[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7057-7058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1870]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ES-020-06-1320-EL]


Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Public 
Hearing for Coal Lease by Application KYES-50213

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Chas Coal LLC lease by 
application KYES-50213 environmental assessment and Federal coal notice 
of public hearing, and request for Environmental Assessment, Maximum 
Economic Recovery, and Fair Market Value comments.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States Office, 
Springfield, Virginia, hereby gives notice that an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) is available and a public hearing will be held to lease 
Federal coal pursuant to 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 3425.4. 
The EA analyzes and discloses direct, indirect, and cumulative 
environmental impacts of issuing competitively a Federal coal lease for 
314.53 acres in the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF) Clay County, 
Kentucky. The purpose of the public hearing is to solicit comments from 
the public on (1) The proposal to issue a Federal coal lease; (2) the 
proposed competitive lease sale; (3) the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the 
Federal coal; and (4) Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) of the Federal 
coal included in the tracts.

DATES: Written comments must be post-marked by March 13, 2006 and 
provided to the BLM Jackson Field Office (listed below). The public 
hearing will be held at the Clay County Public Library on February 27, 
2006 at 6 pm.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to the Bureau of Land 
Management, Jackson Field Office, 411 Briarwood, Suite 404, Jackson, MS 
39206 where copies of the EA are available upon request or for 
inspection. The public hearing will be held on

[[Page 7058]]

February 27, 2006 at 6 p.m. at the Clay County Public Library located 
at 211 Bridge Street, in Manchester, Kentucky.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stuart Grange, Bureau of Land 
Management, Jackson, Mississippi 39206, at (601) 977-5400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 3, 1998 Chas Coal LLC submitted 
a lease by application serialized as KYES-50213. The coal in the LBA is 
to be developed by conventional underground methods. The tracts, 
designated 545b and 3094 Parcel 1 and Parcel 2 in the National Forest 
System, are located on the upper end of the Left Fork of Blue Hole 
Creek in southern Clay County on the DBNF and encompass 314.53 acres. 
Estimated recoverable federal reserves of bituminous coal from the 
Hazard No. 8 seam are 792,335 tons. The proximate analysis of the coal 
is as follows: 14,033 BTU/lb. with 2.12% moisture, 0.87 sulfur, 5.03 
ash, 54.26 fixed carbon, and 38.58 volatile matter.
    The EA consists of an analyst of environmental impacts that could 
result from leasing Federal coal and the alternatives. In accordance 
with the Federal coal management regulations 43 CFR 3422 and 3425, not 
less than 30 days prior to the publication of a notice of sale, the 
Secretary shall solicit public comments on the EA, FMV and MER of the 
tracts proposed to be offered for lease and on factors that may affect 
FMV and MER. In addition, notice is also given that a public hearing 
will be held on (insert hearing date) requesting comments on the EA, 
FMV, and MER.
    Procedures for leasing Federal coal are provided by 43 CFR 3400. 
The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (lead 
agency) the Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States' Jackson Field 
Office, the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining, 
and the Kentucky Department of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement, cooperative agencies, prepared a Land Use Analysis and 
Environmental Assessment (LUA/EA) to address coal lease application 
KYES-50213. The DBNF, Redbird Ranger District mailed scoping letters to 
all individuals on the district mailing list requesting public input on 
the LUA/EA in 1999, and again on May 28, 2004. Public Notices 
requesting input concerning this tract was published in the Manchester 
Enterprise, Manchester, Kentucky, on June 3, 2004, and June 10, 2004, 
and on the DBNF web site. The DBNF signed a Decision Record consenting 
to allow leasing and signed a Finding of No Significant Impact.
    Comments on the EA, 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;
    3. The quality and quantity of the coal resource;
    4. If this resource is likely to be mined as part of an existing 
mine;
    5. The price that the mined coal would bring when sold;
    6. Costs, including mining and reclamation, of producing the coal 
and the times of production and impacts the leasehold may have on the 
area;
    7. Depreciation and other tax accounting factors;
    8. The percentage rate at which anticipated income streams should 
be discounted, either in the absence of inflation or with inflation, in 
which case the anticipated rate of inflation should be given;
    9. Any comparable sales data of similar coal lands; and
    10. Restrictions to mining which may affect coal recovery.
    The values given above may or may not change as a result of 
comments received from the public and changes in market conditions 
between now and when final economic evaluations are completed.
    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 (FOIA), will be available for public 
inspection at the Bureau of Land Management office noted above.
    If you wish to withhold your name or address from public review or 
from disclosure under the FOIA, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your written comments. Such requests will be honored to 
the extent allowed by the 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 its entirety.

David Stout,
Acting Associate State Director, Eastern States.
[FR Doc. E6-1870 Filed 2-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P