Kentucky Regulatory Program, 33016-33018 [2023-10822]

Download as PDF lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1 33016 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Proposed Rules records, it will share that information in appropriate cases. (3) From subsection (d)(1), (2), (3) and (4) (record subject’s right to access and amend records), (e)(4)(G) and (H) (publication of procedures for notifying subjects of the existence of records about them and how they may access records and contest contents), (e)(8) (notice of compelled disclosures), (f) (agency rules for notifying subjects to the existence of records about them, for accessing and amending records, and for assessing fees) and (g) (civil remedies) because these provisions concern individual access to and amendment of records containing national security, law enforcement, intelligence, counterintelligence and counterterrorism sensitive information that could alert the subject of an authorized law enforcement or intelligence activity about that particular activity and the interest of the DOJ and/or other law enforcement or intelligence agencies in the subject. Providing access could compromise information classified to protect national security; disclose information that would constitute an unwarranted invasion of another’s personal privacy; reveal a sensitive investigative or intelligence technique; provide information that would allow a subject to avoid detection or apprehension; or constitute a potential danger to the health or safety of law enforcement personnel, confidential sources, witnesses, or other individuals. Nevertheless, DOJ has published notice concerning notification, access, and contest procedures because it may in certain circumstances determine it appropriate to provide subjects access to all or a portion of the records about them in a system of records, particularly if information pertaining to the individual has been declassified. (4) From subsection (e)(1) (maintain only relevant and necessary records) because the DPRC in the course of receiving information pursuant to an application for review, including the ODNI CLPO’s record of review, may receive records that are ultimately deemed irrelevant or unnecessary for the adjudication of the matter. Relevance and necessity are questions of judgment and timing; what appears relevant and necessary when collected ultimately may be deemed unnecessary. It is only after the information is assessed that its relevancy and necessity can be established. Even if the records received are ultimately determined to be irrelevant or unnecessary to the adjudication of an application for review, the OPCL generally must nevertheless retain such records to VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:36 May 22, 2023 Jkt 259001 maintain an accurate and complete record of the information reviewed by the DPRC. (5) From subsection (e)(2) (collection directly from the individual) and (3) (provide Privacy Act Statement to subjects furnishing information). The DPRC will rely on records received from the ODNI CLPO, including records that the ODNI CLPO received from other elements of the Intelligence Community. The collection efforts of agencies that supply information ultimately received by the DPRC would be thwarted if the agencies were required to collect information with the subject’s knowledge. Application of these provisions would put the subject of United States signals intelligence activities on notice of the signals intelligence activities and allow the subject an opportunity to engage in conduct intended to impede the investigative activity or avoid apprehension. (6) From subsection (e)(4)(I) (identifying sources of records in the system of records), to the extent that this subsection is interpreted to require more detail regarding the record sources in this system than has been published in the Federal Register. Should the subsection be so interpreted, exemption from this provision is necessary to protect disclosure of properly classified national security and law enforcement sensitive information. Further, greater specificity of sources of properly classified records could compromise national security. (7) From subsection (e)(5) (maintain timely, accurate, complete and up-todate records) because many of the records in the system were derived from other domestic and foreign agency record systems over which DOJ exercises no control. It is often impossible to determine in advance if intelligence records contained in this system are accurate, relevant, timely and complete, but in the interest of maintaining a complete record of the information reviewed by the DPRC in each case, it is necessary to retain this information. The restrictions imposed by paragraphs (e)(5) would impede development of the record for review and limit the DPRC’s ability to exercise independent judgment in the adjudication of applications for review. (8) Continue in effect and assert all exemptions claimed under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) or (k) by an originating agency from which DOJ obtains records where the purposes underlying the original exemption remain valid and necessary to protect the contents of the record. PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 Dated: May 10, 2023. Peter Winn, Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer (Acting), United States Department of Justice. [FR Doc. 2023–10525 Filed 5–22–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–PJ–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 30 CFR Part 917 [SATS No. KY–264–FOR; Docket ID: OSM– 2022–0008; S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 234S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 23XS501520 Kentucky 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 Kentucky regulatory program (hereinafter, the Kentucky program), under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Kentucky proposes to revise their regulations regarding the qualifications of members of the Reclamation Guaranty Fund Commission. This document gives the times and locations that the Kentucky 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., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), June 22, 2023. If requested, we may hold a public hearing or meeting on the amendment on June 20, 2023. We will accept requests to speak at a hearing until 4 p.m., EDT on June 7, 2023. