Illinois Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 913

[IL-091]

Illinois 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

Illinois Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan (hereinafter referred to

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

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed amendment pertains to the

merger of the Illinois Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council into

the newly created Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of

Mines and Minerals. The Amendment is intended to provide formal

notification to OSM of this pending reorganization.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., C.D.T., May 22,

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

held on May 15, 1995. Requests to speak at the hearing must be received

by 4:00 p.m., C.D.T., on May 5, 1995.

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

be mailed or hand delivered to James F. Fulton, Director, at the

addresses listed below.

Copies of the Illinois 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 Springfield Field Office.

James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield Field Office, Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 511 West Capitol, Suite 202,

Springfield, Illinois 62704, Telephone: (217) 492-4495.

Illinois Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council, 928 South Spring

Street, Springfield, Illinois 62704, Telephone: (217) 782-0588.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Director, Springfield

Field Office, Telephone: (217) 492-4495.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Illinois Plan

Title IV of SMCRA established an Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation

(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

they were 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 abandoned mine land 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 June 1, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior approved the

Illinois plan. Background information on the Illinois plan, including

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

of the plan can be found in the June 1, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR

23886). Subsequent actions concerning the conditions of approval and

amendments to the plan can be found at 30 CFR 913.25.

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

[[Page 19698]] 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 April 10, 1995 (Administrative Record No. IL-800-

AML), Illinois submitted a proposed amendment to its plan pursuant to

SMCRA. Illinois submitted the proposed amendment at its own initiative.

In accordance with 30 CFR 884.15, Illinois notified OSM that effective

July 1, 1995, the authority and administrative responsibility for the

Illinois plan will be transferred from the Abandoned Mined Lands

Reclamation Council to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources,

Office of Mines and Minerals, Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation

Division.

Specifically, the Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council will be

merged into the Illinois Department of Natural Resources by virtue of

Executive Order Number 2 (1995) signed by the Governor of Illinois on

March 1, 1995. Article V, Section 11 of the Constitution of the State

of Illinois authorizes the Governor to reassign functions among or

reorganize executive agencies to simplify the organizational structure

of the Executive Branch, to improve accountability, to increase

accessibility, and to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in

operation.

Illinois specified that all rights, powers, and duties vested in

the Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council under the Illinois plan,

including existing laws, rules, and statements of policy, would be

administered by the Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Division of the

Office of Mines and Minerals in accordance with the requirements of

Title IV of SMCRA and consistent with all applicable Federal rules and

guidelines.

The Executive Order contains the following applicable provisions:

Part I, paragraph C, provides that ``[t]he Department of Natural

Resources shall have within it an Office of Mines and Minerals which

shall be responsible for the functions previously vested in * * * the

Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council and such other related

functions and responsibilities as may be appropriate;''

Part II, paragraph D, transfers the Abandoned Mined Lands and Water

Reclamation Act (20 ILCS 1920 et seq.), section 6a-1-a of the Illinois

Purchasing Act (30 ILCS 505/6a-1-a), section 21(r)(2) of the

Environmental Protection Act (415 ILCS 5/21(r)(2)), section 2 of the

Surface Coal Mining Fee Act (20 ILCS 1915/2), section 1-3 of the Build

Illinois Act (30 ILCS 750/1-3), and section 67.35 of the Civil

Administrative Code (20 ILCS 405/67.35) from the Abandoned Mined Lands

Reclamation Council to the Department of Natural Resources along with

all rights, powers, and duties incidental to these Acts;

Part III, paragraph A abolishes the Abandoned Mined Lands

Reclamation Council, and paragraph C transfers personnel previously

assigned to the Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council to the

Department of Natural Resources; and

Part IV, paragraph F, provides that ``[t]his Executive Order shall

not affect the legality of any rules in the Illinois Administrative

Code that are in force on the effective date of this Executive Order

that have been duly adopted by the agencies reorganized under this

Order. As soon as practicable hereafter, the Department of Natural

Resources * * * shall propose and adopt under the Illinois

Administrative Procedure Act such rules as may be necessary to

consolidate and clarify the rules of the various reorganized agencies

that will now be administered by the successor agency.''

III. Public Comment Procedures

In accordance with the provisions of 30 CFR 884, OSM is seeking

comments on whether the proposed amendment satisfies the program

approval criteria of 30 CFR 884.14. If the amendment is deemed

adequate, it will become part of the Illinois plan.

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 Springfield 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.,

C.D.T., on May 5, 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 (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 and Tribal abandoned mine land reclamation plans and revisions

thereof since each such plan is drafted and promulgated by a specific

State or Tribe, not by OSM. Decisions on proposed abandoned mine land

reclamation plans and revisions thereof submitted by a State or Tribe

are based [[Page 19699]] on a determination of whether the submittal

meets the requirements of Title IV of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1231-1243) and

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 or 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 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 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 913

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: April 14, 1995.

Tim L. Dieringer,

Acting Assistant Director, Eastern Support Center.

[FR Doc. 95-9773 Filed 4-19-95; 8:45 am]

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