[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 15, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59352-59355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26081]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 914
[IN-153-FOR, State Program Amendment No. 02-034R]
Indiana 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: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Indiana
regulatory program (Indiana program) under the Surface Mining Control
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Indiana proposes
revisions to and additions of rules concerning protection of ground
water quality. Indiana intends to revise its program to provide
additional safeguards for ground water.
This document gives the times and locations that the Indiana
program and proposed 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 on this amendment until 4 p.m.,
e.s.t., November 14, 2003. If requested, we will hold a public hearing
on the amendment on November 10, 2003. We will accept requests to speak
at a hearing until 4 p.m., e.s.t. on October 30, 2003.
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, this 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,
Indiana 46204, Telephone: (317) 226-6700, Internet address:
[email protected].
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Mine Reclamation,
402 West Washington Street, Room W-295, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204,
Telephone: (317) 232-1291.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew R. Gilmore, Director,
Indianapolis Field Office. Telephone: (317) 226-6700. Internet address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Indiana Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the Indiana Program
Section 503(a) of the Act permits a State to assume primacy for the
regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations on non-
Federal and non-Indian lands within its borders by demonstrating that
its program includes, among other things, ``a State law which provides
for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations in
accordance with the requirements of this Act * * *; and rules and
regulations consistent with regulations issued by the Secretary
pursuant to this Act.'' See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On the basis
of these criteria, the Secretary of the Interior conditionally approved
the Indiana program effective July 29, 1982. You can find background
information on the Indiana program, including the Secretary's findings,
the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval of the
Indiana program in the July 26, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 32071).
You can also find later actions concerning the Indiana program and
program amendments at 30 CFR 914.10, 914.15, 914.16, and 914.17.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated September 3, 2003 (Administrative Record No. IND-
1719), Indiana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). Indiana sent the amendment at its own initiative.
Below is a summary of the changes proposed by Indiana. The full text of
the program amendment is available for you to read at the locations
listed above under ADDRESSES.
A. Definitions
1. At 312 IAC 25-1-45.5, Indiana is adding the following definition
for ``Drinking water well.''
``Drinking water well,'' for the purposes of 312 IAC 25-6-12.5
and 312 IAC 25-6-76.5, means a bored, drilled, or driven shaft or a
dug hole that meets each of the following:
(1) Supplies ground water for human consumption.
(2) Has a depth greater than its largest surface dimension.
(3) Is not permanently abandoned under 312 IAC 13-10-2.
2. At 312 IAC 25-1-60.5, Indiana is adding the following definition
for ``Ground water management zone.''
``Ground water management zone'' means a three (3) dimensional
region of ground water around a potential or existing contaminant
source where a contaminant is or was managed to prevent or mitigate
deterioration of ground water quality such that the criteria
established in 312 IAC 25-6-12.5(a) or 312 IAC 25-6-76.5(a) are met
at and beyond the boundary of the region.
3. At 312 IAC 25-1-109.5, Indiana is adding the following
definition for ``Property boundary.''
``Property boundary,'' for the purposes of 312 IAC 25-6-12.5 and
312 IAC 25-6-76.5, means the edge of a contiguous parcel of land
owned by or leased to the permittee. Contiguous land shall include
land separated by a public right-of-way, if that land would
otherwise be contiguous.
B. Surface Mining Permit Applications
1. At 312 IAC 25-4-43, Indiana is adding subdivision (4). This new
subdivision requires the maps and plans of the proposed permit and
adjacent areas to include all monitoring locations used to demonstrate
compliance with 312 IAC 25-6-12.5.
2. At 312 IAC 25-4-47(b), protection of hydrologic balance, Indiana
is adding subdivision (9). This new subdivision requires the
reclamation plan to contain a description, with appropriate maps and
cross section drawings, of a plan to demonstrate compliance with 312
IAC 25-6-12.5.
[[Page 59353]]
C. Underground Mining Permit Applications
1. At 312 IAC 25-4-85(b), protection of hydrologic balance, Indiana
is adding subdivision (8). This new subdivision requires the
reclamation plan to contain a description, with appropriate maps and
cross section drawings, of a plan to demonstrate compliance with 312
IAC 25-6-76.5.
