Missouri Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 925

[SPATS No. MO-025-FOR]

Missouri Regulatory Program

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: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)

is

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announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Missouri regulatory

program (hereinafter the ``Missouri program'') under the Surface Mining

Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The proposed amendment

consists of a proposed set of revegetation success guidelines and a

rulemaking that eliminates the reference to an earlier set of

guidelines that was never approved by OSM. The amendment is intended to

revise the Missouri program to be consistent with the corresponding

Federal regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m., c.s.t., February

26, 1996. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will

be held on February 20, 1996. Requests to speak at the hearing must be

received by 4:00 p.m., c.s.t., on February 12, 1996.

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

be mailed or hand delivered to Brent Wahlquist, Regional Director, Mid-

Continent Regional Coordinating Center, at the address listed below.

Copies of the Missouri program, 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 Mid-Continent Regional

Coordinating Center.

Brent Wahlquist, Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating

Center, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Alton

Federal Building, 501 Belle Street, Alton, Illinois 62002, Telephone:

(618) 463-6460.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Land Reclamation Program, 205

Jefferson Street, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102,

Telephone: (573) 751-4041.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brent Wahlquist, Regional Director,

Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center, Telephone: (618) 463-6460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background in the Missouri Program

On November 21, 1980, the Secretary of Interior conditionally

approved the Missouri program. General background information on the

Missouri program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition

of comments, and the conditions of approval of the Missouri program can

be found in the November 21, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 77017).

Subsequent actions concerning Missouri's program and program amendments

can be found at 30 CFR 925.12, 925.15, and 925.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

By letter dated December 14, 1995 (Administrative Record No. MO-

633), Missouri submitted a proposed amendment to its program pursuant

to SMCRA. Missouri submitted the proposed amendment in response to the

required program amendment at 30 CFR 925.16(a). The provisions of the

Code of State Regulations (CSR) that Missouri proposes to amend are: 10

CSR 40-3.120(6)(B)2.A-H., Specific revegetation success standards for

postmining land uses.

Specifically, Missouri proposes revisions to its approved program

for evaluating revegetation success. Missouri revises its regulations

for the specific standards for each of its approved land uses to delete

the reference to an earlier set of guidelines that had not been

approved by OSM and reference the guidelines as currently proposed in

this amendment. The proposed revegetation success guidelines consist of

eight separate guidance documents that establish the revegetation

success standards by land use. These documents are titled the: (1)

Phase II and Phase III revegetation standards for prime farmland; (2)

Phase III revegetation standards for cropland; (3) Phase III

revegetation standards for pasture and previously mined areas; (4)

Phase III revegetation standards for wildlife habitat; (5) Phase III

revegetation standards for woodland; (6) Phase III success standards

for industrial/commercial revegetation; (7) Phase III revegetation

success standards for residential land use; and (8) Phase III

revegetation success standards for recreation land use. Each set of

guidelines elaborates by land use type the revegetation success

standards, measurement frequency, sampling procedures, data submission

and analysis, maps, and mitigation plan. The guidance documents follow

the approved Missouri program regulations at 10 CSR 40-3.120(6)/

3.270(6).

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 Missouri 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 Mid-Continent Regional

Coordinating Center 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.s.t. on February 12, 1996. 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. 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.

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.

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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

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 925

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: January 18, 1996.

Charles E. Sandberg,

Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 96-1318 Filed 1-25-96; 8:45 am]

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