[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10315-10316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-3748]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-920-1430-EU, WYW148816]


Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of 
Scoping on Proposed Exchange, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and Notice of Scoping on a proposal from The Pittsburg and Midway Coal 
Mining Co. to exchange privately owned lands and minerals in WY for 
Federal coal in the decertified Powder River Federal Coal Production 
Region.

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SUMMARY: BLM received a proposal to exchange Federal coal in the WY 
Powder River Basin (PRB) for properties owned by Pittsburg & Midway 
Coal Mining Co. (P&M) on February 4, 1999. P&M is a wholly owned 
subsidiary of Chevron Corporation. The Federal coal P&M proposes to 
acquire is located in northern Sheridan County, WY. The lands and 
minerals P&M proposes to offer in exchange for the coal are located in 
Carbon, Lincoln, and Sheridan counties, WY. A portion of the lands 
being offered in Lincoln County are located within the Bridger-Teton 
National Forest (BTNF), and would be administered by the U. S. Forest 
Service (FS) if an exchange is completed. The exchange would be 
processed under the provisions of 43 CFR 2200. The Powder River 
Regional Coal Team (RCT) reviewed this exchange proposal at a public 
meeting held on October 27, 1999, in Gillette, WY. BLM has determined 
that the requirements of NEPA would be best served by preparing an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for this exchange proposal.

DATES: As part of the public scoping process, public scoping meetings 
are scheduled at the following times and places:

7 p.m., March 5, 2001, LaBarge Town Hall, LaBarge, WY
7 p.m., March 6, 2001, BLM Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. Third Street, 
Rawlins, WY
7 p.m., March 7, 2001, Sheridan Holiday Inn, 1809 Sugarland Drive, 
Sheridan, WY

    If you have concerns or issues that you believe the BLM should 
address in processing this exchange proposal, you can express them 
verbally at the scoping meetings; or you can mail, e-mail or fax 
written comments to BLM at the address given below by March 30, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please address questions, comments or concerns to the BLM 
Casper Field Office, attn: Nancy Doelger, 2987 Prospector Drive, 
Casper, WY 82604, fax: 307-261-7587, or e-mail comments to the 
attention of Nancy Doelger at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Doelger or Mike Karbs at the 
above address, or phone: 307-261-7600, or Jim Paugh at the BLM Wyoming 
State Office (921), P.O. Box 1828, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003-1828, 307-
775-6306.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 4, 1999, BLM received a proposal 
from P&M to exchange properties P&M owns in WY, including all minerals 
owned by P&M under these properties, for Federal coal in Sheridan

[[Page 10316]]

County, WY. P&M is offering to exchange the following lands:

Lincoln County, Wyoming:

T. 26 N., R. 115 W., 6th PM, Wyoming tracts 49, 57, and 71;
T. 26 N., R. 116 W., 6th PM, Wyoming tracts 39, 41, and 42;
T. 26 N., R. 117 W., 6th PM, Wyoming tracts 37 through 43;
T. 27 N., R. 117 W., 6th PM, Wyoming tracts 37 through 42.

Carbon County, Wyoming:

T. 16 N., R. 90 W., 6th PM, Wyoming tract 46;
    section 6, lots 20, 23, 24, 27, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\;
    section 17, lot 17, SW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
    section 18, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\;.
T. 16 N., R. 91 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    section 12, NE\1/4\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\SW\1/4\, E\1/
2\SW\1/4\, W\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    section 13, W\1/2\NW\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, NW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
    section 14, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\, S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    section 22, SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, SE\1/4\SE\1/4\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    section 23, W\1/2\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\, SW\1/
4\SW\1/4\.

Sheridan County, Wyoming:

T. 57 N., R. 84 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    section 1, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\, SW\1/
4\SW\1/4\;
    section 2, lots 2, 3, S\1/2\N\1/2\, S\1/2\;
    section 3, lots 3, 4, S\1/2\N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\, SE\1/4\SE\1/
4\;
    section 4, lots 1 through 4, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, N\1/
2\SE\1/4\.
Total Offered Lands: Approximately 6068 acres.
    P&M would offer the above lands to BLM in exchange for all or a 
portion of the Federal coal underlying the following lands in 
Sheridan County:
T. 58 N., R. 84 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    section 15, lot 1;
    section 20, SE\1/4\;
    section 21, E\1/2\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\;
    section 22, NW\1/4\, W\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    section 23, lots 3,4;
    section 27, W\1/2\NW\1/4\,W\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    section 28, all;
    section 29, NE\1/4\, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    section 33, N\1/2\NE\1/4\;
    section 34, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, NW\1/4\NW\1/4\.
    Total Selected Lands: Approximately 2045 acres.
    The value of the coal to be exchanged will be equal to the value 
of the offered private lands. The amount of coal to be included in 
the exchange will be dependent on the fair market value of the coal 
as determined by BLM. The surface of the above Federal coal lands 
being considered for exchange is privately owned.
    The EIS will consider the impacts of BLM and FS acquisition of 
the lands being offered for exchange as well as the impacts of 
mining the coal which P&M proposes to acquire in Sheridan County. 
There is not currently a mine in this area.
    The lands P&M is offering for exchange in Lincoln County, WY, 
include lands within the BTNF which represent most of the remaining 
parcels of private land within the Kemmerer Ranger District. 
Acquisition of these lands is a high priority for the Forest 
Service. The FS will be a cooperating agency on the EIS.
    The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) 
will be a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS. The 
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) gives OSM primary 
responsibility to administer programs that regulate surface coal 
mining operations and the surface effects of underground coal mining 
operations. Pursuant to Section 503 of SMCRA, the Secretary of the 
Interior approved a permanent program in 1980, which authorized the 
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to regulate 
surface coal mining operations and surface effects of underground 
mining on non-federal lands within the state of WY. If an exchange 
is completed, P&M would be required to prepare and obtain DEQ 
approval of a permit to conduct coal mining operations before any 
mining could occur.
    The major issues related to mining coal that have been 
identified by BLM in evaluating recent applications to lease and 
mine Federal coal in other areas of the Wyoming PRB are related to 
potential site-specific and cumulative impacts to air quality, 
groundwater, and wildlife. If you have specific concerns about these 
issues, or have other concerns or issues that BLM should consider in 
processing this proposed exchange, please address them in writing to 
the above individuals or state them verbally at the public scoping 
meetings scheduled at the times and locations shown above. BLM will 
accept written comments at the address shown above through March 30, 
2001.
    Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, 
will be available for public review at the address listed above 
during regular business hours (7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m.), Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street address 
from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of 
your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent 
allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or businesses, 
and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or 
officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for 
public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: February 1, 2001.
Jim Paugh,
Realty Officer, Lands and Minerals.
[FR Doc. 01-3748 Filed 2-13-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P