Montana Regulatory Program, 52082-52084 [2023-16847]
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52082
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 150 / Monday, August 7, 2023 / Proposed Rules
third sentence and adding the text
‘‘parent’’ in its place.
■ 21. Removing the text ‘‘his son,’’ from
the first sentence of newly designated
paragraph (c)(4)(iii).
■ 22. In paragraph (d)(3), designating
Examples 1 through 3 as paragraphs
(d)(3)(i) through (iii), respectively.
■ 23. In newly designated paragraph
(d)(3)(i), removing the text ‘‘he’’ from
the third sentence and adding the text
‘‘Smith’’ in its place, and removing the
text ‘‘his stock in corporation Z’’ from
the fifth sentence and adding the text
‘‘the corporation Z stock’’ in its place.
■ 24. In newly designated paragraph
(d)(3)(ii), removing the text ‘‘H’’
wherever it appears and adding the text
‘‘A’’ in its place, and removing the text
‘‘W’’ wherever it appears and adding the
text ‘‘B’’ in its place.
■ 25. Removing the text ‘‘wife’’ from the
first sentence of newly designated
paragraph (d)(3)(ii) and adding the text
‘‘spouse’’ in its place.
■ 26. Removing the text ‘‘subparagraph
(2)(iii) of this paragraph’’ from the fifth
sentence of newly designated paragraph
(d)(3)(ii) and adding the text ‘‘paragraph
(d)(2)(iii) of this section’’ in its place.
PART 5—TEMPORARY INCOME TAX
REGULATIONS UNDER THE REVENUE
ACT OF 1978
Par. 52. The authority citation for part
5 continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805.
§ 5.1502–45
[Removed]
Par. 53. Section 5.1502–45 is
removed.
■
PART 301—PROCEDURE AND
ADMINISTRATION
Par. 54. The authority citation for part
301 continues to read in part as follows:
■
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805. * * *
§ 301.6402–7
[Amended]
Par. 55. Section 301.6402–7 is
amended by removing the text
‘‘§§ 1.1502–21(b) or 1.1502–21A(b) (as
appropriate)’’ from paragraph (g)(2)(iii)
and adding the text ‘‘§ 1.1502–21(b)’’ in
its place.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
■
PART 602—OMB CONTROL NUMBERS
UNDER THE PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT
Par. 56. The authority citation for part
602 continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805.
§ 602.101
[Amended]
Par. 57. Section 602.101(b) is
amended by removing the entries for
§§ 1.1502–9A, 1.1502–18, 1.1502–76T,
■
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17:11 Aug 04, 2023
Jkt 259001
1.1502–95A, 1.1503–2, and 1.1503–2A
from the table.
Douglas W. O’Donnell,
Deputy Commissioner for Services and
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2023–14098 Filed 8–4–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 926
[SATS No. MT–037–FOR; Docket ID: OSM–
2021–0006; S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000
222S180110; S2D2S SS08011000
SX064A000 22XS501520]
Montana Regulatory Program
Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment
period reopening and opportunity for
public hearing on proposed amendment.
AGENCY:
We, the Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE), are reopening the public
comment period due to the receipt of
revisions to 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). Montana is proposing revisions to
the Administrative Rules of Montana
pertaining to ownership and control and
the applicant violator system. These
changes were required by a March 30,
2023 letter from OSMRE to Montana
(hereinafter, issue letter) after our
review of Montana’s original July 28,
2021 proposed amendment submittal.
The July 28, 2021 proposed amendment
submittal by Montana was the result of
an October 2, 2009, letter from OSMRE
to Montana (hereinafter, 732 letter), and
were necessitated by a Senate bill
approved by the 2013 Montana
Legislature. This document gives the
times and locations that the Montana
program and this revised proposed
amendment to that program are
available for your inspection, the
comment period during which you may
submit written comments on the revised
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),
September 6, 2023. If requested, we may
hold a public hearing or meeting on the
amendment on September 1, 2023. We
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
will accept requests to speak at a
hearing until 4:00 p.m., MST on August
22, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by SATS No. MT–037–FOR,
by any of the following methods:
• Mail/Hand Delivery: 100 East B
Street, Room 4100, Casper, WY 82601.
• Fax: (307) 421–6552.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: The
amendment has been assigned Docket
ID: OSM–2021–0006. 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 Denver Field
Division or the full text of the program
amendment is available for you to read
at www.regulations.gov.
