[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4266-4268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1511]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 931
[SATS No. NM-048-FOR; Docket ID OSM-2010-0014]
New Mexico 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 are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the New
Mexico regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``New Mexico program'')
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA''
or ``the Act''). New Mexico proposes revisions to and additions of
rules about Ownership and Control (``O & C''). New Mexico intends to
revise its program to be consistent with the rules published in the
Federal Register notices published on December 3, 2007, Ownership and
Control (72 FR 68000); December 19, 2000, Application and Permit
Information Requirements, Permit Eligibility, definitions of Ownership
and Control, the AVS, Alternative Enforcement (65 FR 79582); and
October 28, 1994, Use of the AVS in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation
Permit Approval, Standards and Procedures for Ownership and Control
Determinations (59 FR 54306).
This document gives the times and locations that the New Mexico
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.,
m.d.t. February 24, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing
on the amendment on February 22, 2011. We will accept requests to speak
until 4 p.m., m.d.t. on February 9, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following two
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
This proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2010-0014. 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: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver
Field Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,
1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, CO 80202.
For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``III. Public Comment
Procedures'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
In addition to viewing the docket and obtaining copies of documents
at http://www.regulations.gov, you may review copies of the New Mexico
program, this amendment, a listing of any 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 also receive one free copy of the amendment
by contacting OSM's Albuquerque Office.
Bob Postle, Branch Chief, Field Operations, Program Support
Division, Western Region, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, 505 Marquette Ave. NM Suite 1200, Albuquerque, NM 87102,
Telephone: (505) 248-5070.
Bill Brancard, Acting Director, Mining and Minerals Division, New
Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, 1220 South
St. Francis Drive, Sante Fe, New Mexico 87505, (505) 476-3400.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Fulton, Chief, Denver Field
Division, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999
Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, CO
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80202, Telephone: (303) 293-5010. Internet: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the New Mexico Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the New Mexico 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 State 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 New Mexico program on December 31, 1980. You
can find background information on the New Mexico program, including
the Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and the
conditions of approval of the New Mexico program in the December 31,
1980, Federal Register (45 FR 86459). You can also find later actions
concerning New Mexico's program and program amendments at 30 CFR
931.10, 931.11, 931.13, 931.15, 931.16, and 931.30.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated September 1, 2010, New Mexico submitted the
proposed amendment in response to OSM's September 3, 2009, letter sent
in accordance with 30 CFR 732.17(c). The letter notified New Mexico
that changes and additions promulgated by OSM's October 28, 1994,
December 19, 2000, and December 3, 2007, amendments to the existing
ownership and control rules, at 30 CFR 701, 773, 778, 840, 843 and 847,
had been upheld in court and the State must respond by submitting
changes to its Ownership and Control rules. New Mexico was thereby
required to submit amendments to ensure its program remains consistent
with the Federal program. This amendment package is intended to address
all required rule changes pertaining to Ownership and Control.
Specifically, New Mexico proposes to amend its administrative rules
at 19.8.1 NMAC, Section 7 (Definitions); 19.8.7 NMAC, Section 701
(Identification of Interests); 19.8.11 NMAC, Sections 1105 (Review of
Permit Applications) and 1114 (Conformance of Permit); 19.8.20 NMAC,
Section 2010 (Hydrologic Balance: Water Quality Standards and Effluent
Limitations); 19.8.30 NMAC, Sections 3000 (Cessation Orders), 3003
(Service of Notices of Violation and Cessation Orders) and 3004
(Informal Hearings); 19.8.31 NMAC, Sections 3103 (Assessment of
Separate Violation for Each Day) and 3109 (Individual Civil Penalties);
and 19.8.34 NMAC Sections 3402 (Application Requirements and
Procedures) and 3408 (Revocation and Enforcement).
Additionally, New Mexico proposes the adoption of new sections in
19.8.11 NMAC Sections 1119 (Post-Permit Issuance Requirements and other
Actions Based on Ownership, Control and Violation Information), 1120
(Post-Permit Issuance Information Requirements for Permittees) and 1121
(Certifying and Updating Existing Permit Application Information); and
19.8.31 NMAC, Section 3113 (Criminal Penalties). The full text of the
program amendment is available for you to read at the locations listed
above under ADDRESSES.
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 New Mexico 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 in the electronic docket
for this rulemaking at http://www.regulations.gov. While you can 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.
Public Hearing
If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4 p.m., m.d.t. on
February 9, 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. If
only one person expresses an interest, a public meeting rather than a
hearing may be held, with the results included in the docket for this
rulemaking.
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.
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 (Regulatory Planning and
Review).
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
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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 931
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: September 17, 2010.
Billie Clark,
Acting Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-1511 Filed 1-24-11; 8:45 am]
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