2. At 312 IAC 25-4-93, Indiana is adding subdivision (4). This new
subdivision requires the maps and plans of the proposed permit and
adjacent areas to include all monitoring locations used to demonstrate
compliance with 312 IAC 25-6-76.5.
C. Indiana is adding a new rule at 312 IAC 25-6-12.5 to read as
follows:
312 IAC 25-6-12.5 Hydrologic balance; application of ground
water quality standards at surface coal mining and reclamation
operations permitted under IC 14-34 on which coal extraction,
including augering, coal processing, coal processing waste disposal,
or spoil deposition, occurs after the effective date of this
section, or on which disposal activity subject to IC 13-19-3-3 has
occurred and the area is not fully released from the performance
bond required by IC 14-34-6.
(a) Ground water is classified under 327 IAC 2-11 to determine
appropriate criteria that shall be applied to ground water.
(b) Surface coal mining and reclamation operations must be
planned and conducted to prevent violations of ground water quality
standards under 327 IAC 2-11.
(c) Surface coal mining and reclamation operations must be
planned and conducted to prevent impacts to the ground water in a
drinking water well or a nondrinking water supply well, including an
industrial, commercial, or agricultural supply well, that result in
a contaminant concentration that, based on best scientific
information, renders the well unusable for its current use. If a
drinking water well or a nondrinking water supply well is affected
by contamination, diminution, or interruption proximately resulting
from surface mining activities, 312 IAC 25-4-33 and 312 IAC 25-6-25
govern water replacement.
(d) The ground water management zone described in 327 IAC 2-11-9
must be established as follows:
(1) At each drinking water well that is within three hundred
(300) feet from the edge of any of the following:
(A) A coal extraction area.
(B) A coal mine processing waste disposal site if not within a
coal extraction area.
(C) An area where coal is extracted by auger mining methods.
(D) A location at which coal is crushed, washed, screened,
stored, and loaded at or near the mine site unless the location is
within the coal extraction area.
(E) A spoil deposition area.
(2) Within three hundred (300) feet from the edge of an area or
site described in subdivision (1) where there is no drinking water
well that is within three hundred (300) feet from the edge of an
area or site described in subdivision (1). If the property boundary
or permit boundary is located within three hundred (300) feet from
the edge of an area or site described in subdivision (1), the
director shall require that a monitoring well be placed at a
location approved by the director between the property boundary or
permit boundary and the edge of an area or site described in
subdivision (1). If a standard listed in 327 IAC 2-11 is exceeded at
a monitoring well described in subdivision (2) that the director
determines was caused by an activity under subdivision (1), the
permittee must submit to the director a plan describing, in detail,
the steps to be taken to prevent material damage to the hydrologic
balance beyond the permit boundary and a timetable for
implementation. This plan must be submitted within thirty (30) days
of the discovery of an exceedance and include information relative
to access, additional monitoring, and any measures to be taken to
minimize changes to the prevailing hydrologic balance and to prevent
material damage to the hydrologic balance beyond the permit
boundary.
(3) If a drinking water well is located within three hundred
(300) feet of an area or site described in subdivision (1) and it is
determined that there is a substantial likelihood of impact, the
director may require that a monitoring well be placed at a location
approved by the director between the drinking water well and the
edge of an area or site described in subdivision (1). If a standard
listed in 327 IAC 2-11 is exceeded at a monitoring well described in
subdivision (3) that the director determines was caused by an
activity under subdivision (1), the permittee shall submit to the
director a plan describing, in detail, the steps to be taken and a
timetable for taking the action that takes into account site-
specific conditions to provide protection for the drinking water
well. This plan must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the
discovery of an exceedance and include information relative to
access, additional monitoring, and any measures to be taken to
minimize changes to the prevailing hydrologic balance and to prevent
material damage to the hydrologic balance beyond the permit
boundary.
