Iowa Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 915

[SPATS No. IA-005-FOR]

Iowa 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 an amendment to the Iowa

regulatory program (Iowa program) under the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Iowa proposes to add revegetation

success guidelines, entitled ``Revegetation Success Standards and

Statistically Valid Sampling Techniques,'' to its program. These

guidelines include revegetation success standards, normal husbandry

practices, and statistically valid sampling procedures and techniques

for determining revegetation success on areas being restored to various

land uses. Iowa intends to revise its program to be consistent with the

corresponding Federal regulations and to improve operational

efficiency.

This document gives the times and locations that the Iowa program

and the amendment to that program are available for public inspection,

the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the

amendment, and the procedures that will be followed for the public

hearing, if one is requested.

DATES: We will accept written comments until 4:00 p.m., c.s.t.,

November 13, 1998. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the

amendment on November 9, 1998. We will accept requests to speak at the

hearing until 4:00 p.m., c.s.t. on October 29, 1998.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and

requests to speak at the hearing to Perry L. Pursell, Mid-Continent

Regional Coordinating Center, at the address listed below.

You may review copies of the Iowa program, the amendment, a listing

of any scheduled public hearings, and all written comments received in

response to this document at the addresses listed below during normal

business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. You may

receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting OSM's Mid-

Continent Regional Coordinating Center.

Perry L. Pursell, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center,

Office of Surface Mining, Alton Federal Building, 501 Belle Street,

Alton, Illinois 62002, Telephone: (618) 463-6460.

Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Division of

Soil Conservation, Henry A. Wallace Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319,

Telephone: (515) 281-6147.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Perry L. Pursell, Mid-Continent

Regional Coordinating Center. Telephone: (618) 463-6460. Internet:

[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Iowa Program

On January 21, 1981, the Secretary of Interior conditionally

approved the Iowa program, effective April 10, 1981. You can find

background information on the Iowa program, including the Secretary's

findings, the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval

in the January 21, 1981,

[[Page 55026]]

Federal Register (46 FR 5885). You can find later actions on the Iowa

program at 30 CFR 915.10, 915.15, and 915.16.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

By letter dated September 28, 1998 (Administrative Record No. IA-

441), Iowa sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Iowa sent

the amendment in response to our letter dated August 1, 1986

(Administrative Record No. IA-280), that we sent to Iowa under 30 CFR

732.17(c). Below is a summary of the revegetation success guidelines

proposed by Iowa. The full text of the Iowa program amendment is

available for public inspection at the locations listed above under

ADDRESSES.

1. Part I. Introduction

Part I includes the purpose and scope of the revegetation success

guidelines and the State and Federal regulations that apply to or

address the requirements for revegetation success standards.

2. Part II. Terms

The following terms that apply to the revegetation success

guidelines are defined in Part II: (1) Permittee; (2) Permit; (3)

Reference Area; (4) Prime Farmland; (5) Control Area; (6) Statistically

Valid; (7) USDA-NRCS or NRCS; (8) Significant Figures; (9) Erosion;

(10) Rill Erosion; (11) Gully Erosion; (12) Sheet Erosion; and (13)

Soil Map Unit.

3. Part III. General Requirements and Exclusions of Revegetation

Part III.A. contains information on the erosion and ground cover

criteria that an area must meet before it is eligible for Phase II bond

release.

Part III.B. includes sampling dates for Phase II ground cover and

general revegetation requirements, and sampling and/or harvest dates

for production data. It also includes dates for reporting the schedule

of proposed revegetation activity and the results of the previous

year's revegetation activities.

Part III.C. describes the general revegetation requirements for

prime farmland; cropland; pasture land and forage crops; industrial,

commercial, or residential lands; recreational, wildlife, and forested

lands; and remined lands.

Part III.D. concerns requirements on averaging of sampling data to

meet revegetation success standards.

Part III.E. excludes road surface areas and water covered surfaces

of streams and impoundments from having to meet Iowa's revegetation

success standards. This part also requires permanent impoundments to be

constructed outside the prime farmland areas, but within the reclaimed

permit area.

