Utah Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 944

[SPATS No. UT-032-FOR]

Utah Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

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

ACTION: Final rule; approval of amendment.

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

is approving a proposed amendment to the Utah abandoned mine land

reclamation (AMLR) plan (hereinafter referred to as the ``Utah plan'')

under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).

Utah proposed revisions to, and the addition of rules pertaining to,

the definitions of certain terms, general reclamation requirements for

coal lands and water, eligible lands and water prior to certification,

certification of completion of coal sites, eligible lands and water

subsequent to certification, the exclusion of certain noncoal

reclamation sites, the extension of land acquisition authority and lien

requirements to noncoal sites, limited liability, contractor

responsibility, and reports. Utah also proposed deletion of the rules

concerning the State reclamation grant period, grant application

procedures, grant agreements, and grant and budget revisions. The

amendment revised the Utah plan to meet the requirements of the revised

corresponding Federal regulations and to be consistent with SMCRA, as

amended, to incorporate the additional flexibility afforded by the

revised Federal regulations and SMCRA, and to improve operational

efficiency.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 22, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Telephone: (303) 844-

1424; Internet address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Utah Plan

On June 3, 1983, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Utah

plan. General background information on the Utah plan, including the

Secretary's findings and the disposition of comments, can be found in

the June 3, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 24876). Subsequent actions

concerning Utah's plan and plan amendments can be found at 30 CFR

944.25.

II. Proposed Amendment

By letter dated August 2, 1995, Utah submitted a proposed amendment

to its AMLR plan (Administrative Record No. UT-1071-1) pursuant to

SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Utah submitted the proposed amendment

in response to OSM's 30 CFR 884.15(d) letter dated September 26, 1994

(Administrative Record No. UT-1011), and at its own initiative. The

provisions of the Utah Administrative Rules (Utah Admin. R.) that Utah

proposed to revise, add, or delete were: Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500,

Definitions of ``Eligible lands and water,'' ``Left or abandoned in

either an unreclaimed or inadequately reclaimed condition,'' ``Office''

or ``OSM,'' and ``Secretary;'' Utah Admin. R. 643-874-100 and -110,

General Reclamation Requirements; Utah Admin. R. 643-874-124 through -

128, Eligible Lands and Water; Utah Admin. R. 643-874-130 through -132,

Reclamation Objectives and Priorities; Utah Admin. R. 643-874-140

through -144, Utilities and other facilities; Utah Admin. R. 643-874-

150, Limited liability; Utah Admin. R. 643-874-160, Contractor

responsibility; Utah Admin. R. 643-875-120 and -122 through -126,

Eligible lands and water prior to certification (non-coal); Utah Admin.

R. 643-875-130 through -133, Certification of completion of coal sites;

Utah Admin. R. 643-875-140 through -142, Eligible lands and water

subsequent to certification (non-coal); Utah Admin. R. 643-875-150

through -155.700, Reclamation priorities for noncoal program; Utah

Admin. R. 643-875-160, Exclusion of certain noncoal reclamation sites;

Utah Admin. R. 643-875-170, Land acquisition authority-noncoal; Utah

Admin. R. 643-875-180, Lien requirements; Utah Admin. R. 643-875-190,

Limited liability; Utah Admin. R. 643-875-200, Contractor

responsibility; Utah Admin. R. 643-

[[Page 8515]]

877-141, Entry for Emergency Reclamation; Utah Admin. R. 643-879-141,

Management of Acquired Land; Utah Admin. R. 643-879-152.200, -153, and

-154, Disposition of Reclaimed Land; Utah Admin. R. 643-882-132, Liens;

Utah Admin. R. 643-884-150, State Reclamation Plan Amendment; Utah

Admin. R. 643-886-130 through -190, State Reclamation Grants; and Utah

Admin. R. 643-886-232.240, Reports.

OSM announced receipt of the proposed amendment in the August 22,

1995, Federal Register (60 FR 43577), provided an opportunity for a

public hearing or meeting on its substantive adequacy, and invited

public comment on its adequacy (Administrative Record No. UT-1071-3).

Because no one requested a public hearing or meeting, none was held.

The public comment period ended on September 21, 1995.

