Proposed Rule2025-11906
Wyoming Regulatory Program
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
June 27, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentSurface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office
Abstract
We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed regulatory amendment to the Wyoming coal program (Wyoming program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). On January 19, 2024, and effective February 20, 2024, OSMRE approved with exceptions an amendment to Wyoming's regulations for coal exploration by drilling (SATS No. WY-050-FOR). In the final rule under "Revisions to Wyoming's Rules That We Are Not Approving," we listed several provisions containing typographical errors that Wyoming would need to correct through a future program amendment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 122 (Friday, June 27, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 122 (Friday, June 27, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27489-27491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11906]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Part 950
[SATS No. WY-055-FOR; Docket ID: OSM-2025-0002; S1D1S SS08011000
SX064A000 256S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 25XS501520]
Wyoming 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.
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SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE), are announcing receipt of a proposed regulatory amendment to
the Wyoming coal program (Wyoming program) under the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). On January 19,
2024, and effective February 20, 2024, OSMRE approved with exceptions
an amendment to Wyoming's regulations for coal exploration by drilling
(SATS No. WY-050-FOR). In the final rule under ``Revisions to Wyoming's
Rules That We Are Not Approving,'' we listed several provisions
containing typographical errors that Wyoming would need to correct
through a future program amendment.
DATES: We will accept written comments on this amendment until 4 p.m.
MDT on July 28, 2025. If requested, we may hold a public hearing or
meeting on the amendment on July 22, 2025. We will accept requests to
speak at a hearing until 4 p.m. MDT on July 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SATS No. WY-055-FOR,
by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Mail/Hand Delivery: OSMRE, Attn: Jeffrey Fleischman, P.O.
Box 11018, 100 East B Street, Room 4100, Casper, Wyoming 82602.
<bullet> Fax: (307) 261-6552.
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. The docket number is
OSM-2025-0002.
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 Wyoming
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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#48222e242d213b2b2025292608273b253a2d662f273e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dab0bcb6bfb3a9b9b2b7bbb49ab5a9b7a8bff4bdb5ac">[email protected]</span></a>.
In addition, you may review a copy of the amendment during regular
business hours at the following location:
Attn: Brandi O'Brien, Administrator, Wyoming Department of
Environmental Quality, Land, Quality Division, 200 West 17th Street,
Suite 10, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, Telephone: (307) 777-7757, Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#127060737c767b3c7d70607b777c52656b7d3c757d64"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d5b7a7b4bbb1bcfbbab7a7bcb0bb95a2acbafbb2baa3">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Fleischman, Field Office
Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 100
East B Street, Casper, Wyoming 82602, Telephone: (307) 261-6550, Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b2d8d4ded7dbc1d1dadfd3dcf2ddc1dfc0d79cd5ddc4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e6468626b677d6d66636f604e617d637c6b20696178">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Wyoming Program
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Review
I. Background on the Wyoming Program
Subject to OSMRE's oversight, section 503(a) of the Act permits a
state to assume primacy for the regulation of
[[Page 27490]]
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 Wyoming program on November 26, 1980. You
can find background information on the Wyoming program, including the
Secretary's findings, the disposition of comments, and conditions of
approval of the Wyoming program in the November 26, 1980, Federal
Register (45 FR 78637). You can also find later actions concerning the
Wyoming program and program amendments at 30 CFR 950.10.
II. Description of the Proposed Amendment
By letter dated June 4, 2021, Wyoming sent us an amendment
(Document ID No. OSM-2021-0004; SATS No. WY-050-FOR) to its program
under SMCRA (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). We found Wyoming's proposed
amendment administratively complete on July 13, 2021.
