[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 246 (Monday, December 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78389-78390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30385]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLUT92000-09-L13200000-EL0000-24-1A00, UTU-86038]


Adequacy of the Environmental Assessment and Fair Market Value 
Public Meeting for the Miller Canyon Coal Tract, Emery County, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management.

ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting and Call for Public Comment on the 
Proposed Sale, Adequacy of the Environmental Assessment, Fair Market 
Value determination and Maximum Economic Recovery consideration for 
Coal Lease Application UTU-86038.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a public meeting 
on January 21, 2009, at 7 p.m. at the Emery City Town Hall, 15 South 
Center, Emery, Utah, for the proposed competitive sale, of the Miller 
Canyon coal tract. BLM requests public comment on the fair market value 
and environmental effects of this tract. BLM is in the process of 
completing the

[[Page 78390]]

Environmental Assessment that will address the environmental effects of 
mining this tract. The lands included in the delineated Federal coal 
lease tract (``Miller Canyon'') are located in Emery County, Utah, 
approximately three miles south of Emery, Utah, on private lands with 
federally administered minerals and are described as follows:

T. 22 S., R. 6 E., SLM, Emery County, Utah
    Sec. 23, S\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 26, NW\1/4\NW\1/4\.

    Approximately 120.00 acres.

    Consolidated Coal Company submitted the application for the coal 
lease. The company plans to mine the coal as an extension from their 
existing Emery Mine, if the lease is obtained. The Miller Canyon coal 
tract has one minable coal bed; the I seam bed. The minable portions of 
the coal bed in this area are around ten feet in thickness. The tract 
contains more than 560,000 tons of recoverable high-volatile B 
bituminous coal. The I coal bed may be recoverable but further analysis 
will be required through the R2P2 review and approval process to make 
this determination. The coal quality in the I coal bed on an ``as 
received basis'' is as follows: 12,180 Btu/lb., 6.1 percent moisture, 
8.4 percent ash, 38.9 percent volatile matter, 47.2 percent fixed 
carbon and 1.1 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 Emery County Progress located in Castle Dale, Utah. 
43 CFR 3422 states that, no less than 30 days prior to the publication 
of the notice of the sale, the Secretary shall submit public comments 
on the Fair Market Value appraisal and the 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 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 the 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 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 revaluated 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 Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 
at the Emery City Town Hall, address 15 South Center, starting at 7 
p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Written comments on the Fair Market 
Value and Maximum Economic Recovery must be received by January 16, 
2009, and should be addressed to Stan Perkes, 801-539-4036, Bureau of 
Land Management, Utah State Office, Division of Lands and Minerals, 
P.O. Box 45155, Salt Lake City, Utah 84145 or E-mail to [email protected]. Information on the Decision Notice/Finding of No 
Significant Impact can be obtained by contacting Mr. Steve Rigby, 435-
636-3604.

    Dated: December 15, 2008.
Selma Sierra,
State Director.
 [FR Doc. E8-30385 Filed 12-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P