Notice2022-22691
Grant Notification for Fiscal Year 2023
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 19, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentSurface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office
Abstract
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to eligible applicants for purposes authorized under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) Title IV Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Program, Title V Regulatory Program, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) AML Program. We will award these grants during Fiscal Year 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63523-63524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22691]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 222S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000
22XS501520]
Grant Notification for Fiscal Year 2023
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE), are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to
eligible applicants for purposes authorized under the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) Title IV Abandoned Mine
Land (AML) Reclamation Program, Title V Regulatory Program, and the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) AML Program. We will award these
grants during Fiscal Year 2023.
DATES: Written comments from State, Tribal, or local entities about the
funding for the SMCRA Title IV AML Reclamation Program, Title V
Regulatory Program, or the BIL AML Program are due to OSMRE by November
18, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic mail: Send your comments to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4ddd6cdc7ccc5d6c0d7cbcae4cbd7c9d6c18ac3cbd2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1e676c777d767f6c7a6d71705e716d736c7b30797168">[email protected]</span></a>.
[[Page 63524]]
<bullet> Mail, hand-delivery, or courier: Send your comments to
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Attn: Grants
Notice, Room 4551, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yetunde Richardson, Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1849 C Street NW, MS 4551,
Washington, DC 20240; Telephone (202) 208-2766.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Grant Notification
We are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to
eligible applicants for purposes authorized under SMCRA's Title IV AML
Reclamation Program (30 U.S.C. 1231-1244), Title V Regulatory Program
(30 U.S.C. 1251-1279), and the BIL AML Program (Pub. L. 117-58, 40701).
We will award these grants during Fiscal Year 2023. Eligible applicants
include those States and Tribes with existing AML reclamation programs
and/or regulatory programs approved pursuant to SMCRA, as amended, 30
U.S.C. 1201 et seq., as well as those States and Tribes that are
seeking to develop a regulatory program. Consistent with Executive
Order 12372, we are providing State and Tribal officials the
opportunity to review and comment on these proposed Federal financial
assistance activities. Eighteen of the eligible applicants do not have
single points of contact; therefore, we are publishing this notice as
an alternate means of notification.
Description of the AML Reclamation Program
Title IV of SMCRA established the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund
to receive the AML fees collected by OSMRE from coal operators that,
along with funds from other sources, are used to finance grants to
eligible States and Tribes for the reclamation of AML coal mine sites
and for certain other purposes. Grant recipients use these funds to
reclaim the highest priority AML coal mine sites that were abandoned
before the enactment of SMCRA in 1977; to reclaim eligible non-coal
sites; for projects that address the impacts of mineral development;
and for eligible non-reclamation projects. In addition to the BIL AML
program described below, the BIL also amended Title IV of SMCRA to
extend OSMRE's AML fee collection authority through September 30, 2034,
reduced AML fee rates, and extended distribution of AML fee-based
grants to eligible States and Tribes through Fiscal Year 2035.
Description of the Regulatory Program
Title V of SMCRA authorizes OSMRE to provide grants to States and
Tribes to develop, administer, and enforce State and Tribal regulatory
programs that address, among other things, the disturbances from coal
mining operations. Additionally, upon our approval of a State or Tribal
regulatory program, title V authorizes that State or Tribe to assume
regulatory primacy, act as the regulatory authority within the State or
Tribe, and administer and enforce its approved regulatory program.
These provisions of SMCRA are implemented by our regulations at title
30 of the Code of Federal Regulations, chapter VII.
Description of the BIL AML Program
The BIL, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,
was enacted on November 15, 2021. In addition to amending Title IV of
SMCRA, the BIL authorized and appropriated $11.293 billion for deposit
into the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. Of the $11.293 billion
appropriated, approximately $10.873 billion will be distributed to
eligible States and Tribes on an equal annual basis over a 15-year
period, which amounts to an annual distribution of approximately $725
million per year. In addition, the BIL provides discretion to
prioritize BIL-funded projects that employ current and former employees
of the coal industry.
BIL AML grants will be distributed to eligible State and Tribal
reclamation programs for AML and water reclamation projects under
SMCRA. These projects will abate and eliminate physical hazards to
public health, safety, and the environment caused by AML sites,
including emergencies. These projects also support communities in
achieving their priorities and needs through collaboration and
consensus-building for local AML projects. BIL AML grants may also be
used by State and Tribal reclamation programs to provide safe drinking
water in areas where water supplies are contaminated due to coal mines
abandoned before the passage of SMCRA. As described in Executive Order
14008 and Executive Order 14052, BIL AML grants are also subject to the
Justice40 Initiative, which supports environmental justice by working
toward the goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain
Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are
marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. By funding
additional reclamation projects, allowing States and Tribes the
discretion to prioritize projects employing current and former coal
industry employees, and allocating benefits to disadvantaged
communities, BIL AML grants will benefit all who live and work in and
near America's coalfield communities by creating jobs, reviving aquatic
life in mining-polluted streams, and restoring degraded lands to a
usable condition.
Glenda H. Owens,
Deputy Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2022-22691 Filed 10-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
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