[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 74643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31837]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ES-020-03-1320-EL]


Notice of Availability of Draft Land Use Analysis/Environmental 
Assessment, Public Comment Period and Public Hearing

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management's Eastern States, Jackson Field 
Office, has prepared a Draft Land Use Analysis/Environmental Assessment 
(LUA/EA) to address coal lease application ALES-51589.

DATES: Written comments must be post-marked on or before January 31, 
2004 and provided to the below address.

ADDRESSES: Written comments must be provided to the Bureau of Land 
Management, Jackson Field Office, 411 Briarwood, Suite 404; Jackson, MS 
39206.
    Public Hearing: The public hearing will be held on January 8, 2004 
at 7 p.m. in the Berry Community Center located at 104 Barnes Avenue, 
Berry, Alabama. Written comments may be provided by members of the 
public regardless if they attend the hearing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lars Johnson, Bureau of Land 
Management, Jackson, Mississippi, at (601) 977-5400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The LUA/EA has been prepared in cooperation 
with the Office of Surface Mining and the Alabama Surface Mining 
Commission. Public comments are requested on the LUA/EA and fair market 
value (FMV) and maximum economic recovery (MER) of the tracts included 
in the lease application proposed to be offered for competitive lease 
sale. The coal in the tracts would be mined by underground methods. The 
tracts located in Sections 14, 15, 21, 22, 27, 28, 31, and 33, T 16 S, 
R 10 W, Huntsville Meridian in Fayette County, Alabama; encompass 
2,887.2 acres.
    Estimated recoverable federal reserves from the Pratt Seam are 
10.789 million tons of federal coal. The proximate analysis of the coal 
is as follows: moisture--2.8%, ash--10%, volatiles--36.1%, fixed 
carbon--51.3%, Btu/lb--13,000 and sulfur--2.1%.
    The public is invited to comment on the FMV and MER of the tracts 
proposed to be offered for lease and on factors that may affect FMV and 
MER. In addition, the LUA/EA is available on request from the below-
listed contact person and address. A public hearing will be held on the 
FMV, MER and LUA/EA.
    Comments that address the effect of mining the coal (underground 
methods) on the environment, as presented in the LUA/EA, are solicited. 
The public review period for the LUA/EA will be from December 23, 2003 
to January 31, 2004. A public hearing will be held, as indicated below.
    Procedures for leasing federal coal are provided by 43 CFR 1600 and 
3400. The notice to prepare this LUA/EA was published in the Federal 
Register on June 20, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 119; pages 37017-37018). 
This notice of availability of the LUA/EA, public comment period and 
public hearing are required by 43 CFR 3422.1 and 43 CFR 3425.3.
    As provided by 43 CFR 3422.1(a), proprietary data marked as 
confidential may be provided 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 FMV and MER, except 
those portions identified as proprietary and meeting exemptions stated 
in the Freedom of Information Act, will be available for public 
inspection at the Bureau of Land Management office noted above.
    Comments on FMV and MER should address, but are not limited to the 
following factors:
    1. The method of mining to be employed in order to obtain MER,
    2. The method of determining FMV for the coal to be offered.
    If you wish to withhold your name or address from public review or 
from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you must 
state this prominently at the beginning of your written comments. Such 
requests will be honored to the extent allowed by FOIA. All submissions 
from organizations, businesses and individuals identifying themselves 
as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses will be 
available for public inspection in entirety.

    Dated: October 10, 2003.
Sid Vogelpohl,
Acting Field Manager, Jackson Field Office.
[FR Doc. 03-31837 Filed 12-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P