Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office August 15, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We 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). On May 10, 2011, Kentucky submitted proposed bonding revisions to the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) as authorized by House Bill 385 (HB 385), which passed during the State's regular 2011 legislative session. HB 385 amends the Kentucky Revised Statutes to require that, as of the effective date of the Act, any determination by the Energy and Environmental Cabinet (EEC) to change a bond requirement or bond amount currently in use will result in a new administrative regulation that includes all bond requirements, including the bond amount; HB 385 also prohibits bond amounts from being instituted as policy. Finally, it requires an administrative regulation that fails to include bond amounts to be declared deficient automatically. This document gives the times and locations that the Kentucky program and this submittal are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.