Oklahoma Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 936

[SPATS No. OK-022-FOR]

Oklahoma 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: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the

Oklahoma regulatory program (hereinafter the ``Oklahoma program'')

under the

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

proposed amendment consists of revisions to Oklahoma's regulations

pertaining to normal husbandry practices. The amendment is intended to

revise the Oklahoma program to improve operational efficiency.

This document sets forth the times and locations that the Oklahoma

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, and the procedures

that will be followed regarding the public hearing, if one is

requested.

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

September 8, 1992. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed

amendment will be held on September 2, 1997. Requests to speak at the

hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., c.d.t. on August 25, 1997.

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

be mailed or hand delivered to Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa

Field Office, at the address listed below.

Copies of the Oklahoma 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 Tulsa Field Office.

Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa Field Office, Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 5100 East Skelly Drive, Suite 470,

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135-6547, Telephone: (918) 581-6430.

Oklahoma Department of Mines, 4040 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 107,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105, Telephone (405) 521-3859.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael C. Wolfrom, Director, Tulsa

Field Office, Telephone: (918) 581-6430.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Oklahoma Program

On January 19, 1981, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally

approved the Oklahoma program. Background information on the Oklahoma

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

comments, and the conditions of approval can be found in the January

19, 1981, Federal Register (46 FR 4902). Subsequent actions concerning

the conditions of approval and program amendments can be found at 30

CFR 936.15 and 936.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

By letter dated July 3, 1997 (Administrative Record No. OK-978),

Oklahoma submitted a proposed amendment to its program pursuant to

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

Oklahoma proposes to amend the Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) for

surface mining operations at OAC 460:20-43-46(c)(4) and underground

mining operations at OAC 460:20-45-46(c)(4) by adding criteria for

normal husbandry practices in the State. The full text of the proposed

program amendment submitted by Oklahoma is available for public

inspection at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES. A brief

discussion of the proposed amendment is presented below.

Oklahoma is proposing normal husbandry practices for reseeding,

fertilizing, liming, weed and pest control, mulching, irrigation,

pruning, transplanting and replanting trees and shrubs, removal and

reclamation of temporary structures, and repair of rills and gullies.

To determine if husbandry practices used by the surface and

underground mining operations are normal husbandry practices, Oklahoma

will judge management practices on mined lands against the recommended

practices for unmined lands provided by the Oklahoma State University

(OSU) and the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS). OSU has established and publishes

recommended fertility and management practices for row crops, hayland,

and grazingland that are tailored for soil conditions, crop rotations,

tillage and application practices. OSU has extension offices throughout

the State to provide more site specific recommendations, if needed.

Oklahoma will use guidelines prepared by the NRCS in determining

whether rill and gully repair on mined lands is augmentative or non-

augmentative.

OAC 460:20-43-46(c)(4)(A) and 460:20-45-46(c)(4)(A) specify that

Oklahoma will consider limited reseeding and associated fertilizing and

liming as non-augmentative if the area is small in relation to the

permit area, watershed, or surface property boundary, whichever is

smaller. The reclaimed area must meet postmining land use and bond

release requirements.

At OAC 460:20-43-46(c)(4)(B) and 460:20-45-46(c)(4)(B), approved

agricultural practices published by the OSU Cooperative Extension

Service, including fertilizing, liming, weed and pest control, and

mulching, are not considered augmentation.

At OAC 460:20-43-46(c)(4)(C) and 460:20-45-46(c)(4)(C), on all

lands with a postmining land use other than cropland, any areas

reseeded or replanted as a part or result of a normal husbandry

practice must be small in size and limited in extent of occurrence, or

a part of a hay management plan. A hay management plan is an

agricultural practice described by the OSU Cooperative Extension

Service.

OAC 460:20-43-46(c)(4)(D) and 460:20-45-46(c)(4)(D) specify that

the repair of rills and gullies will not be considered an augmentation

practice if the occurrences and treatment of such rills and gullies

constitute a normal conservation practice in the region. In the coal

mining region of Oklahoma, the normal range of precipitation during

fall or spring seeding seasons may result in the formation of rills and

gullies during the initial establishment of permanent vegetative cover

for any land use. Continued treatment of rills and gullies after

initial vegetative establishment would be considered an augmentative

practice that would restart the liability period. Oklahoma also defines

the treatment of rills and gullies requiring permanent reseeding of

more than 10 acres in a contiguous block or 10 percent of a permit area

initially seeded during a single year to be an augmentative practice.

This section also specifies the types of treatment for repair of rills

and gullies, including seeding, mulching, and erosion control measures.

At OAC 460:20-43-46(c)(4)(E) and 460:20-45-46(c)(4)(E), liming,

fertilizing, mulching, seeding or stocking following the reclamation of

temporary haul roads, temporary sediment or hydraulic control

structures, areas disturbed by the installation or removal of oil and

gas wells or utility lines, and areas where the vegetation was

disturbed by vehicular traffic not under the control of the permittee

will not be considered augmentation.

OAC 460:20-43-46(c)(4)(F) and 460:20-45-46(c)(4)(F) specify that

irrigation, reliming, and refertilizing revegetated areas; reseeding

cropland; and renovating pastureland by overseeding with legumes after

Phase II bond release shall be considered normal husbandry practices if

the amount and frequency of these practices do not exceed normal

husbandry practices

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used on unmined land within the region.

At OAC 460:20-43-46(c)(4)(G) and 460:20-45-46(c)(4)(G), other

normal husbandry practices that may be conducted on postmining land

uses of fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and forestry without

restarting the liability period are disease, pest, and vermin control;

pruning; and transplanting and replanting trees and shrubs in

accordance with OAC 460:20-43-46(b)(3) and 460:20-45-46(b)(3).

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 Oklahoma 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 Tulsa 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 August 25, 1997. The location and time of the hearing will be

arranged with those persons requesting the hearing. 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. 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.

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 12988

The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required

by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (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.

Unfunded Mandates

This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any

given year on any governmental entity or the private sector.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 936

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: August 1, 1997.

Russell W. Frum,

Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 97-21033 Filed 8-7-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-05-M