During its review of the amendment, OSM identified concerns

relating to the provisions of Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500, definitions

of ``Eligible lands and water'' and ``Left or abandoned in either an

unreclaimed or inadequately reclaimed condition;'' Utah Admin. R. 643-

874-120, -121, -123, -124, -125, and -128, General Reclamation

Requirements; Utah Admin. R. 643-875-132, Certification of completion

of coal sites; Utah Admin. R. 643-877-120, Entry for Studies or

Exploration; Utah Admin. R. 643-879-154, Disposition of Reclaimed Land;

and Utah Admin. R. 643-882-121 and -122, Appraisals. OSM notified Utah

of the concerns by letter dated March 26, 1996 (Administrative Record

No. UT-1071-8).

Utah responded in a letter dated March 12, 1997, by submitting a

revised amendment and additional explanatory information

(Administrative Record No. UT-1071-9). Utah proposed revisions to Utah

Admin. R. 643-870-500, definitions of ``Eligible lands and water'' and

``Left or abandoned in either an unreclaimed or inadequately reclaimed

condition;'' and Utah Admin. R. 643-874-124 and -125, General

Reclamation Requirements.

Based upon the additional explanatory information and revisions to

the proposed plan amendment submitted by Utah, OSM reopened the public

comment period in the April 7, 1997, Federal Register (62 FR 16507,

Administrative Record No. UT-1071-11). The public comment period closed

on April 22, 1997.

During the review of the revisions and additional explanatory

information submitted by Utah, OSM identified concerns relating to the

provisions of Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500, definitions of ``eligible

lands and water'' and ``left or abandoned in either an unreclaimed or

inadequately reclaimed condition.'' OSM notified Utah of the concerns

by telephone conversation record dated September 8, 1997

(Administrative Record No. UT-1071-14). Utah responded in a letter

dated December 30, 1997, by submitting a revised amendment

(Administrative Record No. UT-1071-15).

OSM announced receipt of the proposed revisions and additional

explanatory information in the January 14, 1998, Federal Register (63

FR 2192, Administrative Record No. UT-1071-17) and invited public

comment on the substantive adequacy of the proposed changes. Because no

one requested a public hearing or meeting, none was held. The public

comment period ended on January 29, 1998.

III. Director's Findings

As discussed below, the Director, in accordance with SMCRA and 30

CFR 884.14 and 884.15, finds that the proposed plan amendment submitted

by Utah on August 2, 1995, and as revised and supplemented with

additional explanatory information on March 12, 1997, and December 30,

1997, meets the requirements of the corresponding Federal regulations

and is consistent with SMCRA. Thus, the Director approves the proposed

amendment.

1. Nonsubstantive Revisions to Utah's Rules

Utah proposed revisions to the following previously-approved rules

that are nonsubstantive in nature and consist of minor editorial

changes (corresponding Federal regulation provisions are listed in

parentheses):

Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500 (30 CFR 870.5), definition of ``Office''

or ``OSM;''

Utah Admin. R. 643-877-141 (30 CFR 877.14(a)), Entry for Emergency

Reclamation;

Utah Admin. R. 643-879-141 (30 CFR 879.14), Management of Acquired

Land;

Utah Admin. R. 643-879-152.200, 643-879-153, and 643-879-154 (30

CFR 879.15(b)(2), (c), and (d)), Disposition of Reclaimed Land;

Utah Admin. R. 643-882-132 (30 CFR 882.13(a)(3)), Liens; and

Utah Admin. R. 643-884-150 (30 CFR 884.15), State Reclamation Plan

Amendment.

Because the proposed revisions to these previously-approved rules

are nonsubstantive in nature, the Director finds that these proposed

Utah rules meet the requirements of the Federal regulations. The

Director approves the proposed revisions to these rules.

2. Substantive Revisions to Utah's Rules That Are Substantively

Identical to the Corresponding Provisions of the Federal Regulations

Utah proposed revisions to the following rules that are substantive

in nature and contain language that is substantively identical to the

requirements of the corresponding Federal regulations provisions

(listed in parentheses):

Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500 (30 CFR 705.5), definition of

``Secretary;''

Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500 (30 CFR 870.5 and Section 403(b)(2) of

SMCRA), definition of ``Left or abandoned in either an unreclaimed or

inadequately reclaimed condition;''

Utah Admin. R. 643-874-100 and -110 (30 CFR 874.1 and 874.11),

General Reclamation Requirements;

Utah Admin. R. 643-874-124 through -128 (30 CFR 874.12 (d), (e),

(f), (g), and (h)), Eligible (coal) Lands and Water;

Utah Admin. R. 643-874-130 through -132 (30 CFR 873.13),

Reclamation Objectives and Priorities;

Utah Admin. R. 643-874-140 through -144 (30 CFR 874.14), Utilities

and other facilities;

Utah Admin. R. 643-874-150 (30 CFR 874.15), Limited liability;

Utah Admin. R. 643-874-160 (30 CFR 874.16), Contractor

responsibility;

Utah Admin. R. 643-875-120 through -200 (30 CFR 875.12 through

875.20), Noncoal Reclamation; and

Utah Admin. R. 643-886-232.240 (30 CFR 886.23(b)), Reports.

