[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 19 (Friday, January 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5103-5104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1113]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 920
[SATS No. MD-056-FOR; Docket ID: OSM 2010-0008]
Maryland Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public
hearing on proposed amendment.
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SUMMARY: We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the
Maryland program (the ``Maryland program'') under the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act) (Administrative
Record No. 588.00). Maryland added provisions to regulate coal
combustion byproducts (CCBs) and to establish requirements pertaining
to the generation, storage, handling, processing, disposal, recycling,
beneficial use, or other use of CCBs within the State. In total these
regulations pertain to all CCB activities in the State, not just
surface coal mining and reclamation operations. However, a section of
the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) specifically pertains to the
surface coal mining and reclamation operations. The regulation specific
to surface coal mining and reclamation operations is a new regulation,
Regulation .08 under COMAR 26.20.24, Special Performance Standards.
Maryland is requesting approval of this section that it submitted as an
amendment on June 24, 2010.
This document gives the times and locations that the Maryland
submittal are available for your inspection, the comment period during
which you may submit written comments, and the procedures that we will
follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.
DATES: We will accept written comments until 4 p.m., local time
February 28, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on
February 22, 2011. We will accept requests to speak until 4 p.m., local
time on February 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``MD-056-FOR; Docket
ID: OSM-2010-0008'' by either of the following two methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. The
proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2010-0008. If you would
like to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to
http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions.
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Mr. George Rieger, Chief, Pittsburgh
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,
Three Parkway Center, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA 15220.
Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Public
Comment Procedures'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this document.
Docket: In addition to obtaining copies of documents at http://www.regulations.gov, information may also be obtained 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 Pittsburgh Field Division Office.
George Rieger, Chief, Pittsburgh Field Division, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Three Parkway Center, Suite 300,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15220, Telephone: (412) 937-2153, E-mail:
[email protected].
John E. Carey, Director, Maryland Bureau of Mines, 160 South Water
Street, Frostburg, MD 21532, Telephone: (301) 689-1442; E-mail:
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Rieger, Telephone: (412) 937-
2153. E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Maryland Program
II. Description of the Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the Maryland 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 approved the Maryland
program on February 18, 1982. You can find background information on
the Maryland program, including the Secretary's findings, the
disposition of comments, and conditions of approval of the Maryland
program in the February 18, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 7214-7217).
You can also find later actions concerning the Maryland program and
program amendments at 30 CFR 920.12, 920.15, 920.16.
II. Description of the Amendment
By letter dated June 24, 2010, Maryland sent us an amendment to its
program, Administrative Record Number MD-588.00, under SMCRA (30 U.S.C.
1201 et seq.). Maryland added regulations to regulate coal combustion
byproducts and to establish requirements pertaining to the generation,
storage, handling, processing, disposal, recycling, beneficial use, or
other use of coal combustion byproducts (CCB) within the State. In
total, these regulations pertain to all CCB activities in the State,
not just surface coal mining and reclamation operations. However, a
section of the added regulations specifically pertains to surface coal
mining and reclamation operations and are proposed to be part of
Maryland's Federally approved state program. The regulation specific to
surface coal mining and reclamation operations has been added as a new
regulation, Regulation .08 under COMAR 26.20.24, Special Performance
Standards.
Specifically, Maryland's Regulation .08 Utilization of Coal
Combustion Byproducts will include paragraphs A-H on the Purpose and
Scope, Conditions for Utilization, and Testing and Monitoring.
Additionally, Maryland is adding a Coal Combustion Byproducts
Utilization Request requirement that will require a solids analysis of
the CCBs and a Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure (TCLP)
leachate analysis of the CCBs. Maryland may also impose additional
controls or conditions on the use of CCBs as it sees fit for the
protection of human health and the environment.
The full text of the program amendment is available for you to read
at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES.
[[Page 5104]]
III. Public Comment Procedures
Under the provisions of 30 CFR 732.17(h), we are seeking your
comments on whether the submission satisfies the applicable program
approval criteria of 30 CFR 732.15. If we approve the amendment, it
will become part of the Maryland program.
Electronic or Written Comments
If you submit written comments, they should be specific, confined
to issues pertinent to the proposed regulations, and explain the reason
for any recommended change(s). We appreciate any and all comments, but
those most useful and likely to influence decisions on the final
regulations will be those that either involve personal experience or
include citations to and analyses of SMCRA, its legislative history,
its implementing regulations, case law, other pertinent Tribal or
Federal laws or regulations, technical literature, or other relevant
publications. We cannot ensure that comments received after the close
of the comment period (see DATES) or sent to an address other than
those listed above (see ADDRESSES) will be included in the docket for
this rulemaking and considered.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you may
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so. We will not consider anonymous comments.
Public Hearing
If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 p.m., local time
February 14, 2011. If you are disabled and need reasonable
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 the hearing.
To assist the transcriber and ensure an accurate record, we
request, if possible, that each person who speaks at a 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 there is only limited interest in participating in a public
hearing, we may hold a public meeting rather than a public hearing. If
you wish to meet with us to discuss the submission, 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 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review
This rule is exempted from review by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866.
Other Laws and Executive Orders Affecting Rulemaking
When a State submits a program amendment to OSM for review, our
regulations at 30 CFR 732.17(h) require us to publish a notice in the
Federal Register indicating receipt of the proposed amendment, its text
or a summary of its terms, and an opportunity for public comment. We
conclude our review of the proposed amendment after the close of the
public comment period and determine whether the amendment should be
approved, approved in part, or not approved. At that time, we will also
make the determinations and certifications required by the various laws
and executive orders governing the rulemaking process and include them
in the final rule.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 920
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: September 1, 2010.
Michael K. Robinson,
Acting Regional Director, Appalachian Region.
Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the
Federal Register on January 14, 2011.
[FR Doc. 2011-1113 Filed 1-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P