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. KY–264–FOR, by any of the following methods: • Mail/Hand Delivery: Mr. Michael Castle, Field Office Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, KY 40503. • Fax: (859) 260–8410. • Federal eRulemaking Portal: The amendment has been assigned Docket ID OSM–2022–0008. If you would like to submit comments, go to https:// SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\23MYP1.SGM 23MYP1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Proposed Rules 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 Kentucky 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 Lexington Field Office or the full text of the program amendment is available for you to read at https://www.regulations.gov. Mr. Michael Castle, Field Office Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, KY 40503, Telephone: (859) 260–3900, Email: mcastle@ osmre.gov. In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular business hours at the following location: Mr. Gordon Slone, Commissioner, Department for Natural Resources, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, 3000 Sower Boulevard, Frankfort, KY 40601, Telephone: (502) 564–6940, Email: GordonR.Slone@ ky.gov. Mr. Michael Castle, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, KY 40503. Telephone: (859) 260–3900; email: mcastle@osmre.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: I. Background on the Kentucky Program II. Description of the Proposed Amendment III. Public Comment Procedures IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1 I. Background on the Kentucky 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, State laws and regulations that govern surface coal mining and reclamation operations in accordance with the Act and consistent with the Federal VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:36 May 22, 2023 Jkt 259001 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 Kentucky program effective May 18, 1982. You can find background information on the Kentucky program, including the Secretary’s findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of approval of the Kentucky program in the May 18, 1982, Federal Register (47 FR 21434). You can also find later actions concerning the Kentucky program and program amendments at 30 CFR 917.11, 917.12, 917.13, 917.15, 917.16, and 917.17. II. Description of the Proposed Amendment By letter dated April 18, 2022, (Administrative Record No. KY–2008), Kentucky sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). This submission proposes to revise the qualifications necessary for members to be appointed to the sevenperson Reclamation Guaranty Fund Commission. Currently, the governor appoints three members to the commission that are representatives of the coal industry. Representatives are selected based on the amount of coal produced annually by the permittees they represent. Three tiers are created based on the amount of production with one member being selected from each tier. The proposed revisions would allow the governor to appoint a member from a lower tier when no permittee that participates in the fund meets the production level of an upper tier. This submission also removes, and proposes minor revisions to, requirements that are no longer relevant to the operation of the Commission. 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. The proposed amendment would make the following changes to KRS 350.506: A. Deleting the date ‘‘July 1, 2013’’ in section 1. B. The word ‘‘industry’’ is replaced in 1(a) with ‘‘permittees that participate in the fund’’ and adds the language ‘‘tiered to represent the size of the operator measured in tons of coal sold’’. C. The numbering has been updated in section 1(a)(3). D. Section 1(a)(3)(b), which read as follows ‘‘If no permittee which participates in the fund has mined and sold more the five million (5,000,000) tons of coal in the twelve (12) months preceding appointment, the member shall be selected from permittees which PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 33017 meet the criteria for appointment set out in subparagraph 2. of this paragraph’’, is being deleted. E. The following language is being added section 1(a) ‘‘If no permittee that participates in the fund meets the qualifications stated in subparagraph 2 or in subparagraph 3, of this paragraph, then a qualified permittee shall be selected in a lower tier.’’ F. Section 2(a) is being deleted, and subsequent paragraphs are renumbered accordingly. G. The following language in section 5, ‘‘commission shall meet no less than once a month with the first meeting to be held on or before July 1, 2013, during the first year. Commencing with the second year, the’’ is being deleted and replaced with, ‘‘The commission shall meet no less than once every three (3) months. Four (4) members of the commission shall constitute a quorum at any meeting’’. 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 approved, the amendment 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 E:\FR\FM\23MYP1.SGM 23MYP1 33018 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Proposed Rules 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., EDT on June 7, 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. 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 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1 List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 917 Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining. Thomas D. Shope, Regional Director, North Atlantic— Appalachian Region. [FR Doc. 2023–10822 Filed 5–22–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–05–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 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. Jkt 259001 30 CFR Part 926 [SATS No. MT–040–FOR; Docket ID: OSM– 2023–0001; 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 2019 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 requires a permit applicant’s compliance information to SUMMARY: Executive Order 12866—Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive Order 13563—Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review 16:36 May 22, 2023 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. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Public Meeting VerDate Sep<11>2014 Other Laws and Executive Orders Affecting Rulemaking PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 be updated and approved if a bankruptcy or reorganization results in a change of ownership for the applicant. Furthermore, the proposed amendment requires permit owners to provide financial assurance for employee pensions. Lastly, Montana proposes a typographical correction. 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 4:00 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), June 22, 2023. If requested, we may hold a public hearing or meeting on the amendment on June 20, 2023. We will accept requests to speak at a hearing until 4:00 p.m., MDT on June 7, 2023. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. MT–040–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 ID: OSM–2023–0001. 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 Field Office or the full text of the program amendment is available for you to read at www.regulations.gov. Attn: Jeffrey Fleischman, Field Office Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 100 East B Street, Casper, Wyoming 8260 Telephone: (307) 261–6550, Email: jfleischman@osmre.gov. E:\FR\FM\23MYP1.SGM 23MYP1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33016-33018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10822]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 917