(e) The criteria established in subsection (a) must be met at
and beyond the boundary of the ground water management zone.
D. Indiana is adding a new rule at 312 IAC 25-6-76.5 to read as
follows:
312 IAC 25-6-76.5 Underground mining; hydrologic balance;
application of ground water quality standards at underground coal
mining and reclamation operations permitted under IC 14-34 on which
coal extraction, coal processing, coal processing waste disposal, or
underground development waste and spoil deposition occurs after the
effective date of this section, or on which disposal activity
subject to IC 13-19-3-3 has occurred and the area is not fully
released from the performance bond required by IC 14-34-6.
(a) Ground water is classified under 327 IAC 2-11 to determine
appropriate criteria that shall be applied to ground water.
(b) Underground coal mining and reclamation operations must be
planned and conducted to prevent violations of ground water quality
standards under 327 IAC 2-11.
(c) Underground coal mining and reclamation operations must be
planned and conducted to prevent impacts to the ground water in a
drinking water well or a nondrinking water supply well, including an
industrial, commercial, or agricultural supply well, that result in
a contaminant concentration that, based on best scientific
information, renders the well unusable for its current use. If a
drinking water well or a nondrinking water supply well is affected
by contamination, diminution, or interruption proximately resulting
from surface mining activities, 312 IAC 25-4-74 and 312 IAC 25-6-88
govern water replacement.
(d) The ground water management zone described in 327 IAC 2-11-9
must be established as follows:
(1) At each drinking water well that is within three hundred
(300) feet from the edge of any of the following:
(A) A coal mine processing waste disposal site.
(B) A location at which coal is crushed, washed, screened,
stored, and loaded at or near the mine site.
(C) An underground development waste and spoil deposition area.
(2) Within three hundred (300) feet from the edge of an area or
site described in subdivision (1) where there is no drinking water
well that is within three hundred (300) feet from the edge of an
area or site described in subdivision (1). If the property boundary
or permit boundary is located within three hundred (300) feet from
the edge of an area or site described in subdivision (1), the
director shall require that a monitoring well be placed at a
location approved by the director between the property boundary or
permit boundary and the edge of an area or site described in
subdivision (1). If a standard listed in 327 IAC 2-11 is exceeded at
a monitoring well described in subdivision (2) that the director
determines was caused by an activity under subdivision (1), the
permittee must submit to the director a plan describing, in detail,
the steps to be taken to prevent material damage to the hydrologic
balance beyond the permit boundary and a timetable for
implementation. This plan must be submitted within thirty (30) days
of the discovery of an exceedance and include information relative
to access, additional monitoring, and any measures to be taken to
minimize changes to the prevailing hydrologic balance and to prevent
material damage to the hydrologic balance beyond the permit
boundary.
(3) If a drinking water well is located within three hundred
(300) feet of an area or site described in subdivision (1) and it is
determined that there is a substantial likelihood of impact, the
director may require that a monitoring well be placed at a location
approved by the director between the drinking water well and the
edge of an area or site described in subdivision (1). If a standard
listed in 327 IAC 2-11 is exceeded at a monitoring well described in
subdivision (3) that the director determines was caused by an
activity under subdivision (1), the permittee shall submit to the
director a plan describing, in detail, the steps to be taken
[[Page 59354]]
and a timetable for taking the action that takes into account site-
specific conditions to provide protection for the drinking water
well. This plan must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the
discovery of an exceedance and include information relative to
access, additional monitoring, and any measures to be taken to
minimize changes to the prevailing hydrologic balance and to prevent
material damage to the hydrologic balance beyond the permit
boundary.
(e) The criteria established in subsection (a) must be met at
and beyond the boundary of the ground water management zone.
III. Public Comment Procedures
Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking your
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 State program.
Written Comments
Send your written or electronic comments to OSM at the address
given above. Your written comments should be specific, pertain only to
the issues proposed in this rulemaking, and include explanations in
support of your recommendations. We will not consider or respond to
your comments when developing the final rule if they are received after
the close of the comment period (see DATES). We will make every attempt
to log all comments into the administrative record, but comments
delivered to an address other than the Indianapolis Field Office may
not be logged in.
