[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 25 (Monday, February 7, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6589-6590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1512]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 948
[WV-116-FOR; OSM-2009-0008]
West Virginia Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We are reopening the public comment period on the proposed
West Virginia Regulatory Program rule published on October 21, 2009.
The comment period is being reopened in order to afford the public the
opportunity to comment on the proposed amendment to change a type of
cropland postmining land use from ``bio oil'' to ``bio fuel.'' In the
initial proposed rule announcing receipt of the amendment, the Office
of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) characterized the
change as non-substantive, and did not note where the changes occurred
throughout the regulations. Concerns were raised about the use of
``bio-fuel'' as a postmining land use (unrelated to this amendment) and
OSM asked the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
(WVDEP) to clarify why the State was changing the term ``bio-oil'' to
``bio-fuel.''
DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before 4
p.m., local time on February 22, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following two methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
The proposed rule has been assigned Docket ID: OSM-2009-0008. 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: Mr. Roger W. Calhoun, Director,
Charleston Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, 1027 Virginia Street, East, Charleston, West Virginia
25301. Please include the rule identifier (WV-116-FOR) with your
written comments. Instructions: All submissions received must include
the agency Docket ID (OSM-2009-0008) for this rulemaking.
For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document. You may also request to speak at
a public hearing by any of the methods listed above or by contacting
the individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Docket: The proposed rule and any comments that are submitted may
be viewed over the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. Look for
Docket ID OSM-2009-0008. In addition, you may review copies of the West
Virginia 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 also receive one
free copy of this amendment by contacting OSM's Charleston Field Office
listed below.
Mr. Roger W. Calhoun, Director, Charleston Field Office, Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1027 Virginia Street, East,
Charleston, West Virginia 25301, Telephone: (304) 347-7158. E-mail:
[email protected].
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, 601 57th Street,
SE., Charleston, WV 25304, Telephone: (304) 926-0490.
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following locations:
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Morgantown Area
Office, 604 Cheat Road, Suite 150, Morgantown, West Virginia 26508,
Telephone: (304) 291-4004. (By appointment only).
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Beckley Area
Office, 313 Harper Park Drive, Suite 3, Beckley, West Virginia 25801,
Telephone: (304) 255-5265.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Roger W. Calhoun, Director,
Charleston Field Office, Telephone: (304) 347-7158. E-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 21, 2009 (74 FR 53972), we
published a proposed rule that would revise the West Virginia surface
mining regulatory program. The revisions would address various issues
including, but not limited to, continued oversight by the Secretary of
``approved'' persons who prepare, sign, or certify mining permit
applications and related materials; regarding incidental boundary
revisions to existing permits, clarifying that certain types of
collateral activities are part of the primary mining operations and
therefore subject to the same acreage limitations, while providing more
relevant and exacting criteria for the Secretary to consider in
evaluating an application for revision; deleting the bonding matrix
form; changing term ``Bio-oil'' to ``Bio fuel''; and clarifying
standards contained in subsection 9.3.f that pertain to areas developed
for hayland or pasture use.
In our announcement of the State's submission of the amendment, we
stated that the ``changes regarding the term `Bio-oil' to `Bio-fuel' in
the program amendments are non-substantive in nature.'' Subsequently,
concerns within OSM arose regarding the definitions WVDEP was using for
the terms and we asked them to clarify both definitions. In an e-mail
to OSM dated July 26, 2010, WVDEP stated that ``Biofuels cover are
[sic] a wide range of fuels which are derived from biomass. The term
covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases while bio-oil
was limited to biodiesel.'' Given these definitions, it appears that we
inadvertently mischaracterized the change from ``bio-oil'' to ``bio-
fuel'' as non-substantive and the issue was not properly explained in
the amendment.
[[Page 6590]]
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 West Virginia program.
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 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.
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 would appreciate all comments
relating to this specific issue, but those most useful and likely to
influence decisions on the final rule will be those that either involve
personal experience or include citations to and analysis of the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, its legislative history,
its implementing regulations, case law, other State or Federal laws and
regulations, data, technical literature, or other relevant
publications. Specifically, we are asking for comments solely on the
State's proposed program amendments at subsection 7.8 to change the
term ``bio-oil'' to ``bio-fuel.''
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 948
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
Dated: October 20, 2010.
Michael K. Robinson,
Acting Regional Director, Appalachian Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-1512 Filed 2-4-11; 8:45 am]
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