[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18020-18021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8883]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-920-1320-EM, WYW136142]


Federal Coal Lease Modification, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and 
Notice of Public Hearing on the Modification of Federal Coal Lease 
WYW136142 at the North Antelope/ Rochelle Mine Complex operated by 
Powder River Coal Company, in Campbell County, WY.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
implementing regulations and other applicable statutes, the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Environmental 
Assessment (EA) for the modification of Federal coal lease WYW136142 in 
the Wyoming Powder River Basin, and announces the scheduled date and 
place for a public hearing pursuant to 43 CFR

[[Page 18021]]

3432, 3425.3 and 3425.4. The EA addresses the impacts of modifying this 
Federal coal lease and mining the modification area as a part of the 
North Antelope/Rochelle Mine Complex operated by Powder River Coal 
Company, in Campbell County, WY. The purpose of the hearing is to 
solicit public comments on the EA, the fair market value (FMV), the 
maximum economic recovery (MER), and the proposed noncompetitive offer 
of the coal included in the proposed lease modification. This lease 
modification is being considered for offer as a result of a request 
received from Powder River Coal Company on June 14, 2000. The tract as 
requested includes about 19.97 acres containing approximately 2.5 
million tons of Federal coal reserves.

DATES: A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. MDT, on May 14, 2002, at 
the BLM, Casper Field Office, 2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, WY. 
Written comments on the EA will be accepted for 30 days from the date 
this notice is published.

ADDRESSES: Please address questions, comments or requests for copies of 
the EA to the BLM, Casper Field Office, Attn: Mike Karbs, 2987 
Prospector Drive, Casper, WY 82604; or you may e-mail them to the 
attention of Mike Karbs at [email protected]; or fax them to 307-
261-7587.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Karbs or Nancy Doelger at the 
above address, or phone: 307-261-7600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM Casper Field Office has received a 
request to modify an existing Federal coal lease at the North Antelope/ 
Rochelle Mine Complex. This mine is operated by Powder River Coal 
Company, and is located in Campbell County, WY, approximately 20 miles 
southeast of Wright. On June 14, 2000, Powder River Coal Company filed 
an application with the BLM to modify federal lease WYW136142 by adding 
the following lands:

T. 41 N., R. 70 W., 6th PM, Wyoming

Section 18: Lot 6 (N\1/2\) or (N\1/2\NW\1/4\NE\1/4\).

    This tract is adjacent to Powder River Coal Company's North 
Antelope/ Rochelle Mine Complex and includes 19.97 acres more or less 
with an estimated 2.5 million tons of coal. This application was filed 
as a lease modification under the provisions of 43 CFR 3432.
    BLM believes that this lease modification serves the interests of 
the U.S. because it allows for a more efficient recovery of coal in a 
narrow or ``neck'' area of the current lease. This modification area is 
logically recovered as a part of the planned operations on the existing 
lease, and while this area could be recovered as part of a later 
competitive coal lease tract, that is not a certainty. If this coal is 
recovered in concert with the existing lease, it would result in 
minimal additional surface disturbance.
    BLM further believes that there is no current competitive interest 
in the lands proposed for lease modification, although as noted above, 
this area could be recovered as part of a later competitive coal lease 
tract, but that may or may not occur. This lease modification would not 
reduce the competitive value of a later competitive coal lease tract. 
Under the lease modification process, the modified lands would be added 
to the existing lease without competitive bidding. Before offering the 
lease modification the BLM will prepare an appraisal of the FMV of the 
lease. The U.S. would receive FMV of the lease for the added lands.
    The proposed lease modification is within the mine permit area of 
the North Antelope/Rochelle Mine Complex. No new facilities or 
employees would be needed to mine the coal. Haul distances would not be 
increased. If production at the North Antelope/Rochelle Mine continues 
at the 2000 rate of 70 million tons of coal, the 2.5 million tons of 
coal included in the proposed lease modification would represent less 
than one-half month of production. The lands have most recently been 
studied under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) as 
part of the Powder River/Thundercloud LBA EIS (lease by application 
environmental impact statement), as well as several earlier NEPA 
analyses. The environmental assessment incorporates these existing NEPA 
analyses. If this tract is modified into the current lease, the new 
lands must be incorporated into the existing mining plans for the North 
Antelope/ Rochelle Mine Complex. The Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is a cooperating agency in the 
preparation of the environmental document because it is the Federal 
agency that is responsible for any required actions necessary to 
incorporate these lands into the current mining plan.
    BLM conducted scoping during August 2001, soliciting specific 
concerns that should be considered in processing this modified lease 
application, with scoping comments accepted through September 7, 2001. 
A NEPA analysis addressing issues identified or information received 
during this scoping period for the proposed lease modification was 
completed and distributed to the public on September 27, 2001. There 
was a public comment period on the NEPA analysis, with comments 
accepted until November 7, 2001. A public hearing was held on October 
9, 2001, at the Clarion Western Plaza Hotel in Gillette, WY, to solicit 
public comment on the NEPA analysis, the proposed modification, and the 
FMV and MER of coal in the proposed tract. The EA addresses all the 
issues and information received as a result of the scoping and the 
review of the NEPA analysis. The EA was mailed to all known parties 
interested in this action on February 14, 2001. All written comments 
received and any additional comments received at the hearing or for 30 
days from the date this notice is published will be addressed in the 
decision for this lease modification. In addition to preparing the EA, 
BLM will also develop possible stipulations regarding mining 
operations, determine the FMV of the tract, and evaluate MER of the 
coal in the proposed tract while processing this lease modification.
    Comments on the EA, the FMV, the MER, and the proposed 
noncompetitive offer of the coal included in the proposed lease 
modification, as well as comments already received, including names and 
street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at 
the address below 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: March 28, 2002.
Phillip C. Perlewitz,
Chief, Branch of Solid Minerals.
[FR Doc. 02-8883 Filed 4-11-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P