Sections 515 and 516 of SMCRA (30 USC 1201 et. seq.) provide that permittees conducting coal mining operations shall meet all applicable performance standards of the Act. The information collected is used by the regulatory authority in monitoring and inspecting surface coal mining activities to ensure that they are conducted in compliance with the requirements of the Act.
US Code:
30 USC 1201 et. seq.
Name of Law: The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
OSMRE proposed the Stream Protection Rule (SPR) on July 27, 2015, (80 FR 44436) which proposed to modify the collection requirements in 30 CFR Parts 816 and 817. This proposed rule sought comments from the public comments on the burden estimates we identified, the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format, and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, and reported for the entire part associated with the information collections approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 1029-0047.
OSMRE received over 94,000 comments on the proposed rule, many of which had information collection ramifications. These comments were reviewed and the final SPR has incorporated changes, where appropriate, to reflect the comments. Likewise, this information collection request has been modified from the original request to OMB to incorporate those final rule changes and the public comments which affect this information collection request.
This information collection request will increase respondent burden by 136,578 hours and $10,513,667 in non-wage costs due to program changes under the Stream Protection Rule. This information collection request also demonstrates adjustments of -321,142 hours and an increase of $14,376,924 in non-wage costs for a total of 1,742,514 hours and $33,364,075.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
816 & 817.56 What additional performance standards apply to mining activities conducted in or through an ephemeral stream? (SRAs)