[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 86 (Friday, May 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22390-22391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10980]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Manti-La Sal National Forest Cottonwood Canyon Coal Tract; Emery 
County, UT; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service (FS) will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to document the analysis and disclose the environmental 
and human effects of proposed coal mining within the Cottonwood Canyon 
Coal Tract, and to ensure that the Mining and Reclamation Plan will be 
in accordance with the Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement (OSM) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) will participate 
as cooperating agencies.
    A notice of intent to prepare an EIS for the Cottonwood Canyon Coal 
Tract was published in the Federal Register on February 19, 1998. The 
process suspended when the coal estate within the tract, along with 
several other tracts, was conveyed to the State of Utah School and 
Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), creating an 
outstanding mineral right on those lands. This conveyance is temporary; 
ownership of the coal estate will revert to the Federal government once 
a specified royalty value is collected. As owner of an outstanding 
mineral right, the State of Utah has sole authority to lease the coal 
estate. Under the Utah Coal Rules and the Memorandum of Understanding 
(MOU) between SITLA, the United States Department of Agriculture, and 
the United States Department of the Interior, dated January 5, 1999, 
the Forest must consent to the Mining and Reclamation Plan prior to 
mine development. Under the terms of the MOU, the FS will abide by the 
standards and guidelines contained in the Manti-La Sal National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan in effect on May 8, 1998 (the date on 
which the Utah Schools and Land Exchange Act of 1998 was ratified). 
Subject to reasonable terms and conditions for the protection of the 
surface estate consistent with the Forest Plan, any permit requirements 
may not prohibit reasonable economic development of the conveyed coal 
estates.
    The coal tract to be considered for mining, as described in the 
Utah Schools and Land Exchange Act of 1998, encompasses 9,243.87 acres 
of Federal coal lands on the Manti-La Sal National Forest in T. 17 S., 
R. 6 E., SLM, in Emery County, Utah. The tract is located approximately 
13 miles northwest of Castle Dale, Utah, immediately west and north of 
the Trail Mountain Mine permit area.
    SITLA has requested that the Forest Service conduct the 
environmental analysis considering the most likely mining scenario and 
reasonably foreseeable alternatives, and identified non-coal resources 
needing protections/mitigation prior to competitive lease offering by 
the State of Utah. This would allow accurate representation of 
recoverable coal reserves in the tract for the bidding process while 
considering required measures for minimizing effects to National Forest 
System resources consistent with the Forest Plan.
    The EIS process for this project will include preparation of a 
reasonably foreseeable mining scenario for the tract that will be used 
as the basis for determining effects. The most likely access to the 
coal reserves would be through the existing Trail Mountain Mine, which 
is currently idle. Mining would be entirely underground, using 
predominantly longwall methods. Surface disturbance would probably 
include one ventilation shaft and several exploration drill holes with 
a total area of approximately 20 acres. The disturbed areas would be 
reclaimed when no longer needed. Subsidence similar to that over other 
mined areas on the Wasatch Plateau is expected.
    The Forest Service has determined that the proposed lands are 
available for further consideration for coal mining under the Land and 
Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) Final EIS and Record of Decision 
(ROD) for the Manti-La Sal National Forest, 1986. The Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) and FS have determined that coal and environmental 
data are available to meet Uinta-Southwestern Utah Coal region Data 
Adequacy Standards.
    The purpose of this action is to respond to SITLA's request for the 
FS to conduct an environmental analysis to evaluate the most likely 
mining scenario and identify terms and conditions necessary for 
protection of non-coal resources. The proposed action is to consent to 
the Cottonwood Canyon Tract Mining and Reclamation Plan, including 
terms and conditions for the protection of surface resources.
    The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from 
Federal, State, and local agencies as well as individuals and 
organizations who may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed 
action. The agency invites written comments and suggestions on the 
issues related to the proposed action and the area being analyzed. 
Information received will be used to prepare the Draft and Final EIS 
and to make the agency decision. For most effective use, comments 
should be submitted to the Forest Service within 30 days from the date 
of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

[[Page 22391]]

Agency Decisions

    Under the Utah Coal Rules, the Manti-La Sal National Forest must 
consent to the Mining and Reclamation Plan prior to mine development. 
The FS consent may be subject to reasonable terms and conditions for 
the protection of the surface estate.

DATES: Written comments concerning issues to be considered and the 
scope of the analysis described in this notice should be received on or 
before May 24, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Forest Supervisor, Manti-La Sal 
National Forest, 599 West Price River Drive, Price, Utah 84501, ATTN: 
Dale Harber, Team Leader.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the proposed 
action and EIS should be addressed to Dale Harber or Aaron Howe, Manti-
La Sale National Forest, phone (435) 637-2817.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS and Record of Decision (ROD) will 
tier to the Final EIS and ROD for the Manti-La Sal National Forest Land 
and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The Forest Plan provides 
the overall guidance (Goals, Objectives, Standards, and Management Area 
Direction) to achieve the Desired Future Condition for the area being 
analyzed, and contains specific management area prescriptions for the 
entire Forest.
    Issues and alternatives to be evaluated in the analysis will be 
determined through scoping. The primary issues are expected to include 
the socioeconomic benefits of mining, the potential impacts of 
underground mining and mining-induced subsidence and seismicity to 
surface and ground water, vegetation, wildlife, cultural resources, 
range improvements, recreation, man-made features, and other land uses.
    Agency representatives and other interested people are invited to 
visit with Forest Service and BLM officials at any time during the EIS 
process. Two specific time periods are identified for the receipt of 
formal comments on the analysis. The two comment period are, (1) during 
the scoping process, the next 30 days following publication of this 
Notice in the Federal Register, and (2) during the formal review period 
of the Draft EIS.
    The Draft EIS is estimated to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in August, 
2002. At that time the EPA will publish an availability notice in the 
Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days 
from the date that EPA's notice of availability appears in the Federal 
Register. The Final EIS is expected to be released in January, 2003.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft environmental impact statements must structure their 
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is 
meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and 
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435, U.S. 519, 
533 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may 
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, 
it is very important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of the 45-day comment period so that 
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest 
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to 
them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

    Authority: (Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1920 [P.L. 66-
146, 41 Stat. 437, as amended; 30 U.S.C. 181-287])

    Dated: February 27, 2002.
Elaine Zieroth,
Forest Supervisor, Manti-La Sal National Forest.
[FR Doc. 02-10980 Filed 5-2-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M