[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 22, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9700-9702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3910]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 901
[SATS No. AL-076-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2010-0020]
Alabama 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 Alabama
regulatory program (Alabama program) under the Surface Mining Control
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Alabama proposes
revisions to its Program regarding their license fees, annual license
updates, and blaster certification fees. Alabama intends to revise its
program to improve operational efficiency. The fees will be used to
recover Alabama's anticipated costs of reviewing, administering, and
enforcing Alabama's licensing and blaster certification requirements.
This document gives the times and locations that the Alabama
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.,
c.s.t., March 24, 2011. If requested, we will hold a public hearing on
the amendment on March 21, 2011. We will accept requests to speak at a
hearing until 4 p.m., c.s.t. on March 9, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. AL-076-FOR
by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``SATS No. AL-076-FOR''
in the subject line of the message.
Mail/Hand Delivery: Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham
Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 135
Gemini Circle, Suite 215, Homewood, Alabama 35209.
Fax: (205) 290-7280.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this rulemaking. 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: For access to the docket to review copies of the Alabama
program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled public hearings,
and all written comments received in response to this document, you
must go to the address listed below during normal business hours,
Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. You may receive one free
copy of the amendment by contacting OSM's Birmingham Field Office or
going to http://www.regulations.gov.
Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham Field Office, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 135 Gemini Circle, Suite 215,
Homewood, Alabama 35209, Telephone: (205) 290-7282, E-mail:
[email protected].
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following location:
Alabama Surface Mining Commission, 1811 Second Ave., P.O. Box 2390,
Jasper, Alabama 35502-2390, Telephone: (205) 221-4130.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherry Wilson, Director, Birmingham
Field Office. Telephone: (205) 290-7282. E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Alabama Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
I. Background on the Alabama Program
Section 503(a) of the Act permits a State to assume primacy for the
[[Page 9701]]
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 Alabama program effective May 20, 1982. You can find background
information on the Alabama program, including the Secretary's findings,
the disposition of comments, and the conditions of approval of the
Alabama program in the May 20, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 22030).
You can also find later actions concerning the Alabama program and
program amendments at 30 CFR 901.10, 901.15, and 901.16.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated October 28, 2010 (Administrative Record No. AL-
662), Alabama sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) at its own initiative. Below is a summary of the
changes proposed by Alabama. The full text of the program amendment is
available for you to read at the locations listed above under
ADDRESSES.
A. Alabama Rule 880-X-6A-.07 License Fees
Alabama's regulations require any person who intends to conduct
surface coal mining operations to obtain a license prior to applying
for a permit to mine coal. Their proposed change increases the license
fee from $1,000.00 to $2,500.00 and deletes language for pre-existing
license fees.
B. Alabama Rule 880-X-6A-.08 Annual License Updates
Alabama's regulations require mining licenses to be updated
annually. Their proposed change alters the date of annual license
updates, replaces the word ``renewal'' with ``update'' or ``license
update,'' adds the use of listing an internet site for form downloads,
increases the fee from $100.00 to $500.00, deletes the $100.00 penalty
payment for delinquency, deletes the language where a license becomes
null and void and replaces it with the issuance of a Cessation Order,
and explains the license reinstatement process.
C. Alabama Rule 880-X-12A-.09 Fees
This change adds a new section that establishes a $100.00 blaster
certification fee, a $50.00 blaster certification renewal fee, and a
$50.00 blaster certification reciprocity fee.
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.
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 State 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 (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 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., c.s.t. on March
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 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 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review
This proposed 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 901
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
[[Page 9702]]
Dated: December 10, 2010.
Ervin J. Barchenger,
Regional Director, Mid-Continent Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-3910 Filed 2-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P