[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 170 (Friday, September 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52436-52437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17502]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[MT-030-1320-EL, NDM91535]


Notice of Availability of Coal Lease Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, North Dakota

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) on a Coal lease application received for Federal coal 
tracts in the West Mine Area, Freedom Mine, Mercer County, North 
Dakota; NDM91535.

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SUMMARY: Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); provisions 
in the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 
implementing regulations and other applicable statutes the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Federal coal 
leasing FEIS.
    The FEIS analyzes the impacts of issuing a Federal coal lease 
within the West Mine Area of the Freedom Mine, located in Mercer 
County, North Dakota, and includes 5571 acres of Federal coal.

DATES: Written comments on the FEIS will be accepted for 30 days 
following the date that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
publishes their NOA of the FEIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will 
notify all parties on the EIS mailing list of the dates when comments 
will be accepted.

ADDRESSES: Please address questions, comments, or concerns to the North 
Dakota Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Allen J. Ollila, 
2933 Third Avenue West, Dickinson, North Dakota 58601-2619, fax them to 
(701) 227-8510, or send e-mail comments to the attention of Allen J. 
Ollila at [email protected]. Copies of the FEIS are available for public 
inspection at local public libraries and at the following BLM office 
locations: External Affairs Office, Montana State Office, 5001 
Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59107; North Dakota Field Office, 2933 
Third Avenue West, Dickinson, ND 58601-2619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allen J. Ollila or Lonny R. Bagley at 
the above address or telephone: (701) 227-7700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 16, 2002, Coteau filed an 
application with BLM to lease Federal coal deposits beneath private 
surface at the following locations:

NDM91535

T. 144 N., R. 88 W., 5th P.M.
    Sec. 2: Lots 3, 4, S\1/2\NW\1/4\
    Sec. 4: Lots 1, 2, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\
    Sec. 6: All
    Sec. 8: N\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, NW\1/4\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\
T. 144 N., R. 89 W., 5th P.M.
    Sec. 12: E\1/2\
T. 145 N., R. 88 W., 5th P.M.
    Sec. 4: Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, S\1/2\N\1/2\, SE\1/4\, S\1/2\SW\1/4\
    Sec. 10: N\1/2\
    Sec. 14: All
    Sec. 22: All
    Sec. 26: N\1/2\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, NW\1/4\SE\1/4\, W\1/2\
    Sec. 28: E\1/2\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, S\1/2\
    Sec. 34: N\1/2\N\1/2\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, E\1/2\SE\1/4\, SW\1/
4\SE\1/4\, SW\1/4\

    Containing 5,571 acres (more or less), Mercer County, North 
Dakota.


    The Federal coal tract being considered for leasing is in the West 
Mine Area of the Freedom Mine, located north and west of Beulah, North 
Dakota. The operator (Coteau Properties Company) of this mine applied 
to lease the tract as a maintenance tract, to extend the life of their 
existing mining operation under the provisions of the Leasing By 
Application regulations at 43 CFR 3425.
    Private & State coal reserves within the West Mine Area currently 
have an approval to mine, and a reclamation plan from the Public 
Service Commission, State of North Dakota. Coteau Properties Company 
also has an approved air quality permit for

[[Page 52437]]

operations at the Freedom Mine. The Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) was available for public review from April 30, 2004, 
to June 29, 2004. The EPA and the BLM each published a Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register on April 30 and May 7, 2004, 
respectively. A formal public hearing on this application was held 
pursuant to 43 CFR 3425.4 on Wednesday June 23, 2004, at the Heritage 
Center, Bismarck, North Dakota. The purpose of the hearing was to 
solicit public comments on the DEIS, the fair market value, the maximum 
economic recovery, and the proposed competitive sale of coal included 
in the proposed tract. Three public meetings were also held on Tuesday 
June 1, 2004, at 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, New Town, North Dakota; on 
Wednesday June 2, 2004, at the Civic Center, Beulah, North Dakota; and 
on Thursday June 3, 2004, at Prairie Knights Casino & Lodge, Fort 
Yates, North Dakota. The purpose of the meetings was to present the 
DEIS to the public and to solicit comments regarding the DEIS. The 60-
day comment period on the DEIS ended on June 29, 2004. All comments 
were considered during the preparation of the final EIS.
    The draft and final EIS analyze leasing the tract as applied for. 
To avoid bypassing coal or to increase competitive interest in the 
unleased Federal coal in this area, BLM identified and evaluated other 
tract configurations. The tract configuration that BLM has identified 
as the preferred configuration is described and analyzed as alternative 
C in the EIS. The EIS also analyzes the alternative of rejecting the 
application to lease Federal coals (the No Action Alternative).
    To protect cultural values a small portion of Federal coal was 
bypassed. This preferred alternative was selected in consultation with 
American Indian Tribes. The Proposed Actions and Alternatives that are 
considered in the EIS are in conformance with the ``Approved Resource 
Management Plan for Public Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land 
Management North Dakota Field Office'' (1987).
    The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is a 
cooperating agency in the preparation of this EIS. If the tract is 
leased as a maintenance tract, the new lease must be incorporated into 
the existing mining and reclamation plan for the Freedom Mine and the 
Secretary of the Interior must approve each revision to the MLA 
(Mineral Leasing Act) mining plan for the mine before the Federal coal 
can be mined. OSM is the Federal agency that would be responsible for 
recommending approval, approval with conditions, or disapproval of the 
revised MLA mining plan to the office of the Secretary of the Interior 
if these tracts are leased.
    A Record of Decision (ROD) will be prepared for the LBA tract being 
considered for leasing. Comments received on the FEIS will be 
considered during preparation of the ROD. Comments, including names and 
street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at 
the Bureau of Land Management, North Dakota Field Office, 2933 Third 
Avenue West, Dickinson, North Dakota, during regular business hours (8 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays.
    [Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to 
withhold your name or street address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.]

Karen A. Wolf,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 05-17502 Filed 9-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-$$-P