(a) The Governor of any State may request that the Secretary enter into a cooperative agreement with the State, provided the State has an approved State regulatory program or has submitted a regulatory program for approval under part 731 of this chapter, and has or may have within the State surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands.

(b) A request for a cooperative agreement shall be submitted in writing and, except to the extent previously submitted in the State program, shall include the following information:

(1) Information sufficient for OSM to make findings in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section;

(2) A proposed agreement consistent with the requirements of this part; and

(3) A certification by the Attorney General or the chief legal officer of the State regulatory authority that no State statutory, regulatory or legal constraint exists which would preclude the State regulatory authority from fully carrying out the proposed cooperative agreement.

(c) OSM shall publish a notice of the request and the full text of the terms of the proposed cooperative agreement as submitted or as subsequently modified by OSM and the State in the Federal Register as a proposed rule. A notice of the request and a summary of the terms of the proposed agreement shall also be published in a newspaper(s) of general circulation throughout the State. Both notices shall include:

(1) The location at which a copy of the request submitted by the State may be obtained; and

(2) A date, not less than 30 days after publication of the notices, before which members of the public may submit written comments on the request and the person to whom comments should be addressed.

(d) A public hearing shall be held within the comment period in a suitable location in the State requesting the cooperative agreement. This hearing may be combined with public hearings required under part 732 of this chapter for the Secretary's consideration of approval of a State program submission, if appropriate. The date, time and place of the public hearing(s) on the request will be published in the Federal Register not less than 15 days prior to the date of the hearing.

(e) Before the expiration of the comment period, OSM shall consult with the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Federal land management agencies, as appropriate, with respect to the proposed cooperative agreement.

(f) OSM shall recommend to the Secretary that a cooperative agreement be entered into with a State, if OSM finds that:

(1) The State has an approved State regulatory program;

(2) The State regulatory authority has sufficient budget, equipment and personnel to enforce fully its regulatory program on lands subject to this part in the State; and

(3) The State has the legal authority to enter into the cooperative agreement.

(g) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register his or her decision with respect to a request by a State to enter into a cooperative agreement and the reasons therefor and the full text of the cooperative agreement.