Wyoming Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 950

[WY-028-FOR]

Wyoming Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public

hearing on proposed amendment.

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

is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Wyoming regulatory

program (hereinafter, the ``Wyoming program'') under the Surface Mining

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

consists of revisions to rules and statutes pertaining to: fish and

wildlife habitat and resource information, shrub density, certification

of maps by a registered professional engineer, geologic descriptions,

topsoil substitutes, special bituminous coal mines, archaeological and

historic resources, permit transfers, civil penalties, and

miscellaneous changes to Appendix A, which concerns vegetation sampling

methods and reclamation success standards for surface coal

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mining operations. The amendment is intended to revise the Wyoming

program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations, to

clarify ambiguities, and to improve operational efficiency.

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

28, 1998. If requested, a public hearing on the proposed amendment will

be held on August 24, 1998. Requests to present oral testimony at the

hearing must be received by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on August 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or hand delivered to Guy

Padgett at the address listed below.

Copies of the Wyoming program, the proposed amendment, 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 Casper Field Office.

Guy Padgett, Field Office Director, Casper Field Office, Office of

Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 100 East ``B'' Street,

Federal Building, Room 2128, Casper, Wyoming 82601-1918

Rick Chancellor, Administrator, Land Quality Division, Department of

Environmental Quality, Herschler Building--3rd Floor West, 122 West

25th Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, Telephone: 307-777-7046.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy Padgett, 307/261-6550; Internet:

[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Wyoming Program

On November 26, 1980, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally

approved the Wyoming program. General background information on the

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

comments, and the conditions of approval of the Wyoming program can be

found in the November 26, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 78637).

Subsequent actions concerning Wyoming's program and program amendments

can be found at 30 CFR 950.12, 950.15, and 950.16.

II. Proposed Amendment

By letter dated July 13, 1998, Wyoming submitted a proposed

amendment (administrative record No. WY-32-1) to its program pursuant

to SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. Wyoming submitted the proposed

amendment in response to the required program amendments at 30 CFR

950.16 (b), (c), (g), (v), (x), (ii)(1), and (kk), and at its own

initiative. The provisions of the Wyoming Coal Rules and Regulations

that Wyoming proposed to revise were: (1) Chapter 1, section 2(ac),

revises the definition of ``eligible land'' in the definitions section

by adding the exact date of approval of the shrub density rule, August

6, 1996; (2) Chapter 2, Section 1(e), revises the section delineating

the contents of permit applications by deleting reference to the

defunct State Conservation Commission; (3) Chapter 2, Section

2(a)(vi)(G)(II), requires notification of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service by the Wyoming Administrator of the Land Quality Division if

critical or crucial habitat disruption is likely; (4) Chapter 2,

Section 2(a)(vi)(H), requires in the permit application a description

of the areal and structural geology of the permit area and, by

extrapolation, adjacent areas; (5) Chapter 2, Section 2(a)(vi)(J),

corrects incorrect references to the Wyoming Statutes; (6) Chapter 2,

Section 2(a)(vi)(J)(II), requires maps submitted in a permit

application to depict the strike and dips of coal seams; (7) Chapter 2,

Section 2(b)(iv)(C) revises the subsection on revegetation by deleting

reference to the defunct State Conservation Commission; (8) Chapter 2,

Section 2(b)(vi)(C), requires the submission of resource information

when requested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; (9) Chapter 4,

Section 2(c)(ix), allows the use of selected spoil material as a

topsoil or subsoil substitute; (10) Chapter 4, Section 2(d)(x)(E)(I),

revises the rule on shrub density to add the exact date of the approval

of the rule, August 6, 1996; (11) Chapter 4, Section 2(d)(x)(E)(III),

revises the rule to be consistent with the Wyoming Statute because the

rule did not clarify that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department only has

approval authority for revegetation standards on crucial habitat

declared as such prior to the submittal of a permit application or any

subsequent amendment; (12) Chapter 8, Section 3-4, revises the rules on

special bituminous coal mines by establishing special alternative

standards for new special bituminous surface coal mines; (13) Chapter

12, Section 1(a)(v)(B), requires that the effect on properties on the

National Register of Historic Places must be taken into account prior

to permit approval; (14) Chapter 12, Section 1(a)(v)(C), revises the

rule on permitting procedures by adding the word, ``any'' in front of

``properties listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of

Historic Places''; (15) Chapter 12, Section 1(b)(ii), revises the rule

on permitting procedures by deleting, for permit transfers, the

reference to the public participation requirements in Wyoming Statute

35-11-406(g); (16) Chapter 16, Section 3 (c) and (f), corrects the

reference to the Wyoming Statute concerning civil penalties; (17)

Appendix A, Appendix IV, revises the rules by adding additional plants

to the List of Threatened and Endangered Species in Wyoming; (18)

Appendix A, Options I-IV, makes 11 minor changes to the shrub density

option tables; (19) Appendix A, Section II.C.2.c, corrects the cross-

reference to the rule on cropland, hayland or pastureland; (20)

Appendix A, Section II.C.3, removes the language referring to the

approval of the shrub density rule and replaces it with the exact date

of approval of that rule, August 6, 1996; (21) Appendix A, section

VIII.E, removes the language referring to the approval of the shrub

density rule with the exact date of the approval of that rule, August

6, 1996.

III. Public Comment Procedures

In accordance with 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 Wyoming program.

1. 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 Casper Field Office will not

necessarily be considered in the final rulemaking or included in the

administrative record.

2. Public Hearings

Persons wishing to testify at the public hearing should contact the

person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m.,

m.d.t. on August 13, 1998. 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 testify at the public

hearing, the hearing will not be held.

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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 testify have been heard. Persons in the audience

who have not been scheduled to testify, and who wish to do so, will be

heard following those who have been scheduled. The hearing will end

after all persons scheduled to testify and persons present in the

audience who wish to testify have been hear.

3. Public Meeting

If only one person requests an opportunity to testify 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 contracting 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

1. Executive Order 12866

This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning Review).

2. 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 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 the Federal regulations at 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.

3. 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)).

4. 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.).

5. 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 that 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.

6. 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 950

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: July 22, 1998.

Peter A. Rutledge,

Acting Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 98-20262 Filed 7-28-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-05-M