[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 74 (Friday, April 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 20638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-8545]



[[Page 20638]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Fair Market Value Meeting for the Summit Creek Coal Tract, Carbon 
County, Utah

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-79975.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a public meeting 
on April 22, 2004, for the proposed competitive sale, of the Summit 
Creek Coal Tract. BLM requests public comment on the fair market value 
and environmental effects of this tract. The BLM signed a Finding of No 
Significant Impact/Decision Record dated April 9, 2004 that discusses 
the environmental effects of mining this tract. The lands included in 
the delineated Federal coal lease tract are located in Carbon County, 
Utah approximately 5 miles north of Price, Utah on public lands under 
the jurisdiction of the BLM Price Field Office and are described as 
follows:

SLM, Carbon County, Utah

T. 12 S., R. 11 E.,
    Section 29, SWSW, SWSE;
    Section 30, Lots 4, 12, 14-16;
    Section 31, Lots 1, 2, 7-11;
    Section 32, W2NE, E2NW, NWNW, NESW.

    Approximately 702.73 acres more or less.
    Andalex Resources submitted the application for the coal lease. The 
company plans to mine the coal as an extension from their existing 
Aberdeen mine if the lease is obtained. The Summit Creek coal tract is 
minable in the Aberdeen coal bed. The minable portions of the coal beds 
in this area are from 6 to 10 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 
follows: 12,756 Btu/lb., 5.95 percent moisture, 4.63 percent ash, 44.73 
percent volatile matter, 45.69 percent fixed carbon and 0.44 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 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 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 Thursday, April 22, 2004 at 
the BLM Price Field Office, 125 So. 600 W, Price, Utah, starting at 7 
p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Written comments on the Fair Market 
Value and Maximum Economic Recovery must be received by May 14, 2003 
and should be addressed to Mr. Jeff McKenzie, 801-539-4038, Bureau of 
Land Management, Utah State Office, Division of Lands and Minerals, 
P.O. Box 45155, Salt Lake City, Utah 84145-0155. Information on the 
Finding of No Significant Impact/Decision Record can be obtained by 
contacting Mr. Jeff McKenzie, 801-539-4038, or Mr. Steve Falk, 435-636-
3605 at the BLM Price Field Office. The appeal periods for the Finding 
of No Significant Impact/Decision Record document and the appeal period 
for BLM's decision to lease will end on May 9, 2004. Any appeals must 
be postmarked as of these dates.

Douglas P. Bauer,
Acting Deputy State Director, Division of Lands and Minerals.
[FR Doc. 04-8545 Filed 4-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-$$-P