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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 26, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
6435. OSMRE provided Wyoming with a summary of changes to the Federal program as well as a description of the potentially required Plan amendments in the March 6, 2019 letter. By letter dated July 21, 2020 Administrative Record No. WY05302, Wyoming submitted an amendment to its Plan under SMCRA 30 U.S.C. 1201, et seq..
Wyomings amendment is intended to address all required changes identified in OSMREs March 6, 2019 letter, as well as additional changes proposed at the States initiative to make the Wyoming Plan conform to principles of plain language that would make the Plan more reader friendly. Wyomings amendment will repeal and replace Wyomings existing Plan.
We announced receipt of the proposed amendment in the December 17, 2020, Federal Register 85 FR
81862. In the same document, we opened the public comment period and provided an opportunity for a public hearing or meeting on the adequacy of the amendment. We did not hold a public hearing or meeting because none were requested. We received two comments regarding the amendment.
The public comment period ended on January 19, 2021.
III. OSMREs Findings The following are the findings we made concerning Wyomings amendment to its Plan under SMCRA
and the Federal regulations at 30 CFR
884.14 and 884.15. We are approving the amendment as described below.
Wyoming is repealing and replacing its entire AML Reclamation Plan with a version that is structured similar to the Federal AML Reclamation Plan content requirements for States found at 30 CFR
884.13. Wyomings existing Plan is lengthy and difficult to navigate.
Wyoming has since reorganized the Plan Administrative Record No. WY053
02 to make it more reader friendly by removing excess narrative and instead incorporating required information by reference. For example, Wyoming is removing and referencing Federal Register documentation about its AML
Program approval, Program, and Plan revisions, and certification of completion of all known high priority coal hazards. Removal and incorporation by reference is appropriate because these documents are not required to be in the Wyoming Plan. Furthermore, this approach decreases the overall length of the Plan, prevents the need for additional revisions in the event of future regulatory or statutory changes, and does not alter Wyomings authority or
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procedures for implementing its AML
Program.
As such, the revised Plan Administrative Record No. WY053
02 includes a table that lists all amendments in order of the date of final publication in the Federal Register. In addition, Wyoming has implemented the required changes identified in OSMREs March 6, 2019 letter to satisfy Federal requirements. Updates consistent with the 2006 amendments to SMCRA under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 Pub. L. 109432 and the associated changes to the implementing Federal regulations on November 14, 2008 73 FR 67576 and February 5, 2015 80 FR 6435 have also been included. All changes to the Plan Administrative Record No. WY053
02 are discussed below.
Wyomings revised Plan Administrative Record No. WY053
02 includes subsections entitled Background on Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, Background on the Wyoming Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan, and Purpose of the 2020 Rewrite.
Although these sections are not required under the Federal program, it provides background and context for Wyomings certified AML Plan and does not conflict with the AML Reclamation Plan requirements found under 30 CFR
884.13.
Wyomings revised Plan Administrative Record No. WY053
02 cites Wyo. Stat. section 35111201, passed by the Wyoming Legislature on March 18, 1980, creating the Wyoming AML Program. This legislation vested authority over the AML Program with the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality DEQ. Until April 1992, implementation of the AML
Program was handled by the Land Quality Division within DEQ. On March 16, 1992, the Wyoming legislature created the AML Division at DEQ, which gave this Division responsibility over the AML Program. The program amendment to incorporate the 1992
statutory changes that created a separate AML Division was approved by the OSMRE Director and published in the Federal Register on April 13, 1992 57
FR 12731. Under this designation, the AML Division was also authorized to receive and administer grants under 30
CFR part 886. Because Wyomings AML
Program is now certified, it no longer receives grant funding from OSMRE
under 30 CFR part 886, but rather it receives certified state grant funding under 30 CFR part 885.
Wyoming provided an updated January 3, 2020 legal opinion letter from the State Attorney General, which
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confirms that the Wyoming DEQ
continues to have the legal authority to oversee and implement Wyomings AML Program. This is consistent with 30 CFR 884.14a2. Previous versions of this letter have been removed from Wyomings Plan WY05302 because they are superseded by the new letter.
The legal opinion required by 30 CFR
884.13a2 is attached as Appendix B
in the Plan Administrative Record No.
WY05302.
According to 30 CFR 884.13a3, a State Reclamation Plan must include a description of the policies and procedures to be followed by the designated agency conducting the reclamation program, including the purposes of the State reclamation program. Wyomings Plan Administrative Record No. WY053
02 includes a Policies and Procedures section that provides a description and legal citation for its AML Program which are consistent with 30 CFR
884.13a3 introductory text and a3i.
Wyomings revised Plan Administrative Record No. WY053
02 includes a section titled Ranking and Selection, which provides eligibility requirements and prioritization criteria for both coal and noncoal hazards, as well as Public Facilities projects deemed necessary for public health and safety by the Governor. In addition, this section includes a discussion of Wyomings prioritization matrix, which is used by Wyoming to rank AML projects and reaffirms that any noncoal reclamation activities will reflect the priorities under 30 CFR 875.15. The prioritization matrix is included in Appendix F. The Ranking and Selection section also indicates the first priority for reclamation will be for high priority coal sites but reserves the Wyoming AML Programs ability to reclaim noncoal land, water, and facilities as allowed by Title IV, Section 411b through g 30 U.S.C. 1240ab g, with approval by OSMRE and after the issuance of an Authorization to Proceed ATP, which is required for all projects. This section is consistent with the State Reclamation Plan requirements of 30 CFR 884.13a3ii.
Wyomings revised Plan Administrative Record No. WY053
02 also incorporates via reference the provisions from 30 CFR 875.19 80 FR
64356448, which extend limited liability protection to noncoal reclamation projects as long as those projects are completed in accordance with 30 CFR part 875 and do not result in damages as the result of intentional misconduct or gross negligence.
Furthermore, it explains that
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