Between 1978 and 2007, the Wyoming State legislature enacted a
number of revisions to its statutes governing coal exploration by
drilling. The proposed statutory revisions reflected organizational
updates at the Wyoming Land Quality Division, corrected a typographical
error, provided more detailed instructions for plugging and sealing
drill holes, incorporated provisions for the awarding of attorney fees
and other litigation costs, and included more detailed instructions for
bond release. In addition to the statutory changes, on March 2, 2016,
the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council approved several revisions to
chapter 14 of the Land Quality Division Coal Rules and Regulations
governing coal exploration by drilling, which were last updated in
1998. Specifically, the rules were updated to include best management
practices and standards adopted by the Wyoming State Engineer's Office
that conform with accepted practices established by the American
Society for Testing and Materials, the American Water Works
Association, and the Wyoming DEQ--Water Quality Division regulations.
Other revisions included a list of acceptable grout materials,
requirements to plug and immediately cap the entire drill hole,
additional identification numbers to facilitate inspections, and minor
formatting and organizational changes. Accordingly, the State submitted
this proposal to OSMRE on its own initiative.
On January 19, 2024, OSMRE approved with exceptions the WY-050-FOR
amendment, effective February 20, 2024 (89 FR 3562). In the final rule
under ``Revisions to Wyoming's Rules That We Are Not Approving,'' we
noted an inadvertent word-swap in the language proposed for chapter 14,
subsection 3(a) addressing reclamation of drill sites and ancillary
roads: specifically, the word ``location'' was used instead of the
previously approved word ``condition,'' rendering the rule illogical.
We also noted Wyoming, in referencing its own ``Land Quality Division
Coal Rules and Regulations'' in the language proposed for chapter 14,
subsections 3(c), 3(d), 3(e), and 4(d), omitted the word ``Division''
and that made the title of these regulations incomplete.
As laid out in the final rule, by letter dated October 24, 2023, we
informed Wyoming of these typographical errors and the need to correct
them, while offering to delay rulemaking under WY-050-FOR to
accommodate the corrections. Wyoming responded by letter dated November
22, 2023, that, although they had taken the initial steps to address
our concerns, the State's internal rulemaking processes would preclude
Wyoming from making the corrections within the allowable timeframe.
Wyoming subsequently undertook rulemaking to correct the minor errors;
the revised rules were approved by the Environmental Quality Council on
October 23, 2024, filed with the Wyoming Secretary of State on January
3, 2025, and transmitted to OSMRE on January 22, 2025. In the January
22, 2025, revisions, Wyoming included additional minor corrections
noted during our initial review of the original amendment and
communicated to the State by email on July 27, 2021. Specifically, we
pointed out that in the language proposed for chapter 14, subsection
2(e)(iii), the word ``part'' was misspelled ``peart;'' at subsection
2(g), the punctuation directly after the first use of ``shall'' should
probably have been a colon instead of a semicolon; and at subsection
2(h), the punctuation directly after the second use of the term
``material'' should probably have been a period instead of a comma.
During our initial review of the January 22, 2025, revision
package, we noticed a new typographical error that was introduced
during the rulemaking to correct the previously identified errors.
Specifically, in the required correction to chapter 14, subsection
3(e), in referencing its Land Quality Division Coal Rules and
Regulations, Wyoming transposed the words ``Coal'' and ``Division''
forming the incorrect title for these regulations as ``Land Quality
Coal Division Rules and Regulations.'' We communicated this discrepancy
to the State, which was able to make the correction using its
streamlined process for non-substantive changes that do not require
formal rulemaking. Accordingly, on February 7, 2025, Wyoming
retransmitted a corrected copy of the January 22, 2025, submittal.
The full text of the program amendment is available for you to read
at the locations listed above under ADDRESSES or at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
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 Wyoming 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.
[[Page 27491]]
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 July
14, 2025. 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 their comments. The public hearing will
continue 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 Review
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 Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will
review all significant rules. Pursuant to OMB guidance dated October
12, 1993 (OMB Memo M-94-3), 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 950
State regulatory program approval, State-Federal cooperative
agreement, Required program amendments.
Marcelo Calle,
Acting Regional Director, Unified Regions 5, 7-11.
[FR Doc. 2025-11906 Filed 6-26-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
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