83 FR 20773 - Montana Regulatory Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 89 (May 8, 2018)

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Montana regulatory program (Montana program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Montana proposes an addition to the Montana Code Annotated, which requires the adoption of regulations pertaining to in situ coal gasification. This change was necessitated by a senate bill approved by the 2011 Montana Legislature. Montana also proposes revisions and additions to the Administrative Rules of Montana to satisfy the new statutory requirement. This document provides the times and locations that the Montana program and this proposed amendment to Montana's 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.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 8, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20773-20774]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09768]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

30 CFR Part 926

[SATS No. MT-036-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2017-0001; S1D1S SS08011000 
SX064A000 189S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 18XS501520]


Montana Regulatory Program

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period and opportunity for public 
hearing on proposed amendment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Montana 
regulatory program (Montana program) under the Surface Mining Control 
and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Montana proposes an 
addition to the Montana Code Annotated, which requires the adoption of 
regulations pertaining to in situ coal gasification. This change was 
necessitated by a senate bill approved by the 2011 Montana Legislature. 
Montana also proposes revisions and additions to the Administrative 
Rules of Montana to satisfy the new statutory requirement.
    This document provides the times and locations that the Montana 
program and this proposed amendment to Montana's 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., June 7, 2018. If requested, we will hold a public hearing 
on the amendment on June 4, 2018. We will accept requests to speak at a 
hearing until 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on May 23, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket Number OSM-
2017-0001, by any of the following methods:
     Mail/Hand Delivery: 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, CO 
80202.
     Fax: (303) 293-5017.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://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, 
and all written comments received in response to this document, you may 
go to the address listed below during normal business hours, Monday 
through Friday, excluding holidays. The full text of the program 
amendment is also available for you to read at www.regulations.gov. You 
may receive one free copy of the amendment by contacting OSMRE's Denver 
Field Division: Jeffrey Fleischman, Chief, Denver Field Division, 
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Dick Cheney 
Federal Building, POB 11018, 150 East B Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601-
7032, Telephone: (307) 261-6550, Email: [email protected].
    In addition, you may receive a copy of the proposed amendment from 
the Montana Department of Environmental Quality: Edward L. Coleman, 
Chief, Coal and Opencut Mining Bureau, Montana Department of 
Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 200901, Helena, Montana, 59620-0901, 
Telephone: (406) 444-4973, Email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard Strand, Office of Surface 
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, 
CO 80202, Telephone: (303) 293-5026, Email: [email protected].

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

    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 program includes, among other things, state laws and regulations 
that govern surface coal mining and reclamation operations in 
accordance with the Act and consistent with the Federal regulations. 
See 30 U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On the basis of these criteria, the 
Secretary of the Interior conditionally approved the Montana program on 
April 1, 1980. You can find background information on the Montana 
program, including the Secretary's findings, the disposition of 
comments, and conditions of approval of the Montana program in the 
April 1, 1980, Federal Register (45 FR 21560). You can also find later 
actions concerning the Montana program and program amendments at 30 CFR 
926.15, 926.16, and 926.30.

II. Description of the Proposed Amendment

    By letter dated February 27, 2017 (FDMS Document ID No. OSM-2017-
0001-0002), Montana sent us a proposed amendment to its program under 
SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). The proposed changes are the result of 
a Montana state senate bill which required adoption of regulations 
pertaining to in situ coal gasification.
    Specifically, Montana proposes to codify language from Senate Bill 
292 under the Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act. This 
language, approved by the 2011 Montana Legislature, directs the Montana 
Board of Environmental Review (BER) to adopt rules pertaining to in 
situ coal processing and provides that those rules may not be more 
stringent than the comparable federal regulations or guidelines. The 
Administrative Rules of Montana (ARMs) currently have two regulatory 
provisions, ARM 17.24.902 and ARM 17.24.904, that specifically address 
in situ coal gasification and that list subchapters of the ARMs that 
apply to in situ coal gasification. Following passage of Senate Bill 
292, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality reviewed Montana's 
rules and determined that most of the rules relating to underground 
coal mining should apply to in situ operations. It recommended that, 
rather than adopting rules that would duplicate existing rules, BER 
should simply list the rules that would not apply to in situ 
operations. To reflect this approach,

[[Page 20774]]

Montana now proposes adding a new ARM 17.24.905, which specifies that 
the ARMs pertaining to air pollution control plans, monitoring for 
settlement of regraded areas, augering and remining do not apply to in 
situ coal gasification. Montana also proposes ministerial changes to 
ARM 17.24.902 and ARM 17.24.903 that reflect these exemptions. Finally, 
Montana proposes to allow the regulatory authority to apply other 
rules, which are not routinely applied to all in situ operations, on a 
mine-specific basis.
    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 Montana program.

Electronic or Written Comments

    If you submit written or electronic comments on the proposed rule 
during the 30-day comment period, they should be specific, confined to 
issues pertinent to the proposed regulations, and explain the reason 
for any recommended change(s). We appreciate any and all comments, but 
those most useful and likely to influence decisions on the final 
regulations will be those that either involve personal experience or 
include citations to and analyses of SMCRA, its legislative history, 
its implementing regulations, case law, other pertinent state or 
federal laws or regulations, technical literature, or other relevant 
publications.
    We cannot ensure that comments received after the close of the 
comment period (see DATES) or sent to an address other than those 
listed (see ADDRESSES) will be included in the docket for this 
rulemaking and considered.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment including your personal identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

Public Hearing

    If you wish to speak at the public hearing, contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by 4:00 p.m., m.d.t. on 
May 23, 2018. 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

    This rulemaking is exempted from review by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866.

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.

    Dated: April 18, 2018.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2018-09768 Filed 5-7-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P