[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 60 (Monday, March 30, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15211-15212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8183]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[WY-030-1990-00]


Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the proposed Federal coal planning 
decisions for the Carbon Basin Area, Carbon County, Wyoming and 
amendment of the Great Divide Resource Management Plan.

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

SUMMARY: The Carbon Basin planning review area is located approximately 
40 miles east of the town of Rawlins and 12 miles southeast of the town 
of Hanna, all located in Carbon County,

[[Page 15212]]

Wyoming. The planning review was conducted because an application to 
lease Federal coal in the Carbon Basin area had been submitted and 
Federal coal planning decisions were not made for the area during 
development of the Great Divide Resource Management Plan (RMP). The 
proposed decision would open to further consideration for coal leasing 
and development 11,928.36 acres of Federal coal lands containing 
approximately 313 million tons of Federal coal in the Carbon Basin. 
Upon adoption of the proposed decisions, 11,808.36 acres of these 
Federal coal lands would be open to consideration for mining by surface 
and subsurface methods. The remaining 120 acres of Federal coal lands 
are adjacent to and include the Town of Carbon Cemetery. In order to 
preserve the historic setting of the cemetery, it was determined that 
this 120 acres located in SW\1/4\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\, Section 26, T. 
22 N., R. 80 W., would be acceptable for coal mining using subsurface 
mining methods only and with a no-surface-occupancy requirement.

DATES: A 30-day protest period for the proposed planning decisions will 
begin the day following publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Protests should be addressed in writing to the Director 
(210), Bureau of Land Management, Attention: Brenda Williams, 1849 C 
Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Interested parties may direct 
questions and concerns to, or obtain further information from, Karla 
Swanson, Great Divide Resource Area Manager; Brenda Vosika Neuman, 
Project Leader; or John Spehar, Planning and Environmental Coordinator, 
at the Bureau of Land Management Office, 1300 N. Third Street, Rawlins, 
Wyoming 82301, or by telephone at 307-328-4200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Ark Land Company, St. Louis, Missouri, filed 
an application with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to obtain a 
coal lease on approximately 4,145 acres of Federal coal lands located 
in the Carbon Basin area. Ark Land Company, through its affiliate, Arch 
of Wyoming, Inc., (Arch) has conducted coal mining operations in the 
Hanna Basin Region of Carbon County since 1972. The depletion of 
recoverable coal reserves in the Hanna Basin has led Arch to identify 
additional (local) coal resources in the Carbon Basin area that could 
utilize the existing infrastructure and meet existing contracts or 
long-term commitments. The Carbon Basin area is in close proximity to 
the Hanna Basin coal fields and provides a logical continuation of the 
Hanna Basin mining operations.
    In 1982, a Federal coal lease was issued for approximately 60 
percent of the Federal coal lands located in the Carbon Basin. Because 
this lease was still in effect at the time the current BLM land use 
plan (the Great Divide Resource Management Plan (RMP-1990)) covering 
the Carbon Basin area was prepared, it was exempt from the coal 
screening/planning requirements. Development of this lease was never 
pursued and the lease expired in 1992. Also, at the time the Great 
Divide RMP was prepared, there was no other interest expressed by 
industry in obtaining Federal coal leases in the area. As a result of 
these two factors, the coal screening/planning process was not 
conducted on the area and there were no coal planning decisions for any 
of the Federal coal lands in the Carbon Basin area included in the 
Great Divide RMP.
    The Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976 requires that 
Federal coal lands must first be identified in a comprehensive land use 
plan before they can be considered for leasing. Thus, any applications 
to lease coal in the Carbon Basin, could not be given consideration 
until a planning review was conducted on the Federal coal lands and a 
determination made that some or all of the lands are open to 
consideration for coal leasing and development. Because no coal 
planning decisions were made for the Carbon Basin coal area in the 
Great Divide RMP, a planning review was conducted on the area. The 
planning review involved conducting the coal screening/planning process 
(including application of the coal unsuitability criteria) and an 
environmental analysis documented in an environmental assessment (EA).
    As provided in 43 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1610.5-2, any 
person who participated in the planning review process and has an 
interest which is or may be adversely affected by the approval or 
amendment of a resource management plan may protest such approval or 
amendment. A protest may concern only those issues which were raised 
and submitted for the record during the planning review process and by 
only the party(ies) who raised the issue(s). All parts of the proposed 
decision may be protested. Protests must be in writing and must be 
postmarked within 30 days following the date the notice of availability 
(NOA) of this decision record is published in the Federal Register. 
Protests must include (a) the name, mailing address, telephone number, 
and interest of the person filing the protest; (b) a statement of the 
issue or issues submitted during the planning process by the protesting 
party; (c) a statement of the part, or parts, of the proposed decision 
being protested; (d) a copy of all documents addressing the issue or 
issues that were submitted during the planning review process by the 
protesting party or an indication of the date the issue or issues were 
discussed for the record; and (e) a concise statement explaining why 
the State Director's proposed decision is believed to be wrong.
    If no protests are received the proposed decision will become final 
at the end of the 30-day protest period. If protests are received, the 
decision will not become final until the protests are resolved.

    Dated: March 24, 1998.
Alan R. Pierson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 98-8183 Filed 3-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P