The following instructions for

submissions shall be followed: (i) The planting reports, including soil

tests and tabulated results, shall be submitted by March 31 of the year

following the year in which they were performed; (ii) the production

and ground cover data shall be submitted within 30 days of the date

they were sampled, must include species identification, may include Raw

field data; and (iii) all data must be clearly identified as to the

bond release management area that it represents.

III. Public Comment Procedures

OSM is reopening the comment period on the proposed Kansas program

amendment to provide the public an opportunity to reconsider the

adequacy of the amendment in light of the additional materials

submitted. 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 Kansas program.

Written Comments

Written comments should be specific, pertain only to the issue

proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in support of the

commentor's recommendations. Comments received after the time indicated

under DATES or at locations other than the Kansas City Field Office

will not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included

in the administrative record.

IV. Procedural Determinations

1. Executive Order 12866

This proposed 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 12550) 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 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 916

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: March 16, 1994.

Raymond L. Lowrie,

Assistant Director, Western Support Center.

[FR Doc. 94-7507 Filed 3-29-94; 8:45 am]

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