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
82601, 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, Montana Department
of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box
200901, Helena, Montana 59620–
0901, Telephone: (406) 444–6791,
Email: dwalsh@mt.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Howard Strand, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement,
One Denver Federal Center, Building 41,
Lakewood, CO 80225–0065, Telephone:
(303) 236–2931, Email: hstrand@
osmre.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Montana Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
E:\FR\FM\07AUP1.SGM
07AUP1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 150 / Monday, August 7, 2023 / Proposed Rules
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,
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.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
II. Description of the Proposed
Amendment
On October 28, 1994, December 19,
2000, and December 3, 2007, OSMRE
promulgated final rules that adopted or
revised certain regulatory definitions
and provisions pertaining to review of
applications, permit eligibility,
application information, applicant,
operator, and permittee information,
automated information entry and
maintenance, permit suspension and
rescission, ownership and control
findings and challenge procedures,
transfer, assignment, or sale of permit
rights, and alternative enforcement.
Pursuant to 30 CFR 732.17(d), OSMRE
notified Montana on October 2, 2009
with a 732 letter, requiring Montana to
modify its regulatory program to remain
consistent with revised Federal
requirements. The 2013 Montana
Legislature approved Senate Bill 92,
which added language addressing the
required changes. Specifically, Senate
Bill 92 added language in Section 82–
4–227, Montana Code Annotated
(MCA), that provided appeal rights
pertaining to ownership or control
listings in the applicant violator system.
By letter dated July 28, 2021 (FDMS
Document ID No. OSM–2021–0006–
0001), Montana sent us an amendment
to its program under SMCRA (30 U.S.C.
1201 et seq.) that proposed revisions to
existing Administrative Rules of
Montana (ARM) that would satisfy the
statutory changes in the MCA, including
revisions to 17.24.301, 17.24.302,
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17:11 Aug 04, 2023
Jkt 259001
17.24.303, 17.24.416, 17.24.418. New
provisions in the ARM proposed by
Montana that would satisfy the statutory
changes in the MCA include 17.24.1229,
17.24.1264, 17.24.1265, 17.24.1266, and
17.24.1267. Montana also proposed
minor revisions to existing ARM that
were unrelated to Senate Bill 92.
OSMRE reviewed the proposed
changes to the MCA and ARM, on
March 30, 2023, sent Montana an issue
letter outlining five areas of concern
with their proposed changes to the
ARM, including numerous typos and
grammatical errors, requiring specific
information of the applicant in permit
application packages, applying willful
or knowing standards for liability
regarding characterizing criminal
penalties and civil actions, and adding
clarifier language to remain as effective
and consistent with Federal counterpart
rules. By letter dated May 3, 2023,
Montana responded and agreed to
address all five areas of concern by
formally resubmitting the required
revisions to the ARM. Montana agreed
to making all the necessary
typographical and grammatical errors in
addition to the other required changes
explained above. 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.
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 15-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.
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52083
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
4:00 p.m., MDT on August 22, 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
E:\FR\FM\07AUP1.SGM
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52084
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 150 / Monday, August 7, 2023 / Proposed Rules
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
Intergovernmental relations, Surface
mining, Underground mining.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2023–16847 Filed 8–4–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–05–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 926
[SATS No. MT–042–FOR; Docket ID: OSM–
2023–0007; 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.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
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
2023 legislative session, the Montana
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:11 Aug 04, 2023
Jkt 259001
legislature passed House Bill 576 (HB
576), amending the Montana Strip and
Underground Mine Reclamation Act as
well as the Montana Code Annotated
(MCA). Accordingly, Montana
submitted this proposed amendment to
OSMRE on its own initiative. Montana’s
proposal amends the definition of
‘‘Material Damage,’’ by changing the
requirements for what is considered
‘‘Material Damage’’ to the hydrologic
balance. Montana’s proposal also
amends permit requirements for mine
operations related to hydrologic
information. The amendment removes
the requirement that a permit applicant
must submit hydrologic information to
the Montana Depart of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) before DEQ approves the
permit application. Lastly, HB 576 adds
four contingencies to the proposed
amendments of the MCA: a severability
clause, a contingent voidness clause, an
effective date clause, and a retroactive
applicability clause.
