Montana Regulatory Program, 32161-32163 [2023-10495]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 2023 / Proposed Rules
Electronic or Written Comments
If you submit written or electronic
comments on the proposed rule during
the 30-day comment period, 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.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone
number, email 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., MDT on June 5, 2023. 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.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:53 May 18, 2023
Jkt 259001
32161
Public Meeting
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
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.
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement
IV. Procedural Determinations
Executive Order 12866—Regulatory
Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563—Improving Regulation
and Regulatory Review
Executive Order 12866 provides that
the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs in the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) will review all significant
rules. Pursuant to OMB guidance, dated
October 12, 1993, the approval of State
program amendments is exempted from
OMB review under Executive Order
12866. Executive Order 13563, which
reaffirms and supplements Executive
Order 12866, retains this exemption.
Other Laws and Executive Orders
Affecting Rulemaking
When a State submits a program
amendment to OSMRE 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 902
State regulatory program approval,
State-federal cooperative agreement,
Required program amendments.
David A. Berry,
Regional Director, Unified Regions 5, 7–11.
[FR Doc. 2023–10498 Filed 5–18–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–05–P
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
30 CFR Part 926
[SATS No. MT–041–FOR; Docket ID: OSM–
2023–0002; S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000
231S180110; S2D2S SS08011000
SX064A000 23XS501520]
Montana Regulatory Program
Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment
period and opportunity for public
hearing on proposed amendment.
AGENCY:
We, the Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a
proposed amendment to the Montana
regulatory program (hereinafter, the
Montana program) under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of
1977 (SMCRA or the Act). During the
2021 legislative session, Montana
updated its Montana Strip and
Underground Mine Reclamation Act
and Montana Code Annotated.
Accordingly, Montana submitted this
proposed amendment to OSMRE on its
own initiative. The proposed
amendment defines the term affected
drainage basin and changed bond
release requirements to incorporate
affected drainage basins into bond
release applications. Montana also
proposes recodifications resulting from
incorporating the proposed changes into
the Montana Code Annotated. This
document gives the times and locations
that the Montana program and this
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., Mountain Daylight Time (MDT),
June 20, 2023. If requested, we may hold
a public hearing or meeting on the
amendment on June 13, 2023. We will
accept requests to speak at a hearing
until 4 p.m., MDT on June 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by SATS No. MT–041–FOR,
by any of the following methods:
Mail/Hand Delivery: OSMRE, Attn:
Jeffrey Fleischman, P.O. Box 11018, 100
East B Street, Room 4100, Casper,
Wyoming 82602.
Fax: (307) 261–6552
Federal eRulemaking Portal: The
amendment has been assigned Docket
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\19MYP1.SGM
19MYP1
32162
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 2023 / Proposed Rules
ID: OSM–2023–0002. If you would like
to submit comments, go to https://
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 Montana program,
this amendment, a listing of any
scheduled public hearings or meetings,
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 OSMRE’s Casper Area
Office or the full text of the program
amendment is available for you to read
at www.regulations.gov.
Attn: Jeffrey Fleischman, Chief, Denver
Field Division, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal
Building, POB 11018, 100 East B
Street, Casper, Wyoming 82602,
Telephone: (307) 261–6550, Email:
jfleischman@osmre.gov.
In addition, you may review a copy of
the amendment during regular business
hours at the following location:
Dan Walsh, Chief, Coal and Opencut
Mining Bureau, Coal Section,
Montana Department of
Environmental Quality, P.O. Box
200901, Helena, Montana, 59601–
0901, Telephone: (406) 444–6791,
Email: dwalsh@mt.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey Fleischman, Chief, Denver Field
Division, Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, POB
11018, 100 East B Street, Casper,
Wyoming 82602, Telephone: (307)
261–6550, Email: jfleischman@
osmre.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
I. Background on the Montana Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background on the Montana Program
Subject to OSMRE’s oversight, 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 nonIndian lands within its borders by
demonstrating that its approved, State
program includes, among other things,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:53 May 18, 2023
Jkt 259001
State laws and regulations that govern
surface coal mining and reclamation
operations in accordance with the Act
and consistent with the Federal
regulations. See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1)
and (7).
On the basis of these criteria, the
Secretary of the Interior conditionally
approved the Montana program on April
1, 1980. You can find background
information on the Montana program,
including the Secretary’s findings, the
disposition of comments, and
conditions of approval of the Montana
program in the April 1, 1980, Federal
Register (45 FR 21560). You can also
find later actions concerning the
Montana program and program
amendments at 30 CFR 926.15, 926.16,
and 926.30.
