Ohio Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

30 CFR Part 935

[OH-231; Amendment Number 68R]

Ohio Regulatory Program

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

Interior.

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

and opportunity for public hearing on proposed amendment.

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summary: OSM is reopening the public comment period for a revised

amendment to the Ohio permanent regulatory program (hereinafter

referred to as the Ohio program) under the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977. This revised amendment was initiated by Ohio

and is intended to make the Ohio program as effective as the

corresponding Federal regulations concerning contemporaneous

reclamation.

Specifically, the amendment proposes to revise Ohio's definition of

``auger mining'' and to further revise Ohio's proposed time and

distance schedules for backfilling and grading in conjunction with

various mining methods.

This document sets forth the times and locations that the Ohio

programs and the proposed amendments to those programs will be

available for public inspection, the comment period during which

interested persons may submit written comments on the proposed

amendments, and the procedures that will be followed regarding the

public hearing, if one is requested.

dates: Written comments must be received by 4 p.m. [e.s.t.], on April

3, 1995. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendments will

be held at 1 p.m. [e.s.t.], on March 27, 1995. Requests to present oral

testimony at the hearing must be received on or before 4 p.m. [e.s.t.],

on March 24, 1995.

addresses: Written comments and requests to testify at the hearing

should be mailed or hand-delivered to Mr. Robert H. Mooney, Acting

Director, Columbus Field Office, at the address listed below. Copies of

the Ohio programs, the proposed amendments, 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,

free of charge, one copy of the proposed amendments by contacting OSM's

Columbus Field Office.

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Columbus Field

Office, 4480 Refugee Road, Suite 201, Columbus, Ohio 43232, Telephone:

(614) 866-0578

Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, 1855

Fountain Square Court, Building H-3, Columbus, Ohio 43224, Telephone:

(614) 265-6675.

for further information contact: Mr. Robert H. Mooney, Acting Director,

Columbus Field Office, (614) 866-0578.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Ohio Program

On August 16, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally

approved the Ohio programs. Information on the general background of

the Ohio program submissions, including the Secretary's findings, the

disposition of comments, and a detailed explanation of the conditions

of approval of the Ohio programs, can be found in the August 10, 1982,

Federal Register (47 FR 34688). Subsequent actions concerning the

conditions of approval and program amendments are identified at 30 CFR

935.11, 935.12, 935.15, and 935.16.

II. Proposed Amendment

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation

(Ohio) submitted proposed Program Amendment Number 68 (PA 68) by letter

dated May 17, 1994 (Administrative Record No. OH-2018). In this

amendment, Ohio proposed to revise three rules in the Ohio

Administrative Code (OAC) to make the Ohio program as effective as the

corresponding Federal regulations concerning contemporaneous

reclamation. As part of and in support of proposed PA 68, Ohio also

submitted a draft Policy/Procedure Directive (PPD) which provided

additional clarification and guidance on the proposed Ohio rule

requirements for contemporaneous reclamation.

OSM announced receipt of PA 68 in the May 26, 1994, Federal

Register (59 FR 27253), and, in the same document, opened the public

comment period and provided an opportunity for a public hearing on the

adequacy of the proposed amendment. The public comment period closed on

June 27, 1994.

OSM and Ohio staff met on August 22, 1994, to discuss OSM's

questions and concerns about PA 68 (Administrative Record No. OH-2093).

In response to OSM's August 22, 1994, questions and comments, Ohio

provided Revised Program Amendment Number 68 (PA 68R) by letter dated

March 1, 1995 (Administrative Record No. OH-2094).

In PA 68R, Ohio is proposing a number of editorial changes to

improve the clarity and readability of the rule changes and the PPD

previously proposed by Ohio in PA 68. These additional changes do not

affect the content of the previously proposed revisions and are not

individually discussed in this proposed rule document.

The substantive changes proposed by Ohio in PA 68R are described

briefly below: [[Page 14401]]

(1) OAC section 1501:13-1-02 paragraph (K): Ohio is revising the

definition of ``auger mining'' to mean drilling holes or cutting into

an exposed coal seam at a highwall and transporting the coal to the

surface along an auger bit, by conveyor, or by other means.

(2) OAC section 1501:13-4-05 paragraph (A)(2)(a)(i): Ohio is

further revising this new paragraph to require that permit applications

identify the mining method as area mining, contour mining, another

named mining method, or a combination of methods to be identified by

name.

(3) OAC section 1501:13-4-05 paragraph (A)(2)(a)(ii): Ohio is

further revising this new paragraph to clarify that the description of

the mining operation in the permit application shall include the

location where the mining will begin.

III. Public Comment Procedures

Written Comments

In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), OSM is now

seeking comment on whether the amendments proposed by Ohio satisfy the

applicable program approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If the

amendments are deemed adequate, they will become part of the Ohio

programs.

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 Columbus Field Office will

not necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in

the Administrative Record.

Public Hearing

Persons wishing to comment at the public hearing should contact the

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

[e.s.t.], on March 24, 1995. If no one requests an opportunity to

comment at a public hearing, the hearing will not be held. 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.

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 comment have been heard. Persons in the audience who have not been

scheduled to comment and who wish to do so will be heard following

those scheduled. The hearing will end after all persons scheduled to

comment and persons present in the audience who wish to comment have

been heard.

Public Meeting

If only one person requests an opportunity to comment 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

amendments may request a meeting at the Columbus Field Office by

contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All

such meetings shall be open to the public and, if possible, notices of

the meetings will be posted at the locations listed under ADDRESSES. A

written summary of each public 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

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 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 corresponding Federal regulations.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 935

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: March 10, 1995.

Richard J. Seibel,

Acting Assistant Director, Eastern Support Center.

[FR Doc. 95-6592 Filed 3-16-95; 8:45 am]

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