[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 41 (Monday, March 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10029-10030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-4853]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-923-03-1320-00]


Fair Market Value Meeting for the South Crandall Canyon Coal 
Tract, Emery County, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and call for public comment on the 
proposed sale and fair market value and maximum economic recovery 
consideration for coal lease application UTU-78953.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a public meeting 
on March 17, 2003, for the proposed competitive sale, of the South 
Crandall Canyon coal Tract. BLM requests public comment on the fair 
market value and environmental effects of this tract. The BLM and the 
Manti-La Sal National Forest signed a Decision Notice/Finding of No 
Significant Impact dated February 13, 2003 that discusses the 
environmental effects of mining this tract. The Notice of Decision was 
published in the Emery County Progress and the Sun Advocate on February 
18, 2003. The lands included in the delineated Federal coal lease tract 
(``South Crandall Canyon'') are located in Emery County, Utah 
approximately 5 miles north of Huntington, Utah on public lands located 
in the Manti-La Sal National Forest and are described as follows:

T. 16 S., R. 7 E., SLM, Emery County, Utah.
    Section 4, W2SW4, S2SW4NW4,
    Section 5, SE4, S2SE4NE4,
    Section 8, E2, NE4NW4, S2NW4,
    Section 9, NW4

    Approximately 880 acres

    Genwal Resources submitted the application for the coal lease. The 
company plans to mine the coal as an extension from their existing 
Crandall Canyon mine if the lease is obtained. The South Crandall 
Canyon coal tract has two potentially minable coal beds, the Blind 
Canyon and Hiawatha. The minable portions of the coal beds in this area 
are from 6 to 8 feet in thickness. The tract contains more than 5 
million tons of recoverable high-volatile C bituminous coal. The coal 
quality in the seams on an ``as received basis'' is as

[[Page 10030]]

follows: 12,790 Btu/lb., 5.26 percent moisture, 4.68 percent ash, 44.18 
percent volatile matter, 45.88 percent fixed carbon and 0.61 percent 
sulfur. The public is invited to the meeting to make public and/or 
written comments on the environmental implications of leasing the 
proposed tract, and also to submit comments on the Fair Market Value 
and the Maximum Economic Recovery of the tract.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with Federal coal management 
regulations 43 CFR parts 3422 and 3425, the public meeting is being 
held on the proposed sale to allow public comment on and discussion of 
the potential effects of mining and proposed lease. The meeting is 
being advertised in the Sun Advocate located in Price, Utah and the 
Emery County Progress located in Emery, Utah. 43 CFR part 3422 states 
that, No less than 30 days prior to the publication of the notice of 
sale, the Secretary shall solicit public comments on the Fair Market 
Value appraisal and Maximum Economic Recovery and on factors that may 
affect these two determinations. Proprietary data marked as 
confidential may be submitted to the Bureau of Land Management in 
response to this solicitation of public comments. Data so marked shall 
be treated in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the 
confidentiality of such information. A copy of the comments submitted 
by the public on fair market value and maximum economic recovery, 
except those portions identified as proprietary by the author and 
meeting exemptions stated in the Freedom of Information Act, will be 
available for public inspection at the Bureau of Land Management, Utah 
State Office during regular business hours (8 a.m.-4 p.m.) Monday 
through Friday. Comments on the Fair Market Value and Maximum Economic 
Recovery should be sent to the Bureau of Land Management and should 
address, but not necessarily be limited to the following information.
    1. The quality and quantity of the coal resource;
    2. The mining methods or methods which would achieve maximum 
economic recovery of the coal, including specifications of seams to be 
mined and the most desirable timing and rate of production;
    3. Whether this tract is likely to be mined as part of an existing 
mine and therefore should be evaluated on a realistic incremental 
basis, in relation to the existing mine to which it has the greatest 
value;
    4. Whether the tract should be evaluated as part of a potential 
larger mining unit and evaluated as a portion of a new potential mine 
(i.e., a tract which does not in itself form a logical mining unit);
    5. Restrictions to mining that may affect coal recovery;
    6. The price that the mined coal would bring when sold;
    7. Costs, including mining and reclamation, of producing the coal 
and the time of production.
    8. The percentage rate at which anticipated income streams should 
be discounted, either with inflation or in the absence of inflation, in 
which case the anticipated rate of inflation should be given;
    9. Depreciation, depletion, amortization and other tax accounting 
factors;
    10. The value of any surface estate where held privately;
    11. Documented information on the terms and conditions of recent 
and similar coal land transactions in the lease sale area;
    12. Any comparable sales data of similar coal lands; and coal 
quantities and the Fair Market Value of the coal developed by BLM may 
or may not change as a result of comments received from the public and 
changes in the market conditions between now and when final economic 
evaluations are completed.

DATES: The public meeting is being held on Monday, March 17, 2003 at 
the Huntington Senior Citizen Center, address 100 North, 176 West, 
starting at 7 p.m. The building is just east of the Fire Department.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Written comments on the Fair Market 
Value and Maximum Economic Recovery must be received by April 14, 2003 
and should be addressed to Stan Perkes, 801-539-4036, Bureau of Land 
Management, Utah State Office, Division of Lands and Minerals, PO Box 
45155, Salt Lake City, Utah 84145-0155. Information on the Joint 
Decision Notice/Finding of No Significant Impact can be obtained by 
contacting Mr. Stan Perkes, 801-539-4036 for the Bureau of Land 
Management or Mr. Karl Boyer or Mr. Carter Reed, 435-637-2817 at the 
Manti-La Sal National Forest Supervisors Office, Price, Utah. The 
appeal periods for Joint Decision Notice/Finding of No Significant 
Impact document for the Forest Service Decision to consent to leasing 
will end on April 4, 2003 and the appeal period for BLM's decision to 
lease will end on March 20, 2003. Any appeals must be postmarked as of 
these dates.

    Dated: February 24, 2003.
Kent Hoffman,
DSD, Division of Lands and Minerals.
[FR Doc. 03-4853 Filed 2-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-AG-P