[SATS No. KY-264-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2022-0008; S1D1S SS08011000 
SX064A000 234S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 23XS501520


Kentucky 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 Kentucky 
regulatory program (hereinafter, the Kentucky program), under the 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). 
Kentucky proposes to revise their regulations regarding the 
qualifications of members of the Reclamation Guaranty Fund Commission. 
This document gives the times and locations that the Kentucky 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., 
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), June 22, 2023. If requested, we may hold a 
public hearing or meeting on the amendment on June 20, 2023. We will 
accept requests to speak at a hearing until 4 p.m., EDT on June 7, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. KY-264-FOR, 
by any of the following methods:
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Mr. Michael Castle, Field Office 
Director, Lexington Field Office, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 
and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, KY 40503.
     Fax: (859) 260-8410.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: The amendment has been 
assigned Docket ID OSM-2022-0008. If you would like to submit comments, 
go to https://

[[Page 33017]]

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 Kentucky 
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 Lexington 
Field Office or the full text of the program amendment is available for 
you to read at https://www.regulations.gov.

Mr. Michael Castle, Field Office Director, Lexington Field Office, 
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency 
Road, Lexington, KY 40503, Telephone: (859) 260-3900, Email: 
[email protected].
    In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular 
business hours at the following location:

Mr. Gordon Slone, Commissioner, Department for Natural Resources, 
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, 3000 Sower Boulevard, 
Frankfort, KY 40601, Telephone: (502) 564-6940, Email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Castle, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 2675 Regency Road, Lexington, KY 
40503. Telephone: (859) 260-3900; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
I. Background on the Kentucky Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background on the Kentucky 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 Kentucky program effective May 18, 1982. You 
can find background information on the Kentucky program, including the 
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of 
approval of the Kentucky program in the May 18, 1982, Federal Register 
(47 FR 21434). You can also find later actions concerning the Kentucky 
program and program amendments at 30 CFR 917.11, 917.12, 917.13, 
917.15, 917.16, and 917.17.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated April 18, 2022, (Administrative Record No. KY-
2008), Kentucky sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30 
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). This submission proposes to revise the 
qualifications necessary for members to be appointed to the seven-
person Reclamation Guaranty Fund Commission. Currently, the governor 
appoints three members to the commission that are representatives of 
the coal industry. Representatives are selected based on the amount of 
coal produced annually by the permittees they represent. Three tiers 
are created based on the amount of production with one member being 
selected from each tier. The proposed revisions would allow the 
governor to appoint a member from a lower tier when no permittee that 
participates in the fund meets the production level of an upper tier. 
This submission also removes, and proposes minor revisions to, 
requirements that are no longer relevant to the operation of the 
Commission. 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.
    The proposed amendment would make the following changes to KRS 
350.506:
    A. Deleting the date ``July 1, 2013'' in section 1.
    B. The word ``industry'' is replaced in 1(a) with ``permittees that 
participate in the fund'' and adds the language ``tiered to represent 
the size of the operator measured in tons of coal sold''.
    C. The numbering has been updated in section 1(a)(3).
    D. Section 1(a)(3)(b), which read as follows ``If no permittee 
which participates in the fund has mined and sold more the five million 
(5,000,000) tons of coal in the twelve (12) months preceding 
appointment, the member shall be selected from permittees which meet 
the criteria for appointment set out in subparagraph 2. of this 
paragraph'', is being deleted.
    E. The following language is being added section 1(a) ``If no 
permittee that participates in the fund meets the qualifications stated 
in subparagraph 2 or in subparagraph 3, of this paragraph, then a 
qualified permittee shall be selected in a lower tier.''
    F. Section 2(a) is being deleted, and subsequent paragraphs are 
renumbered accordingly.
    G. The following language in section 5, ``commission shall meet no 
less than once a month with the first meeting to be held on or before 
July 1, 2013, during the first year. Commencing with the second year, 
the'' is being deleted and replaced with, ``The commission shall meet 
no less than once every three (3) months. Four (4) members of the 
commission shall constitute a quorum at any meeting''.

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 approved, the amendment 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

[[Page 33018]]

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., EDT on June 7, 
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. 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 917

    Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.

Thomas D. Shope,
Regional Director, North Atlantic--Appalachian Region.
[FR Doc. 2023-10822 Filed 5-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
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