This document gives the times and
locations that the Montana program and
this proposed amendment to the
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., M.D.T, September 6, 2023. If
requested, we may hold a public hearing
or meeting on the amendment on
September 1, 2023. We will accept
requests to speak at a hearing until 4:00
p.m., M.D.T. on August 22, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by SATS No. MT–042–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–2023–0007. 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
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
‘‘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
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:
Attn: Dan Walsh, Mining Bureau Chief,
Coal and Opencut Mining Bureau,
Department of Environmental Quality,
P.O. Box 200901, Helena, MT 59601–
0901, Telephone: (406) 444–6791,
Email: dwalsh@mt.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Attn: Jeffrey Fleischman, Field Office
Director, Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, 100
East B Street, Casper, Wyoming
82602, Telephone: (307) 261–6550,
Email: jfleischman@osmre.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Montana Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Procedural Determinations
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,
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
Montana program on October 24, 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 October
E:\FR\FM\07AUP1.SGM
07AUP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 150 (Monday, August 7, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52082-52084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16847]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 926
[SATS No. MT-037-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2021-0006; S1D1S SS08011000
SX064A000 222S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 22XS501520]
Montana Regulatory Program
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period reopening and opportunity
for public hearing on proposed amendment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE), are reopening the public comment period due to the receipt of
revisions to 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). Montana is proposing
revisions to the Administrative Rules of Montana pertaining to
ownership and control and the applicant violator system. These changes
were required by a March 30, 2023 letter from OSMRE to Montana
(hereinafter, issue letter) after our review of Montana's original July
28, 2021 proposed amendment submittal. The July 28, 2021 proposed
amendment submittal by Montana was the result of an October 2, 2009,
letter from OSMRE to Montana (hereinafter, 732 letter), and were
necessitated by a Senate bill approved by the 2013 Montana Legislature.
This document gives the times and locations that the Montana program
and this revised proposed amendment to that program are available for
your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written
comments on the revised 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), September 6, 2023. If requested, we
may hold a public hearing or meeting on the amendment on September 1,
2023. We will accept requests to speak at a hearing until 4:00 p.m.,
MST on August 22, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. MT-037-FOR,
by any of the following methods:
Mail/Hand Delivery: 100 East B Street, Room 4100, Casper,
WY 82601.
Fax: (307) 421-6552.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: The amendment has been
assigned Docket ID: OSM-2021-0006. 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 Denver
Field Division or the full text of the program amendment is available
for you to read at www.regulations.gov.
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 82601, 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, Montana Department of
Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 200901, Helena, Montana 59620-0901,
Telephone: (406) 444-6791, Email: [email protected]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard Strand, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, One Denver Federal Center, Building
41, Lakewood, CO 80225-0065, Telephone: (303) 236-2931, 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
[[Page 52083]]
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
On October 28, 1994, December 19, 2000, and December 3, 2007, OSMRE
promulgated final rules that adopted or revised certain regulatory
definitions and provisions pertaining to review of applications, permit
eligibility, application information, applicant, operator, and
permittee information, automated information entry and maintenance,
permit suspension and rescission, ownership and control findings and
challenge procedures, transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights,
and alternative enforcement. Pursuant to 30 CFR 732.17(d), OSMRE
notified Montana on October 2, 2009 with a 732 letter, requiring
Montana to modify its regulatory program to remain consistent with
revised Federal requirements. The 2013 Montana Legislature approved
Senate Bill 92, which added language addressing the required changes.
Specifically, Senate Bill 92 added language in Section 82-4-227,
Montana Code Annotated (MCA), that provided appeal rights pertaining to
ownership or control listings in the applicant violator system.
By letter dated July 28, 2021 (FDMS Document ID No. OSM-2021-0006-
0001), Montana sent us an amendment to its program under SMCRA (30
U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) that proposed revisions to existing Administrative
Rules of Montana (ARM) that would satisfy the statutory changes in the
MCA, including revisions to 17.24.301, 17.24.302, 17.24.303, 17.24.416,
17.24.418. New provisions in the ARM proposed by Montana that would
satisfy the statutory changes in the MCA include 17.24.1229,
17.24.1264, 17.24.1265, 17.24.1266, and 17.24.1267. Montana also
proposed minor revisions to existing ARM that were unrelated to Senate
Bill 92.
OSMRE reviewed the proposed changes to the MCA and ARM, on March
30, 2023, sent Montana an issue letter outlining five areas of concern
with their proposed changes to the ARM, including numerous typos and
grammatical errors, requiring specific information of the applicant in
permit application packages, applying willful or knowing standards for
liability regarding characterizing criminal penalties and civil
actions, and adding clarifier language to remain as effective and
consistent with Federal counterpart rules. By letter dated May 3, 2023,
Montana responded and agreed to address all five areas of concern by
formally resubmitting the required revisions to the ARM. Montana agreed
to making all the necessary typographical and grammatical errors in
addition to the other required changes explained above. 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.
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 15-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 4:00 p.m., MDT on
August 22, 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
[[Page 52084]]
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
Intergovernmental relations, Surface mining, Underground mining.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2023-16847 Filed 8-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