Part III.F. contains requirements for the use of reference areas

for establishing revegetation success standards. Data from reference

areas can be used for direct comparison only when Iowa has approved the

use of reference areas in the permit.

Part III.G. requires that all revegetated areas meet the

requirements of applicable State and Federal seed, poisonous and

noxious plant, and introduced species laws and regulations. The

revegetated areas must meet these requirements before the collection of

the data that is used to prove the establishment of any revegetation

success standards. This part includes a list of primary and secondary

noxious weeds that will not be allowed to grow on any area within the

permit boundaries.

Part III.H. describes normal husbandry practices that can be used

in the repair of rills and gullies without restarting the

responsibility period. It includes requirements for terrace repair and

maintenance; riprap repair and maintenance; land smoothing and

reseeding; and liming, fertilizing and interseeding.

4. Part IV. Revegetation Success Standards

Part IV contains revegetation success standards and mitigation plan

requirements for the land use categories of prime farmland; pasture

land; cropland; industrial, commercial, or residential; recreational,

wildlife, and forested lands; and remined lands.

5. Part V. Sampling Procedures and Techniques

Part V describes the sampling procedures and techniques for corn,

soybeans, oats, and wheat crops; forage crops; ground cover; and trees

and shrubs.

6. Part VI. Statistical Analysis of Sampling Data

Part VI explains the statistical analysis used to determine if the

collected revegetation success sample data for production and ground

cover meet the appropriate revegetation success standards.

7. Technical Documents

Iowa included the following technical documents in its revegetation

guidelines: (1) Lucas County Soil Map Unit Yield Data; (2) Mahaska

County Soil Map Unit Yield Data; (3) Marion County Soil Map Unit Yield

Data; (4) Monroe County Soil Map Unit Yield Data; (5) Recommended Tree

Planting Species in Iowa; (6) Iowa Soil Map Units That Qualify As Prime

Farmland; and (7) Iowa State University, Cooperative Extension Service,

Pamphlet PM-287, Take a Good Soil Sample.

III. Public Comment Procedures

Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are requesting

comments on whether the amendment satisfies the applicable program

approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve the amendment, it

will become part of the Iowa program.

Written Comments

Your written comments should be specific and pertain only to the

issues proposed in this rulemaking. You should explain the reason for

any recommended change. In the final rulemaking, we will not

necessarily consider or include in the Administrative Record any

comments received after the time indicated under DATES or at locations

other than the Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.

Public Hearing

If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., c.s.t. on

October 29, 1998. We will arrange the location and time of the hearing

with those persons requesting the hearing. If you are disabled and need

special accommodation to attend a public hearing, contact the

individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The hearing

will not be held if no one requests an opportunity to speak at the

public hearing.

You should file a written statement at the time you request the

hearing. This will allow us 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. If

you are in the audience and have not been scheduled to speak and wish

to do so, you will be allowed to speak after those who have been

scheduled. We will end the hearing after all persons scheduled to speak

and persons present in the audience who wish to speak have spoken.

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. If you wish

to meet with us to discuss the amendment, request a meeting by

contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER

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INFORMATION CONTACT. All meetings are open to the public and, if

possible, we will post notices of meetings at the locations listed

under ADDRESSES. We also make a written summary of each meeting a part

of the Administrative Record.

VI. Procedural Determinations

Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) exempts this rule from

review 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 program is

drafted and published 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 State regulatory programs and

program amendments 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

This rule does not require an environmental impact statement since

section 702(d) of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1292(d)) provides that agency

decisions on 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

corresponding 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. Therefore, this rule will ensure that existing requirements

previously published 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 corresponding Federal regulations.

Unfunded Mandates

OSM has determined and certifies under the Unfunded Mandates Reform

Act (2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq.) that this rule will not impose a cost of

$100 million or more in any given year on local, state, or tribal

governments or private entities.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 915

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: October 2, 1998.

Brent Wahlquist,

Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 98-27503 Filed 10-13-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-05-P; 4310-05-M