II. Description of the Proposed
Amendment
By letter dated February 16, 2023
(FDMS Document ID No. OSM–2023–
0002–0001), Montana sent us an
amendment to its program under
SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). We
found Montana’s proposed amendment
to be administratively complete on
February 17, 2023. Montana submitted
the proposed amendment to us, on its
own initiative, following changes to its
statutes in 2021. During the 2021
legislative session, the Montana
legislature passed Senate Bill 201 (SB
328) (FDMS Document ID No. OSM–
2023–0002–0002). SB 328 updated the
Montana Strip and Underground Mine
Reclamation Act and the Montana Code
Annotated (MCA), at sections 82–4–203
and 82–4–232.
Montana first proposes to add
language, at MCA 82–4–203(3), defining
the term affected drainage basin.
Second, the amendment proposes to
incorporate the term affected drainage
basin into the bond release requirements
found at MCA 82–4–232. Minor
wording changes are also proposed to
the bond release requirements found in
the MCA, at 82–4–232. Lastly, Montana
proposes recodifications to the MCA at
82–2–203 and 82–4–232 resulting from
the changes proposed above. The full
text of the program and/or plan
amendment is available for you to read
at the locations listed above under
ADDRESSES or at www.regulations.gov.
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.
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Electronic or Written Comments
If you submit written or electronic
comments on the proposed rule during
the 30-day comment period, 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, email 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., MDT on June 5, 2023. 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.
E:\FR\FM\19MYP1.SGM
19MYP1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 2023 / Proposed Rules
Public Meeting
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
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.
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement
IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Executive Order 12866 provides that
the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs in the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) will review all significant
rules. Pursuant to OMB guidance, dated
October 12, 1993, the approval of State
program amendments is exempted from
OMB review under Executive Order
12866. Executive Order 13563, which
reaffirms and supplements Executive
Order 12866, retains this exemption.
Other Laws and Executive Orders
Affecting Rulemaking
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
When a State submits a program
amendment to OSMRE 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.
State regulatory program approval,
State-federal cooperative agreement,
Required program amendments.
David A. Berry,
Regional Director, Unified Regions 5, 7–11.
[FR Doc. 2023–10495 Filed 5–18–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–05–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:53 May 18, 2023
Jkt 259001
[SATS No. ND–057–FOR; Docket ID: OSM–
2022–0011; S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000
234S180110; S2D2S SS08011000
SX064A000 23XS501520]
North Dakota Regulatory Program
Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule/Opening; public
comment period and opportunity for
public hearing on proposed amendment.
AGENCY:
We, the Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a
proposed amendment to the North
Dakota regulatory program (hereinafter,
the North Dakota program) under the
Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the
Act). North Dakota proposes changes to
the North Dakota Century Code and
North Dakota Administrative Code
resulting from actions initiated during
both the 2017 and 2021 Legislative
Sessions. Changes include altering the
time required for scheduling and
applying for select permit related
actions, creation of the North Dakota
Department of Environmental Quality
and a transfer of select responsibilities
from the Department of Health,
establishment of the Department of
Water Resources, and the powers and
duties of that agency and the state
engineer. This document gives the times
and locations that the North Dakota
program and this 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., Mountain Daylight Time (MDT),
June 20, 2023. If requested, we may hold
a public hearing or meeting on the
amendment on June 13, 2023. We will
accept requests to speak at a hearing
until 4 p.m., MDT on June 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by SATS No. ND–057–FOR,
by any of the following methods:
Mail/Hand Delivery: OSMRE, Attn:
Jeffrey Fleischman, P.O. Box 11018, 100
East B Street, Room 4100, Casper,
Wyoming 82601–1018.
Fax: (307) 261–6552.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: The
amendment has been assigned Docket
SUMMARY:
Executive Order 12866—Regulatory
Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563—Improving Regulation
and Regulatory Review
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 926
30 CFR Part 934
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
32163
ID: OSM–2022–0011. If you would like
to submit comments go to https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
We cannot ensure that comments
received after the close of the comment
period (see DATES) or sent to an address
other than the ones listed above will be
included in the docket for this
rulemaking and considered.
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 North Dakota
program, this amendment, a listing of
any scheduled public hearings or
meetings, 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 OSMRE’s
Casper Area Office or the full text of the
program amendment is available for you
to read at www.regulations.gov.
Attn: Jeffrey Fleischman, Denver Field
Division Chief, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, Casper Area Office, P.O.
Box 11018, 100 East B Street, Room
4100, Casper, Wyoming 82601–1018.
Telephone: (307) 261–6555, Email:
jfleischman@osmre.gov.
In addition, you may review a copy of
the amendment during regular business
hours at the following location:
Attn: Zanna Brinkman, Reclamation
Division Director, North Dakota
Public Service Commission, 600 East
Boulevard, Dept. 408, Bismarck,
North Dakota 58505–0480. Telephone:
(701) 328–2400, Email: zbrinkman@
nd.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey Fleischman, Denver Field
Division Chief, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, Casper Area Office, P.O.
