[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 225 (Friday, November 21, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65678-65679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29100]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Gray Mountain Coal Lease Proposal

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA; Cooperating Agencies: Bureau of Land 
Management, (BLM) and the Office of Surface Mining (OSM).

ACTION: Public hearing on the Gray Mountain Coal Lease Proposal.

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SUMMARY: As the lead federal agency, in cooperation with the BLM, the 
Daniel Boone National Forest hereby announces that the BLM will conduct 
a public hearing to accept comments on the Gray Mountain Coal Lease 
Land Use Analysis and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (LUA and 
DEIS). This hearing is being held in accordance with regulations found 
at 43 CFR 3425.4. This hearing is being conducted to receive public 
input on a proposal to offer federal coal in a competitive lease sale 
as addressed in the LUA and DEIS. The 1,210.44 acres proposed for 
leasing are located within the Daniel Boone National Forest in Leslie 
County, Kentucky.

DATE COMMENTS ARE DUE: The public hearing is being held on November 24, 
2003 at 2 p.m. The comment period closes on November 24, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information related to this 
hearing, contact Sid Vogelpohl, Assistant Field Manager, Mineral 
Resources, BLM, Eastern States, Jackson Field Office. He can be reached 
at (601) 977-5402, or by mail at 411 Briarwood Dr., Suite 404, Jackson, 
MS 39206.
    For information related to the LUA and DEIS, please contact Corey 
Miller, the interdisciplinary team leader for this proposed action, at 
the Daniel Boone National Forest, 1700 Bypass Road, Winchester, KY 
40391, or by telephone at (859) 745-3149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This public hearing is scheduled for 
November 24, 2003. The hearing will be held at 2 p.m. at the Leslie 
County

[[Page 65679]]

Extension Services Office, 22045 Main Street, in Hyden, Kentucky.
    The U.S. Forest Service is the lead agency preparing the LUA and 
DEIS to analyze the environmental impacts of leasing three federal coal 
tracts. The 1,210.44 acres proposed for leasing lie in three separate 
tracts within lands administered by the Redbird Ranger District of the 
Daniel Boone National Forest. The three USFS tracts are located on and 
around Gray Mountain, between the Beech Fork and Greasy Creek drainages 
in southern Leslie County. The lease applicant proposes to mine the 
federal coal by underground methods from an existing mining operation.
    The Notice of Intent to prepare this LUA and DEIS was announced in 
the Federal Register on February 13, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 30, pages 
7338-7340). By Federal Register Notice of September 18, 2003 (Volume 
68, Number 181, pages 54706-54707), process changes were announced 
along with the name of the project being changed from the ``Beech Fork 
Coal Lease Proposal'' to ``Gray Mountain Coal Lease Proposal''.
    The U.S. Forest Service provided copies of the LUA and DEIS to the 
public and agencies on about September 19, 2003. The U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency announced the availability of the LUA and DEIS in the 
Federal Register dated October 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 197, page 
58668). This hearing provides another opportunity for the public to 
comment on the project.

    Dated: November 17, 2003.
Gary R. Coleman,
Acting Forest Supervisor, Daniel Boone National Forest.
[FR Doc. 03-29100 Filed 11-20-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M