Because these proposed Utah rules are substantively identical to

the corresponding provisions of the Federal regulations, the Director

finds that they meet the requirements of the Federal regulations. The

Director approves the proposed revisions to these rules.

3. Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500, Definition of ``Eligible Lands and

Water''

Utah proposed a new definition of the term ``Eligible lands and

water'' at Utah Admin, R. 643-870-500 to provide for: (1) Reclamation

of drainage abatement expenditures for coal mining operations on lands

and water damaged by such operations prior to August 3, 1977, and for

which there is no continuing reclamation responsibility, and (2)

eligibility of lands and water damaged by coal mining operations after

August 3, 1977, and on or before November 5, 1990, if they meet the

requirements specified in R643-874-123 and R643-874-124. Other

requirements included in the proposed definition concern eligible lands

and water following certification of the completion of all

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known coal problems and additional eligibility requirements for water

projects.

Utah's proposed definition at Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500 was not in

compliance with the counterpart Federal definition at 30 CFR 870.5,

which provides, in pertinent part, that ``Eligible lands and water''

includes lands and water damaged by coal mining operations after August

3, 1977, and November 5, 1990, if they meet the requirements of 30 CFR

874.12(d) and (e). Utah's proposed definition lacked a reference to

Utah Admin. R. 643-874-125, which is the State counterpart to 30 CFR

874.12(e). However, Utah added a cross-reference to Utah Admin. R. 643-

874-125 in its December 30, 1997, submittal. The definition now

includes a provision allowing the State to expend funds made available

under section 402(g)(1) and (5) of SMCRA for reclamation and abatement

of any interim coal or insolvent surety site where other criteria are

met. Therefore, the Director approves the revised definition of

``Eligible lands and water'' at Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500.

4. Utah Admin. R. 643-886-130 through -190, State Reclamation Grants

Utah proposes to delete the rules at Utah Admin. R. 643-886-130

through -190, concerning State Reclamation Grants, as the language is

outdated with the implementation of the revised AML grant procedures in

the February 22, 1995, Federal Register (60 FR 9974). The AML grant

procedures were revised in 1995 to reflect several Congressional

amendments to Title IV of SMCRA. Specifically, OSM revised the

regulations at 30 CFR 886.13 to delete any reference which listed

administrative grants as a separate entity; to delete reference to

``impact assistance funding;'' to delete specific references to

sections of SMCRA; and to delete references to specific AML projects,

which are now part of the Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System.

Utah, in order to reflect the Federal regulatory revisions, is

proposing to delete references to the grant period, the annual

submission of projects, the grant application procedures, grant

agreements, and grant and budget revisions. All of the aforementioned

requirements have been deleted in the revised Federal regulations

except those concerning the grant period.

The revised Federal regulations at 30 CFR 866.13(a), concerning the

grant period, state that: (1) The period for administrative costs of

the agency should not exceed the first year of the grant, and (2) the

Director shall approve a grant period on the basis of information in

the application showing that projects to be funded will fulfill the

objectives of 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. These Federal regulations at 30

CFR 886.13(a) provide OSM's procedures for the processing of State AML

grants, which apply to all State reclamation plans regardless of State

plan provisions. Because 30 CFR 866.13(a) provides only Federal

requirements, there is no need for the Utah plan to contain equivalent

provisions. Therefore, the Director approves Utah's deletion of Utah

Admin. R. 643-886-130 through 643-886-190.1

IV. Summary and Disposition of Comments

Following are summaries of all substantive written comments on the

proposed amendment that were received by OSM, and OSM's responses to

them.

1. Public comments

OSM invited public comments on the proposed amendment, but none

were received.

2. Federal Agency Comments

Pursuant to 30 CFR 884.15(a) and 884.14(a)(2), OSM solicited

comments on the proposed amendment from various Federal agencies with

an actual or potential interest in the Utah plan (Administrative Record

Nos. UT-1071-2 and UT-1071-10).

Four agencies responded that they had no comments: the State

Historic Preservation Office (August 23, 1995, Administrative Record

No. UT-1071-4); the Bureau of Mines (September 7, 1995, Administrative

Record No. UT-1071-5); the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (September 12, 1995,

Administrative Record No. UT-1071-6; April 8, 1997, Administrative

Record No. UT-1071-12; and January 16, 1998, Administrative Record No.