Box 11018, 100 East B Street Casper,
Wyoming 82601–1018. Telephone:
(307) 261–6555, Email: jfleischman@
osmre.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the North Dakota Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
E:\FR\FM\19MYP1.SGM
19MYP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 97 (Friday, May 19, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32161-32163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10495]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 926
[SATS No. MT-041-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2023-0002; S1D1S SS08011000
SX064A000 231S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 23XS501520]
Montana 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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Montana
regulatory program (hereinafter, the Montana program) under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). During
the 2021 legislative session, Montana updated its Montana Strip and
Underground Mine Reclamation Act and Montana Code Annotated.
Accordingly, Montana submitted this proposed amendment to OSMRE on its
own initiative. The proposed amendment defines the term affected
drainage basin and changed bond release requirements to incorporate
affected drainage basins into bond release applications. Montana also
proposes recodifications resulting from incorporating the proposed
changes into the Montana Code Annotated. This document gives the times
and locations that the Montana program and this 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.,
Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), June 20, 2023. If requested, we may hold
a public hearing or meeting on the amendment on June 13, 2023. We will
accept requests to speak at a hearing until 4 p.m., MDT on June 5,
2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. MT-041-FOR,
by any of the following methods:
Mail/Hand Delivery: OSMRE, Attn: Jeffrey Fleischman, P.O. Box
11018, 100 East B Street, Room 4100, Casper, Wyoming 82602.
Fax: (307) 261-6552
Federal eRulemaking Portal: The amendment has been assigned Docket
[[Page 32162]]
ID: OSM-2023-0002. If you would like to submit comments, go to https://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 Montana
program, this amendment, a listing of any scheduled public hearings or
meetings, 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 OSMRE's Casper
Area Office or the full text of the program amendment is available for
you to read at www.regulations.gov.
Attn: Jeffrey Fleischman, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick Cheney Federal
Building, POB 11018, 100 East B Street, Casper, Wyoming 82602,
Telephone: (307) 261-6550, Email: [email protected].
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following location:
Dan Walsh, Chief, Coal and Opencut Mining Bureau, Coal Section, Montana
Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 200901, Helena, Montana,
59601-0901, Telephone: (406) 444-6791, Email: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey Fleischman, Chief, Denver Field Division, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, POB 11018, 100 East B Street,
Casper, Wyoming 82602, Telephone: (307) 261-6550, Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Montana Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background on the Montana Program
Subject to OSMRE's oversight, 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 approved, State program includes,
among other things, State laws and regulations that govern surface coal
mining and reclamation operations in accordance with the Act and
consistent with the Federal regulations. See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and
(7).
On the basis of these criteria, the Secretary of the Interior
conditionally approved the Montana program on April 1, 1980. You can
find background information on the Montana program, including the
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of
approval of the Montana program in the April 1, 1980, Federal Register
(45 FR 21560). You can also find later actions concerning the Montana
program and program amendments at 30 CFR 926.15, 926.16, and 926.30.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated February 16, 2023 (FDMS Document ID No. OSM-2023-
0002-0001), Montana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). We found Montana's proposed amendment to be
administratively complete on February 17, 2023. Montana submitted the
proposed amendment to us, on its own initiative, following changes to
its statutes in 2021. During the 2021 legislative session, the Montana
legislature passed Senate Bill 201 (SB 328) (FDMS Document ID No. OSM-
2023-0002-0002). SB 328 updated the Montana Strip and Underground Mine
Reclamation Act and the Montana Code Annotated (MCA), at sections 82-4-
203 and 82-4-232.
Montana first proposes to add language, at MCA 82-4-203(3),
defining the term affected drainage basin. Second, the amendment
proposes to incorporate the term affected drainage basin into the bond
release requirements found at MCA 82-4-232. Minor wording changes are
also proposed to the bond release requirements found in the MCA, at 82-
4-232. Lastly, Montana proposes recodifications to the MCA at 82-2-203
and 82-4-232 resulting from the changes proposed above. The full text
of the program and/or plan amendment is available for you to read at
the locations listed above under ADDRESSES or at www.regulations.gov.
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 or electronic comments on the proposed rule
during the 30-day comment period, 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, email 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., MDT on June 5,
2023. 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.
[[Page 32163]]
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. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Executive Order 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563--Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
Executive Order 12866 provides that the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will
review all significant rules. Pursuant to OMB guidance, dated October
12, 1993, the approval of State program amendments is exempted from OMB
review under Executive Order 12866. Executive Order 13563, which
reaffirms and supplements Executive Order 12866, retains this
exemption.
Other Laws and Executive Orders Affecting Rulemaking
When a State submits a program amendment to OSMRE 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 926
State regulatory program approval, State-federal cooperative
agreement, Required program amendments.
David A. Berry,
Regional Director, Unified Regions 5, 7-11.
[FR Doc. 2023-10495 Filed 5-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P