Alaska Regulatory Program, 32160-32161 [2023-10498]
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32160
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 2023 / Proposed Rules
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 902
[SATS No. AK–008–FOR; Docket ID: OSM–
2022–0006; S1D1S SS08011000 SX64A000
222S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX64A000
22XS501520]
Alaska 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 Alaska
regulatory program (hereinafter, the
Alaska program) under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of
1977 (SMCRA or the Act). This
amendment proposes to change the
Alaska Administrative Code by revising
and adding provisions pertaining to
Ownership and Control. Alaska intends
to revise its program to be consistent
with the corresponding Federal
regulations and SMCRA, clarify
ambiguities, and improve operational
efficiency.
This document gives the times and
locations that the Alaska 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., 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. AK–008–FOR,
by any of the following methods:
Mail/Hand Delivery: OSMRE, Attn:
Howard Strand, Denver Field Branch
Manager; Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement; One
Denver Federal Center, Building 41,
P.O. Box 25065, Lakewood, Colorado
80225–0065.
Fax: (303) 236–6056.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: The
amendment has been assigned Docket
ID: OSM–2022–0006. If you would like
to submit comments go to https://
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:53 May 18, 2023
Jkt 259001
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 Alaska 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 Denver Field
Office or the full text of the program
amendment is available for you to read
at www.regulations.gov.
Attn: Howard Strand, Denver Field
Branch Manager, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, One Denver Federal
Center—Building 41, Lakewood,
Colorado 80225–0065, Telephone:
(303) 236–2931, Email: hstrand@
osmre.gov.
In addition, you may review a copy of
the amendment during regular business
hours at the following location:
Attn: Russell Kirkham, Alaska Coal
Regulatory Program Manager,
Division of Mining, Land and Water,,
Department of Natural Resources,, 550
West 7th Avenue, Suite 900D,
Anchorage, Alaska 99501–3577,
Telephone: (907) 269–8650, Email:
russell.kirkham@alaska.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey Fleischman, Field Office
Director, Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick
Cheney Federal Building, P.O. Box
11018, 100 East B Street Casper,
Wyoming 82601–1018. Telephone: (307)
261–6550. Email: jfleischman@
osmre.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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
approved the Alaska program on May 2,
1983. You can find background
information on the Alaska program and/
or plan, including the Secretary’s
findings, the disposition of comments,
and conditions of approval of the Alaska
program in the March 23, 1983, Federal
Register (48 FR 12274). You can also
find later actions concerning the
program and program amendments at 30
CFR 902.10.
I. Background on the Alaska Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
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.
Background on the Alaska Program
Section 503(a) of the Act permits a
State to assume primacy for the
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Description of the Proposed
Amendment
By letter dated June 27, 2022
(Administrative Record No. OSM–2022–
0018–001), Alaska sent us an
amendment to its program under
SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).
OSMRE received the amendment on
June 28, 2022 and found it
administratively complete on June 29,
2022. Alaska submitted the amendment
to implement the required changes
identified in OSMRE’s October 2, 2009
letter under the authority of 30 CFR part
732.17(c), and to conform with the State
of Alaska’s ‘‘Drafting Manual for
Administrative Regulation.’’ The
amendment proposes to change the
Alaska Administrative Code by revising
and adding provisions pertaining to
ownership and control. Specifically,
Alaska proposes to add definitions,
requirements for permits, general
reclamation requirements, and permit
processing, along with revisions to
permit application requirements, permit
rights, federal enforcement, civil
penalties, individual civil penalties, and
alternative enforcement. The full text of
the program amendment is available for
you to read at the locations listed above
under ADDRESSES or at
www.regulations.gov.
Public Comment Procedures
E:\FR\FM\19MYP1.SGM
19MYP1
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
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 97 (Friday, May 19, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32160-32161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10498]
[[Page 32160]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 902
[SATS No. AK-008-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2022-0006; S1D1S SS08011000
SX64A000 222S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX64A000 22XS501520]
Alaska 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 Alaska
regulatory program (hereinafter, the Alaska program) under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). This
amendment proposes to change the Alaska Administrative Code by revising
and adding provisions pertaining to Ownership and Control. Alaska
intends to revise its program to be consistent with the corresponding
Federal regulations and SMCRA, clarify ambiguities, and improve
operational efficiency.
This document gives the times and locations that the Alaska 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.,
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. AK-008-FOR,
by any of the following methods:
Mail/Hand Delivery: OSMRE, Attn: Howard Strand, Denver Field Branch
Manager; Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; One
Denver Federal Center, Building 41, P.O. Box 25065, Lakewood, Colorado
80225-0065.
Fax: (303) 236-6056.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: The amendment has been assigned Docket
ID: OSM-2022-0006. 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 Alaska
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 Denver
Field Office or the full text of the program amendment is available for
you to read at www.regulations.gov.
Attn: Howard Strand, Denver Field Branch Manager, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, One Denver Federal Center--Building
41, Lakewood, Colorado 80225-0065, Telephone: (303) 236-2931, Email:
[email protected].
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following location:
Attn: Russell Kirkham, Alaska Coal Regulatory Program Manager, Division
of Mining, Land and Water,, Department of Natural Resources,, 550 West
7th Avenue, Suite 900D, Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3577, Telephone: (907)
269-8650, Email: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Fleischman, Field Office
Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick
Cheney Federal Building, P.O. Box 11018, 100 East B Street Casper,
Wyoming 82601-1018. Telephone: (307) 261-6550. Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Alaska Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
Background on the Alaska 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 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 approved the Alaska program on
May 2, 1983. You can find background information on the Alaska program
and/or plan, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of
comments, and conditions of approval of the Alaska program in the March
23, 1983, Federal Register (48 FR 12274). You can also find later
actions concerning the program and program amendments at 30 CFR 902.10.
Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated June 27, 2022 (Administrative Record No. OSM-2022-
0018-001), Alaska sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). OSMRE received the amendment on June 28, 2022 and
found it administratively complete on June 29, 2022. Alaska submitted
the amendment to implement the required changes identified in OSMRE's
October 2, 2009 letter under the authority of 30 CFR part 732.17(c),
and to conform with the State of Alaska's ``Drafting Manual for
Administrative Regulation.'' The amendment proposes to change the
Alaska Administrative Code by revising and adding provisions pertaining
to ownership and control. Specifically, Alaska proposes to add
definitions, requirements for permits, general reclamation
requirements, and permit processing, along with revisions to permit
application requirements, permit rights, federal enforcement, civil
penalties, individual civil penalties, and alternative enforcement. The
full text of the program amendment is available for you to read at the
locations listed above under ADDRESSES or at www.regulations.gov.
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.
[[Page 32161]]
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.
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 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