[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 52 (Monday, March 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14267-14268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5310]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-060-1320-EL, WYW163340]


Notice of Availability of the West Antelope II Federal Coal Lease 
by Application Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of 
Hearing, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for the West Antelope II Federal Coal Lease By 
Application (LBA) and by this Notice is announcing the opening of the 
comment period and a public hearing on the DEIS, Maximum Economic 
Recovery (MER), and Fair Market Value (FMV) associated with the 
proposed lease sale pursuant to 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
3425.4. The DEIS analyzes the potential impacts for coal LBA WYW163340, 
referred to as the West Antelope II tract, in the decertified Powder 
River Federal Coal Production Region, Wyoming.

DATES: To ensure they will be considered, the BLM must receive written 
comments on the DEIS, MER, and FMV within 60 days following the date 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of 
Availability of this DEIS in the Federal Register. The public hearing 
will be held at 7 p.m. MST, on March 24, 2008, at the Best Western 
Douglas Inn, 1450 Riverbend Drive, Douglas, Wyoming. The BLM will 
announce future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement 
activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media 
news releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    E-mail: [email protected].
    Fax: 307-261-7587.
    Mail: Casper Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Sarah 
Bucklin, 2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, Wyoming 82604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Bucklin or Mike Karbs by mail at 
2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, Wyoming 82604, by phone at 307-261-7600, 
or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM is considering issuing a coal lease 
as a result of an April 6, 2005, application made by Antelope Coal 
Company (Antelope) to lease the Federal coal in the West Antelope II 
coal tract. This tract is located in Converse and Campbell counties and 
is near the Antelope Mine, approximately 50 miles north of Douglas, 
Wyoming. The DEIS analyzes and discloses to the public the direct, 
indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of issuing a Federal 
coal lease in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin. A copy of 
the DEIS has been sent to affected Federal, State, and local government 
agencies; persons and entities identified as potentially being affected 
by a decision to lease the Federal coal in this tract; and persons who 
indicated to the BLM that they wished to receive a copy of the DEIS. 
The purpose of the public hearing is to solicit comments on the DEIS, 
on the proposed competitive sale of the West Antelope II coal tract, 
and comments on the FMV and MER of the Federal coal.
    Antelope originally applied for the tract in accordance with 43 CFR 
part 3425 in order to extend the life of the existing Antelope Mine. 
The applicant estimated that the tract includes approximately 429.7 
million tons of in-place Federal coal underlying the following lands in 
Converse and Campbell Counties, Wyoming:

T. 40 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Section 5: Lot 18;
    Section 8: Lots 1 through 3, 6 through 11, 14 through 16;

[[Page 14268]]

    Section 9: Lots 2 through 16;
    Section 10: Lots 5, 6, 11 through 14;
T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming;
    Section 9: Lots 9 through 16;
    Section 10: Lots 11 through 15;
    Section 14: Lots 3 and 4;
    Section 15: Lots 1 through 5, 12, 13;
    Section 20: Lots 14 through 16;
    Section 21: Lots 1 through 16;
    Section 22: Lots 2, 7, 8, 14 through 16;
    Section 27: Lots 6 through 11;
    Section 28: Lots 1 through 8;
    Section 29: Lots 1 through 3, 6 through 8.

    Containing 4,108.6 acres, more or less.

    The Antelope Mine is adjacent to the LBA and has an approved mining 
and reclamation plan from the Land Quality Division of the Wyoming 
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and an approved air quality 
permit from the Air Quality Division of the Wyoming DEQ that allows 
them to mine up to 42 million tons of coal per year.
    The Board of Commissioners of Converse County, Wyoming; the Wyoming 
Department of Environmental Quality Air Quality Division and Land 
Quality Division; the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement; and the U.S. Forest Service are cooperating agencies in 
the preparation of the DEIS.
    The DEIS analyzes leasing the West Antelope II coal tract as the 
Proposed Action. Under the Proposed Action, a competitive sale would be 
held and a lease issued for Federal coal in the tract as applied for by 
Antelope. As part of the coal leasing process, the BLM is evaluating an 
additional alternative that would add up to 2,200.6 adjacent acres of 
Federal coal to the tract to assure the maximum economic recovery of 
coal, to avoid isolating or bypassing marketable coal, or to prompt 
competitive interest in the unleased Federal coal for this area. These 
additional lands, located in T. 40 N., R. 71 W. and T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 
could potentially add another 65 million tons of in-place Federal coal 
to the West Antelope II LBA tract. The alternate tract configuration 
that BLM is evaluating is described and analyzed as a separate 
alternative in the DEIS. Under this alternative, a competitive sale 
would be held and a lease issued for Federal coal lands included in a 
tract modified by the BLM. The DEIS also analyzes the alternative of 
rejecting the application to lease Federal coal as the No Action 
Alternative. The Proposed Action and alternatives being considered in 
the DEIS are in conformance with the Approved Resource Management Plan 
for Public Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management Buffalo 
Field Office (2001), the Bureau of Land Management Casper Field Office 
Resource Management Plan (2007), and the USDA-Forest Service Land and 
Resource Management Plan for the Thunder Basin National Grassland 
(2002).
    Requests to be included on the mailing list for this project and 
for copies of the DEIS may be sent in writing, by facsimile, or 
electronically to the addresses previously stated at the beginning of 
this notice. The BLM asks that those submitting comments on the DEIS 
make them as specific as possible with reference to page numbers and 
chapters of the document. Comments that contain only opinions or 
preferences will not receive a formal response; however, they will be 
considered and included as part of the BLM decision-making process.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and e-mail addresses of respondents 
will be available for public review and disclosure at the above address 
during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through 
Friday, except holidays.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    Copies of the DEIS are available for public inspection at the 
following BLM office locations: BLM Wyoming State Office, 5353 
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009; and BLM Casper Field Office, 
2987 Prospector Lane, Casper, Wyoming 82604. The DEIS is available 
electronically on the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/cfodocs/West_Antelope_II.html.

    Dated: January 31, 2008.
Robert A. Bennett,
State Director.
 [FR Doc. E8-5310 Filed 3-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P