[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 57 (Friday, March 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14941-14942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2599]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-040-1320-EL, WYW160394]


Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for the Pit 14 Coal Lease-by-Application (LBA) and 
Federal Coal Notice of Hearing, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: NOA of the DEIS for the Pit 14 Coal LBA, a maintenance lease 
for Federal coal in the decertified Green River-Hamms Fork Coal 
Production Region, Wyoming and Notice of Public Hearing.

DATES: The DEIS will be available for review and comment for 60 
calendar days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
publishes its NOA in the Federal Register. The Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) can best use comments and resource information if they 
are submitted by, or before, close of business the day of the end of 
the comment and review period. If you are uncertain as to what 
constitutes acceptable comment format or when comments are due, please 
contact the Project Manager or the Rock Springs Field Office at the 
address below. The public hearing will be held at 2 p.m. MST, on May 
10, 2006, at the BLM, Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North, 
Rock Springs, Wyoming, to solicit comments on the DEIS from the public 
on the proposed competitive sale of the Federal coal included in the 
Pit 14 LBA and on the fair market value and maximum economic recovery 
of the Federal coal included in the tract.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the DEIS was sent to affected Federal, State, and 
local government agencies and to interested parties. The document may 
also be available electronically on the following Web site: http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/nepadocs.htm. Copies of the DEIS will be available 
for public inspection at the following locations:
     Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, 5353 
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003.
     Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, 280 
Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Teri Deakins, Project Manager, BLM 
Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 
82901. Requests for information may be sent electronically to: rock 
[email protected] with ``Attention: Pit 14 Coal Lease-by-
Application DEIS Information Request'' in the subject line. Ms. Deakins 
may also be reached at (307) 352-0211.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Black Butte Coal Company (BBCC) filed a 
lease application with BLM to access Federal coal reserves located 
adjacent to their existing Black Butte Mine in Sweetwater County, 
Wyoming. The LBA tract is located approximately 28 miles southeast of 
Rock Springs, Wyoming. The LBA tract is composed of the following 
public lands and minerals.

T. 17 N., R. 101 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Sec. 2, Lots 3, 4, SW\1/4\NW\1/4\; Sec. 4, Lots 1, 2, S\1/
2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\; 
Sec. 10, NW\1/4\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\;
     T. 18 N., R. 101 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Sec. 34, E\1/2\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, SW\1/4\.

    Containing 1399.48 acres, more or less.

    BBCC estimates approximately 34.6 million tons of in-place coal 
reserves are present in the Upper Cretaceous Almond Formation within 
the project area. The project area contains the LBA tract and privately 
held lands and minerals. BLM will evaluate the volume and average 
quality of the coal reserves in the LBA portion of the project area as 
part of the fair market value determination process.
    The BLM published its Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the 
Pit 14 Coal Lease-by-Application (Federal Coal Lease Application 
WYW160394) in the Federal Register on January 7, 2005. Based upon 
issues and concerns identified during scoping and during the 
development of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, the 
Pit 14 Coal Lease-by-Application DEIS focuses on individual and 
cumulative impacts to air quality, biological and physical resources, 
transportation, and socio-economics factors. In compliance with Section 
7(c), of the Endangered Species Act, as amended, the DEIS includes a

[[Page 14942]]

discussion of endangered or threatened species which may be affected by 
the Proposed Action. Formal consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service was initiated for Colorado River fish species on November 10, 
2005.
    This DEIS assesses the effects of implementing the proposed action 
which is the leasing of the coal reserves in the LBA tract as a 
maintenance tract to the existing Black Butte Mine.
    The Pit 14 Coal LBA DEIS analyzes two alternatives in detail:
    1. Proposed Action. The alternative as proposed by BBCC analyses 
the impacts of leasing Federal coal and the impacts associated with 
surface mining.
    2. No Action Alternative. This alternative would deny the coal 
lease as proposed.

Agency Preferred Alternative

    BLM's preferred alternative is the Proposed Action. The Proposed 
Action is in conformance with the Green River Resource Management Plan.
    The Black Butte Coal Mine started operations in the late 1970s and 
continues to operate today. Existing production is slowing because 
existing privately held and federally leased coal reserves are too deep 
to be economically recovered by conventional surface mining methods 
(draglines). As a result, additional mineable coal reserves are needed 
to meet production requirements of the company's customers including 
the Jim Bridger Power Plant to meet the growing regional demand for 
electricity.

How to Submit Comments

    Comments must be submitted using one of the following methods:
    1. Comments may be electronically mailed to rock [email protected] with ``Attention: Pit 14 Coal Lease-by-Application'' in 
the subject line, and avoiding the use of special characters or any 
form of encryption. If you do not receive a confirmation from our 
system that your comment has been received, please contact Teri 
Deakins, Project Manager, Rock Springs Field Office, (307) 352-0211;
    2. Written comments may be mailed directly or delivered to the BLM 
at: Project Manager, Pit 14 Coal LBA, Bureau of Land Management Rock 
Springs Field Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 82901;
    3. Comments may be sent via telefax to the BLM, Attn: Teri Deakins, 
at (307) 352-0328.
    4. Comments may be given at the public hearing to be held at 2 p.m. 
MST, on May 10, 2006, at the BLM, Rock Springs Field Office, 280 
Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, Wyoming.
    To be given consideration by BLM, all DEIS comments must include 
the commenter's name and street address.
    BLM's practice is to make all comments, including the names and 
street addresses of each respondent, available for public review at the 
BLM office listed above during business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), 
Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays. Your comments may 
be published as part of the EIS process. Individual respondents may 
request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street 
address or both from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom 
of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of 
your written comments. Such requests will be honored to the extent 
allowed by law. BLM will not consider anonymous comments. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses will be made available for 
public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: January 13, 2006.
Robert A. Bennett,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 06-2599 Filed 3-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P