UT-1071-18); and the Mine Safety Health Administration (September 20,

1995, Administrative Record No. UT-1071-7 and May 1, 1997,

Administrative Record No. UT-1071-13).

V. Director's Decision

Based on the above findings, the Director approves Utah's proposed

plan amendment as submitted on August 2, 1995 and as revised on March

12, 1997 and December 30, 1997.

The Director approves, as discussed in: Finding No. 1, Utah Admin.

R. 643-870-500, the definition of ``Office'' or ``OSM;'' 643-877-141,

concerning Entry for Emergency Reclamation; 643-879-141, concerning

Management of Acquired Land; 643-879-152.200, 643-879-153, and 643-879-

154, concerning Disposition of Reclaimed Land; 643-882-132, concerning

Liens; and 643-884-150, concerning State Reclamation Plan Amendment;

Finding No. 2, Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500, the definitions of

``Secretary'' and ``Left or abandoned in either an unreclaimed or

inadequately reclaimed condition;'' 643-874-100 and -101, concerning

General Reclamation Requirements; 643-874-124 through -128, concerning

Eligible (coal) Lands and Water; 643-874-130 through -132, Reclamation

Objectives and Priorities; 643-874-140 through -144, concerning

Utilities and other facilities, 643-874-150, concerning Limited

liability; 643-874-160, concerning Contractor responsibility; 643-875-

120 through -200, Noncoal Reclamation; and 643-886-232.240, concerning

Reports; Finding No. 3, Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500, concerning the

definition of ``Eligible lands and water,'' and Finding No. 4, the

deletion of Utah Admin. R. 643-886-130 through -190, concerning State

Reclamation Grants.

The Director approves the rules as proposed by Utah with the

provision that they be fully promulgated in identical form to the rules

submitted to and reviewed by OSM and the public.

The Federal regulations at 30 CFR Part 944, codifying decisions

concerning the Utah plan, are being amended to implement this decision.

This final rule is being made effective immediately to expedite the

State plan amendment process and to encourage States to bring their

plans into conformity with the Federal standards without undue delay.

Consistency of State and Federal standards is required by SMCRA.

VI. 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 and

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 Tribe or State AMLR plans and

revisions thereof since each plan is drafted and promulgated by a

specific Tribe or State, not by OSM. Decisions on proposed Tribe or

State AMLR plans and revisions thereof submitted by a Tribe or State

are based

[[Page 8517]]

on a determination of whether the submittal meets the requirements of

Title IV of SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1231-1243) and the applicable Federal

regulations at 30 CFR Parts 884 and 888.

3. National Environmental Policy Act

No environmental impact statement is required for this rule since

agency decisions on proposed Tribe or State AMLR plans and revisions

thereof are categorically excluded from compliance with the National

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332) by the manual of the

Department of the Interior (516 DM 6, appendix 8, paragraph 8.4B(29)).

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 Tribe or State submittal which is the subject of this rule is based

upon 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

established by SMCRA or previously promulgated by OSM will be

implemented by the Tribe or State. In making the determination as to

whether this rule would have a significant economic impact, the

Department relied upon the data and assumptions in the analyses for the

corresponding Federal regulations.

6. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any

given year on any governmental entity or private sector.

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 944

Abandoned mine reclamation programs, Intergovernmental relations,

Surface mining, Underground mining.

Dated: February 9, 1999.

Russell F. Price,

Acting Regional Director, Western Regional Coordinating Center.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, Title 30, Chapter VII,

Subchapter T of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as set forth

below:

PART 944--UTAH

1. The authority citation for Part 944 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.

2. Section 944.25 is amended in the table by adding a new entry in

chronological order by ``Date of Final Publication'' to read as

follows:

Sec. 944.25 Approval of Utah abandoned mine land reclamation plan

amendments.

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Date of final

Original amendment submission date publication Citation/description

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* * * * * *

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August 2, 1995....................... February 22, 1999...... Utah Admin. R. 643-870-500; 643-874-100 and -

110; 643-874-124 through -128; 643-874-130

through -132; 643-874-140 through -144; 643-874-

150; 643-874-160; 643-875-120 through -200; 643-

877-141; 643-879-141; 643-879-152.200, -153,

and -154; 643-882-132; 643-884-150; and 643-886-

232.240.

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[FR Doc. 99-4242 Filed 2-19-99; 8:45 am]

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