Department Hearings and Appeals Procedures

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Hearings and Appeals

43 CFR Part 4

RIN 1090-AA63

Department Hearings and Appeals Procedures

AGENCY: Office of Hearings and Appeals, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period an additional 60 days

on the Department of the Interior's Office of Hearings and Appeals'

proposal to amend its rules to provide that, except as otherwise

provided by law or other regulation, a decision will be stayed, if it

is appealed, until there is a dispositive decision on the appeal.

DATES: Comments are due to the agency on or before February 6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Director, Office of Hearings and

Appeals, U.S. Department of the Interior, 4015 Wilson Boulevard,

Arlington, VA 22203. Comments received will be available for public

inspection during regular business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) in the

Office of the Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 11th Floor,

4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA. Persons wishing to inspect

comments are requested to call in advance at (703) 235-3810 to make an

appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bruce Harris, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, Interior Board of Land

Appeals, Office of Hearings and Appeals, U.S. Department of the

Interior, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22203. Telephone: (703)

235-3750.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 19, 1997, the Department of the

Interior proposed to amend the regulation contained at 43 CFR 4.21

(August 28, 1997, 62 FR 45606). Comments to this proposed rule were to

be received on or before September 29, 1997.

On October 3, 1997, the Department of the Interior extended the

comment period an additional 60 days until December 2, 1997, in

response to requests received from the National Mining Association and

the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association (RMOGA). (62 FR 51822).

The Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) received

several letters requesting an additional extension of the comment

period beyond December 2, 1997. In a letter dated November 21, 1997,

RMOGA requested an additional 45-day extension of the comment period,

to allow for receipt of data requested in a Freedom of Information Act

(FOIA) request, and full analysis of the data and preparation of a

thoughtful response to the proposed change. In addition, by letter

dated November 19, 1997, ARCO Permian, a member of RMOGA, requested

additional time to respond after review of the response to the RMOGA's

FOIA request. By letter dated November 25, 1997, the Natural Gas Supply

Association, the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Domestic

Petroleum Council, the National Ocean

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Industries Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of

America, and the American Petroleum Institute requested a 60-day

extension of the comment period to allow time for a complete and

extensive analysis of the impact of adoption of this proposal on normal

and planned activities by the oil and gas industry onshore and

offshore, particularly in light of the Bureau of Land Management's

(BLM's) proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on

October 17, 1996. Finally, by letter dated November 24, 1997, Senator

Frank H. Murkowski, Senator Larry E. Craig, and Senator Craig Thomas of

the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,

strongly urged the Director of OHA to extend the comment period for an

additional 60 days, to allow the Committee to host a meeting with

constituents to discuss the proposed change to 43 CFR 4.21 and the

material requested by RMOGA under the Freedom of Information Act, as

well as BLM's proposed rule to modify its appeal regulation.

The OHA has determined that an extension of time to obtain

additional comments on the proposed rule is warranted and, therefore,

the requested extension is granted. This notice announces that 60-day

extension to the comment period.

Dated: December 2, 1997.

Barry E. Hill,

Director.

[FR Doc. 97-31963 Filed 12-5-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-RK-M