Electronic Comments
Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII or Word file avoiding
the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also
include ``Attn: IN-153-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.
Availability of Comments
We will make comments, including names and addresses of
respondents, available for public review during normal business hours.
We will not consider anonymous comments. If individual respondents
request confidentiality, we will honor their request to the extent
allowable by law. Individual respondents who wish to withhold their
name or address from public review, except for the city or town, must
state this prominently at the beginning of their 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 review in their entirety.
Public Hearing
If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 p.m., e.s.t. on
October 30, 2003. If you are disabled and need special accommodations
to attend a public hearing, contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. We will arrange the location and time of the
hearing with those persons requesting the hearing. If no one requests
an opportunity to speak, we will not hold a hearing.
To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we
request, if possible, that each person who speaks at the public hearing
provide us with a written copy of his or her comments. The public
hearing will continue on the specified date until everyone scheduled to
speak has been given an opportunity to be 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 everyone scheduled to speak and others present in
the audience who wish to speak, have been heard.
Public Meeting
If only one person requests an opportunity to speak, we may hold a
public meeting rather than a public hearing. If you wish to meet with
us to discuss the amendment, please 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 will make a
written summary of each meeting a part of the administrative record.
IV. Procedural Determinations
Executive Order 12630--Takings
The revisions made at the initiative of the State that do not have
Federal counterparts have been reviewed and a determination made that
they do not have takings implications. This determination is based on
the fact that the provisions have no substantive effect on the
regulated industry.
Executive Order 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review
This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 12988--Civil Justice Reform
The Department of the Interior has conducted the reviews required
by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 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 because
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
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.
Executive Order 13132--Federalism
This rule does not have Federalism implications. SMCRA delineates
the roles of the Federal and State governments with regard to the
regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations. One of
the purposes of SMCRA is to ``establish a nationwide program to protect
society and the environment from the adverse effects of surface coal
mining operations.'' Section 503(a)(1) of SMCRA requires that State
laws regulating surface coal mining and reclamation operations be ``in
accordance with'' the requirements of SMCRA, and section 503(a)(7)
requires that State programs contain rules and regulations ``consistent
with'' regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant to SMCRA.
Executive Order 13175--Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
In accordance with Executive Order 13175, we have evaluated the
potential effects of this rule on Federally-recognized Indian tribes
and have determined that the rule does not have substantial direct
effects on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the
Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.
This determination is based on the fact that the Indiana program does
not regulate coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation
operations on Indian lands. Therefore, the Indiana
[[Page 59355]]
program has no effect on Federally-recognized Indian tribes.
Executive Order 13211--Regulations That Significantly Affect The
Supply, Distribution, or Use of Energy
On May 18, 2001, the President issued Executive Order 13211 which
requires agencies to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for a rule
that is (1) considered significant under Executive Order 12866, and (2)
likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply,
distribution, or use of energy. Because this rule is exempt from review
under Executive Order 12866 and is not expected to have a significant
adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy, a
Statement of Energy Effects is not required.
National Environmental Policy Act
This rule does not require an environmental impact statement
because 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)).
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 certifies that the provisions in
this rule that are not based upon counterpart Federal regulations 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.).
This determination is based upon the fact that the provisions are not
expected to have a substantive effect on the regulated industry.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This rule: (a) Does not
have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million; (b) Will not
cause a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual
industries, Federal, State, or local government agencies, or geographic
regions; and (c) Does not have significant adverse effects on
competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the
ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based
enterprises. This determination is based upon the fact that the State
provisions are not expected to have a substantive effect on the
regulated industry.
Unfunded Mandates
This rule will not impose an unfunded mandate on State, local, or
tribal governments or the private sector of $100 million or more in any
given year. This determination is based upon the fact that the State
provisions are not expected to have a substantive effect on the
regulated industry.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 914
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: September 26, 2003.
Charles E. Sandberg,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 03-26081 Filed 10-14-03; 8:45 am]
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