[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3497]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 15, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[MT-020-04-4120-01; MTM 80697]

 

Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Western 
Energy Company's Coal Lease Application (MTM 80697) and Request for 
Public Comment; Montana

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management, Miles City District, Powder 
River Resource Area Office has produced a draft environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the Western Energy Company Federal Coal Lease 
Application MTM 80697. By this notice the public is informed that the 
draft EIS is available, and that interested individuals may obtain 
copies by request. Notice is also given that public meetings will be 
held on Monday, March 7, 1994, at the Dull Knife College, Lame Deer, 
Montana, and on Tuesday, March 8, 1994, at the Bicentennial Library of 
Colstrip, Montana.
    This environmental impact statement addresses the socioeconomic and 
environmental impacts that would likely result from leasing these 
federal coal lands, the cumulative impacts of the coal lease 
application, and the irreversible and irretrievable commitment of 
resources involved with this action. The environmental impact statement 
provides a sound basis for public review, decisionmaking, and is in 
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
    On January 29, 1992, the Western Energy Company filed a coal lease 
application (MTM 80697) for federal coal resources within the Powder 
River Coal Production Region in conjunction with their existing mine 
near Colstrip, Montana. The company holds existing federal coal leases 
in this area and has been mining since 1968. This coal lease 
application was filed with the Bureau of Land Management, the 
administrative agency for federal minerals.
    In accordance with 43 CFR 3425 and the Powder River Regional Coal 
Team Operational Guidelines for Coal Lease-by-Applications, management 
decided to prepare an environmental impact statement using the 
following rationale:
    1. Concern over the cultural, religious, and spiritual values of 
the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Tribes that may be associated with these 
lands.
    2. The Bureau of Land Management's trust responsibility to the 
Tribes to insure that the socioeconomic impacts, as well as the 
cultural, religious, and spiritual values are fully addressed.
    3. Concerns that these values and others could not be fully 
addressed with an environmental assessment.
    4. Concern expressed by the public at scoping meetings and from 
telephone calls regarding cultural and hydrology issues, and the 
opinion that an environmental impact statement was necessary to address 
these issues.
    5. The amount of work, scope, and effort needed to document the 
environmental analysis process.
    The land included in coal lease application (MTM-80697) is located 
in Rosebud County, Montana, approximately 10 miles west of Colstrip, 
Montana, and is described as follows:

Principal Meridian, Montana

T. 1 N., R. 39 E.,
    Sec. 2, S\1/2\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\.
T. 1 N., R. 40 E.,
    Sec. 6, lots 1, 2, 3, 4, S\1/2\N\1/2\, S\1/2\;
    Sec. 8, E\1/2\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 14, S\1/2\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\.
T. 2 N., R. 40 E.,
    Sec. 32, all.

    The 2,061 acre tract contains an estimated 35.6 million tons of 
recoverable reserves. The lands involved are all private surface/
federal coal lands within Area C, except for one parcel in Area B.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Written comments will be accepted through April 25, 
1994. Public meetings will be held at the following locations and 
times:
    1. Monday, March 7, 1994; Dull Knife College Auditorium, Lame Deer, 
Montana, from 7-9 p.m.

    2. Tuesday, March 8, 1994; Conference Room of the Bicentennial 
Library of Colstrip, 415 Willow Avenue, Colstrip, Montana, from 7-9 
p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Alice Spencer, BLM Powder River Resource Area, Miles City Plaza, 
Miles City, Montana 59301, 406-232-7000 or TDD 406-232-1939.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western Energy Company is lessee and 
operator of several federal coal leases at the Rosebud Mine near 
Colstrip, Montana. The area applied for is within an existing approved 
life-of-mine plan, with the exception of a portion of section 14 in T. 
1 N., R. 40 E., which is included within the Area B extension mine 
application now under final stages of review by the Montana Department 
of State Lands and the Office of Surface Mining.
    No additional exploration and/or exploratory drilling is 
anticipated for these areas prior to leasing. Exploration and drilling 
was conducted in the 1980 to 1985 era in preparation for the submittal 
of the Area C amendment permit application and the Area B extension 
permit application.
    The mining production sequence for the proposed lease tracts will 
be incorporated into the existing mine plan for Area C and the proposed 
mine plan for Area B extension.
    Three alternatives are addressed in the environmental impact 
statement:
    Alternative 1--Preferred (Proposed Action)--Lease the 2,061 acres 
of federal coal lands to Western Energy Company as applied for in the 
coal lease application.
    Alternative 2--(No action)--Reject or deny the coal lease 
application. The federal coal lands would not be offered for lease.
    Alternative 3--(Cultural Resource Avoidance)--The coal lease 
application would be partially approved. Two cultural properties with 
values as traditional cultural properties and sites with intangible 
spiritual attributes would be avoided by excluding federal coal lands 
in and around these two sites from the coal lease application.
    Under Alternatives 1 and 3, the coal lease, as described in the 
respective alternative, would be offered under a competitive bid 
process with the lease going to the highest qualified bidder for the 
prospective coal lease.
    For Alternative 1--Preferred (Proposed Action)--The Bureau of Land 
Management would offer a lease sale for 2,061 acres of federal coal 
reserves as applied for in the coal lease application. Assuming Western 
Energy Company is the successful bidder for this lease; these lands, 
which are incorporated into the company's existing mine plans, would be 
mined accordingly. Of the 2,061 acres offered for lease, 914 acres 
would be mined and 1,327 would be disturbed. Approximately 734 acres 
would not be disturbed. Additional mitigation measures for traditional 
lifeway values, such as a 160-foot buffer zone to protect cultural 
properties, planting trees to screen the cultural properties from 
intrusions, or removal of the petroglyph panels could be incorporated 
as special stipulations to the lease and amended to the existing mine 
plan permit.
    For Alternative 2--(No Action)--The Bureau of Land Management would 
deny or reject the coal lease application. The federal coal lands would 
not be offered for lease at this time. The Western Energy Company would 
continue mining other federal, state, and private coal lands instead. 
Impacts associated with mining these federal coal lands would be 
avoided and shifted to the other federal, state, and private coal lands 
that Western Energy Company would mine. The federal coal lands in this 
application would likely be bypassed for mining.
    For Alternative 3--(Cultural Resource Avoidance)--The coal lease 
application would be partially approved. Two cultural properties in T. 
2 N., R. 40 E., section 32, which have values as traditional cultural 
properties and sites with intangible spiritual attributes would be 
avoided by excluding 70 acres of federal coal lands in and around these 
two sites from the coal lease application. Since it would not be 
feasible to mine other areas in a strip mine operation, a total of 152 
acres and 6.5 million tons of recoverable coal reserves would be 
excluded. Existing approved mitigation measures which were included as 
part of the mine plan permits by the Montana Department of State Lands 
and special coal lease stipulations would apply, and Western Energy 
Company would be required to comply with these mitigation measures.

    Dated: February 3, 1994.
Robert H. Lawton,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 94-3497 Filed 2-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-M