[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8158]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 6, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
30 CFR Parts 764 and 942
Receipt of a Petition to Designate Lands Unsuitable for Mining
and To Prepare a Petition Evaluation Document and Environmental Impact
Statement
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a combined petition evaluation
document/environmental impact statement, and notice of scoping meeting
and scoping comment period for the petition.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) intends to prepare a combined
petition evaluation document/environmental impact statement (PED/EIS)
for the decision on a petition to designate certain lands within the
Little Yellow Creek (Fern Lake) watershed in Claiborne County,
Tennessee, as unsuitable for surface coal mining and reclamation
operations in accordance with section 522 of the Surface Mining Control
and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977. OSM has identified four
alternatives that the combined PED/EIS would evaluate as described in
the supplementary information of this notice. OSM requests that other
agencies and the public submit written comments or statements on the
need for an EIS on the petition and the scope of the issues which
should be analyzed in the combined document.
DATES: Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. (EDT), May 18, 1994.
Oral comments may be presented at the scoping meeting to be held at the
Middlesboro City Hall at 7 p.m. (EDT) on April 18, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Written comments must be mailed or hand delivered to the
Office of Surface Mining, Branch of Technical Assistance, Attn: Willis
Gainer, 530 Gay Street, SW., suite 500, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902.
Copies of the petition are available upon request from the Office of
Surface Mining at the given address. The public record on the petition
is available for review during normal working hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:40
p.m.) at the OSM office listed. Public hearing: Middlesboro City Hall,
Kentucky.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Willis L. Gainer, at the OSM office listed [see ADDRESSES] (telephone:
615-545-4065).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 14, 1994, the City of
Middlesborough, Kentucky and the National Parks and Conservation
Association petitioned the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSM) of the United States Department of the Interior, to
designate an area located in the Little Yellow Creek (Fern Lake)
watershed in Claiborne County, Tennessee, as unsuitable for surface
coal mining operations pursuant to the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977 (Pub. L. 95-87). The petition was amended on
February 22, 1994, and deemed administratively complete and accepted
for processing on March 15, 1994. A subsequent amendment with exhibits
was received on March 16, 1994. The petition as accepted is a 26 page
document with 100 pages of exhibits and an amendment. An additional 18
pages were received as part of a second amendment after the
determination of completeness. The Federal Program for Tennessee, as
administered by OSM, applies to all surface coal mining operations in
Tennessee including the processing of lands unsuitable for mining
petitions (49 FR 38874, October 1, 1984).
The petition area occupies approximately 3,780 acres of the Little
Yellow Creek watershed in Claiborne County, from the headwaters to the
Tennessee State line and includes portions of Fern Lake. The petition
boundary runs essentially from the Tennessee State line at Kentucky
Corner on Cumberland Mountain in a southwest direction along the crest
of Cumberland Mountain to a point at the watershed divide between
Tackett Creek and Little Yellow Creek. The petition boundary then
crosses from Cumberland Mountain to the crest of Mingo Mountain across
this watershed divide and proceeds in a northeasterly direction until
it intercepts the Kentucky/Tennessee State line. The boundary follows
the State line to the east back to Kentucky Corner.
The major allegations of the petition can be summarized as follows:
1. Surface coal mining operations will affect fragile lands in
which the surface coal mining operations could result in significant
damage to important scientific or aesthetic values or natural
systems.
2. Surface coal mining operations will affect land in which the
surface coal mining operations could result in a substantial loss or
reduction in the long-range availability of water supplies.
3. Surface coal mining operations would be incompatible with
local land use plans of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
4. Surface coal mining operations will affect natural hazard
lands in which the surface coal mining could increase flooding
potential in an already flood-prone area.
OSM has identified four possible alternatives that the combined
PED/EIS would evaluate:
Alternative 1--Designate the entire petition area as unsuitable
for surface coal mining operations.
Alternative 2--Not designate any of the area as unsuitable for
surface coal mining operations.
Alternative 3--Designate parts of the petition area as
unsuitable for all surface coal mining operations:
A. Designate as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface
coal mining operations, including the designation of selected
reserves, those parts of the petition area in which such operations
would affect fragile lands and result in significant damage to
important aesthetic values and natural systems.
B. Designate as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface
coal mining operations, including the designation of selected
reserves, those parts of the petition area in which such operations
would result in a substantial loss or a reduction of long-range
productivity of water supply.
C. Designate as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface
coal mining operations, including the designation of selected
reserves, those parts of the petition area in which such operations
would be incompatible with existing local land use plans and
programs.
D. Designate as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface
coal mining operations, including the designation of selected
reserves, those parts of the petition area in which such operations
would affect natural hazard lands.
Alternative 4--Designate the entire petition area as unsuitable
for surface coal mining but allow underground mining with or without
certain restrictions.
A scoping comment period is intended to raise the relevant issues
to be addressed by the combined document. OSM seeks public comments in
relation to the scope of issues to be addressed by the impact
evaluation, including impacts and alternatives that should be
addressed. Written comments should be specific and confined to issues
pertinent to the petition. The public comments received during the
scoping period will assist OSM in making decisions on the petition
evaluation and in preparing the PED/EIS. OSM believes that the proposed
action is a major Federal action that may significantly affect the
quality of the human environment and may require the preparation of an
EIS. OSM additionally gives notice here that should information or
analyses show that the proposed action does not require an EIS, it will
terminate the environmental impact statement process through an
appropriate notice in the Federal Register, prepare an environmental
assessment, and continue processing of the petition under 30 CFR part
764 and 942.
Dated: March 30, 1994.
Brent Wahlquist,
Assistant Director, Reclamation and Regulatory Policy.
[FR Doc. 94-8158 Filed 4-5-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-M