# Oklahoma Regulatory Program > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A97-21033 ## Record - **Collection:** Federal Register - **Document type:** Proposed Rule - **Published:** August 8, 1997 - **Citation:** 62 FR 42715 ## Text 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: OSM is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma regulatory program (hereinafter the ``Oklahoma program'') under the [[Page 42716]] 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 [[Page 42717]] 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 --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A97-21033. Public record. Not legal advice.