Indiana Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 914

[SPATS No. IN-146-FOR; State Program Amendment No. 98-3]

Indiana Regulatory Program

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

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

hearing.

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

is announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Indiana regulatory

program (Indiana program) under the Surface Mining Control and

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). Indiana proposes to add a new section

to its rules. The new section requires coal mine operators to submit an

annual

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report of affected areas to the director of the Indiana Department of

Natural Resources (IDNR). Indiana intends to revise its program to

improve operational efficiency.

This document gives the times and locations that the Indiana

program and amendment to that program are available for your

inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written

comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for

the public hearing, if one is requested.

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

15, 1999. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on the amendment

on October 12, 1999. We will accept requests to speak at the hearing

until 4:00 p.m., e.s.t. on September 30, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You should mail or hand deliver written comments and

requests to speak at the hearing to Andrew R. Gilmore, Director,

Indianapolis Field Office, at the address listed below.

You may review copies of the Indiana 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 Indianapolis Field Office.

Andrew R. Gilmore, Director, Indianapolis Field Office, Office of

Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Minton-Capehart Federal

Building, 575 North Pennsylvania Street, Room 301, Indianapolis, IN

46204, Telephone: (317) 226-6700.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Mine Reclamation,

402 West Washington Street, Room W-295, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204,

Telephone: (317) 232-1291.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, R.R.

2, Box 129, Jasonville, Indiana 47438-9517, Telephone: (812) 665-2207.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew R. Gilmore, Director,

Indianapolis Field Office. Telephone: (317) 226-6700. Internet:

[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Indiana Program

On July 29, 1982, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally

approved the Indiana program. You can find background information on

the Indiana program, including the Secretary's findings, the

disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval in the July 26,

1982, Federal Register (47 FR 32107). You can find later actions on the

Indiana program at 30 CFR 914.10, 914.15, 914.16, and 914.17.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

By letter dated August 31, 1999 (Administrative Record No. IND-

1668), Indiana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA. Indiana

sent the amendment at its own initiative. Indiana proposes to amend the

Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) by adding 310 IAC 12-5-159. Below is

a summary of the new section proposed by Indiana. The full text of the

proposed program amendment is available for your inspection at the

locations listed above under ADDRESSES.

310 IAC 12-5-159 Annual Report

Indiana proposes the following definition of ``mined land'' at

subsection (a):

As used in this section, ``mined land'' means the following:

(1) Land from which coal has been extracted.

(2) Land from which overburden has been removed.

(3) Land upon which overburden or spoil has been deposited to

facilitate surface coal mining activities. Mined land does not

include land where only auger mining has occurred as reported in

subsection (c)(3)(D).

Indiana proposes to define ``surface disturbed land'' at subsection

(b). As used in 310 IAC 12-5-159, ``surface disturbed land'' means

land, other than mined land, that is disturbed by surface coal mining

and reclamation operations. It includes areas where only topsoil is

removed. Various examples of surface disturbed land are listed. When

the surface disturbance will be reaffected by future overburden removal

or deposition, the permittee need not report surface disturbed land in

advance of the highwall.

At subsection (c), permittees must submit an annual report of

affected areas for each permit for surface coal mining and reclamation

operations. The reporting period is from November 1 through October 31

of each year. The report must be submitted to the Director of IDNR no

later than 90 days after October 31 of each year. The report must

document the acres affected annually as of October 31 of the reporting

year. It must include the name and address of the permittee and, if

different from the permittee, the name and address of the person or

persons conducting the mining. It must also include the permit number

and a summary of acres mined and disturbed during the reporting period.

The acreage summary must include acres of mined land, acres of surface

disturbed land, total permit acres, and acres of auger mining and

highwall mining.

At subsection (d), Indiana requires a dated aerial photograph of

the surface coal mining and reclamation operation taken between

September 1 and December 31 of the reporting year to be included with

the report. The photograph must be of the same scale as the permit

maps. The photograph or a certified map must show the location of the

permit boundary; acres reported; section, township, and range lines;

all public roads within the permit area that are not permanently

closed; all areas where coal has been removed by surface, auger, or

highwall mining methods; and the highwall face as of November 1 of the

reporting year.

At subsection (e), Indiana requires that the last report, after the

permittee has completed all mining, include a summary of pre-mining

land use acreage for the mined and surface disturbed area when the

acres are available on a computer-aided design (CAD) or other digital

data format.

At subsection (f), any associated map, whether separate from or

created upon the photograph, must be prepared by or under the direction

of and certified by a qualified registered professional engineer or

certified professional geologist with assistance from experts in

related fields such as land surveying or landscape architecture.

At subsection (g), permits issued and land affected before the

effective date of 310 IAC 12-5-159 and for which a Report of Affected

Area has not been filed, the initial photograph must show all areas

disturbed since permit issuance. No distinction between mined land and

surface disturbed land is required on the report form, photograph, or

map. When available, the extent of auger areas must be shown.

At subsection (h), no report is necessary after the initial report

is submitted if no additional acres have been disturbed during the

reporting year.

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 Indiana program.

Written Comments

Our practice is to make comments, including names and home

addresses of

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respondents, available for public review during regular business hours.

Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address

from the administrative record, which we will honor to the extent

allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would

withhold from the administrative record a respondent's identity, as

allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address,

you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment.

However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all

submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals

identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations

or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

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 Indianapolis Field Office.

Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use

of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include

``Attn: SPATS No. IN-146-FOR'' and your name and return address in your

Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have

received your Internet message, contact the Indianapolis Field Office

at (317) 226-6700.

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., e.s.t. on

September 30, 1999. We will arrange the location and time of the

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

and need special accommodations 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 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. If you wish

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

contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. All

such 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.

IV. 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 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 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 914

Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: September 8, 1999.

Brent Wahlquist,

Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 99-24061 Filed 9-14-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-05-P