[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]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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