[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 229 (Friday, November 28, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63377-63378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31202]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[CO-933-98-1320-01; COC 60941]


Notice of Public Hearing and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Assessment, Maximum Economic Recovery Report, and Fair 
Market Value; Application for Competitive Coal Lease COC 60941; 
Colorado

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office, Lakewood, 
Colorado, hereby gives notice that a public hearing will be held to 
receive

[[Page 63378]]

comments on the environmental assessment, maximum economic recovery, 
and fair market value of federal coal to be offered. An application for 
coal lease was filed by National King Coal, LLC requesting the Bureau 
of Land Management offer for competitive lease 194.79 acres of federal 
coal in La Plata County, Colorado.

DATES: The public hearing will be held at 7 p.m., December 18, 1997. 
Written comments should be received no later than December 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held in the Federal Building, 701 
Camino Del Rio, Room 110, Durango, Colorado 81301. Written comments 
should be addressed to the Bureau of Land Management, Area Manager, San 
Juan Basin Resource Area. Federal Building, Room 203, 701 Camino Del 
Rio, Durange, Colorado 81301.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cal Joyner, Area Manager, San Juan 
Basin Resource Area Office at the address above, or by telephone at 
(970) 247-1289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State 
Office, Lakewood, Colorado, hereby gives notice that a public hearing 
will be held on December 18, 1997, at 7 p.m., in the Federal Building 
at the address given above.
    An application for coal lease was filed by National King Coal, LLC, 
requesting the Bureau of Land Management offer for competitive lease 
federal coal in the lands outside established coal production regions 
described as:

T. 34 N., R. 11 W., N.M.P.M.
    Sec. 6, lots 1 to 5, inclusive, NESW, and NWSE;

    Containing 194.79 acres.

    The coal resource to be offered is limited to coal recoverable by 
underground mining methods.
    The purpose of the hearing is to obtain public comments on the 
environmental assessment and on the following items:
    (1) The method of mining to be employed to obtain maximum economic 
recovery of the coal,
    (2) The impact that mining the coal in the proposed leasehold may 
have on the area, and
    (3) The methods of determining the fair market value of the coal to 
be offered.
    Written requests to testify orally at the December 18, 1997, public 
hearing should be received at the San Juan Resource Area Office prior 
to the close of business December 18, 1997. Those who indicate they 
wish to testify when they register at the hearing may have an 
opportunity if time is available.
    In addition, the public is invited to submit written comments 
concerning the fair market value and maximum economic recovery of the 
coal resource. Public comments will be utilized in establishing fair 
market value for the coal resource in the described lands. Comments 
should address specific factors related to fair market value including, 
but not limited to:
    1. The quality and quantity of the coal resource.
    2. The price that the mined coal would bring in the market place.
    3. The cost of producing the coal.
    4. The interest rate at which anticipated income streams would be 
discounted.
    5. Depreciation and other accounting factors.
    6. The mining method or methods which would achieve maximum 
economic recovery of the coal.
    7. Documented information on the terms and conditions of recent and 
similar coal land transactions in the lease area, and
    8. Any comparable sales data of similar coal lands.
    Should any information submitted as comments be considered to be 
proprietary by the commenter, the information should be labeled as such 
and stated in the first page of the submission. Written comments on the 
environmental assessment, maximum economic recovery, and fair market 
value should be sent to the San Juan Resource Area Office at the above 
address prior to close of business on December 18, 1997.
    Substantive comments, whether written or oral, will receive equal 
consideration prior to any lease offering.
    The Draft Environmental Assessment and Maximum Economic Recovery 
Report are available from the San Juan Resource Area Office upon 
request.
    A copy of the Draft Environmental Assessment, the Maximum Economic 
Recovery Report, the case file, and the comments submitted by the 
public, except those portions identified as proprietary by the 
commenter and meeting exemptions stated in the Freedom of Information 
Act, will be available for public inspection at the Colorado State 
Office, 2850 Youngfield, Lakewood, Colorado, 80215.

    Dated: November 20, 1997.
Karen A. Purvis,
Solid Minerals Team, Resource Services.
[FR Doc. 97-31202 Filed 11-26-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-M