[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6825-6826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2765]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement


Notice of Receipt of a Petition To Designate Lands Unsuitable for 
Mining and To Prepare a Petition Evaluation Document and Environmental 
Impact Statement

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a combined petition evaluation 
document/environmental impact statement, and notice of scoping meeting 
and scoping comment period for the petition.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office of Surface Mining 
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) intends to prepare a combined 
petition evaluation document/environmental impact statement (PED/EIS) 
for the decision on a petition to designate certain lands within the 
North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area and the Emory River Tracts 
Conservation Easement in Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, and Scott 
Counties, Tennessee, as unsuitable for surface coal mining and 
reclamation operations in accordance with Section 522 of the Surface 
Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977. OSM has identified 
three alternatives that the combined PED/EIS would evaluate as 
described in the supplementary information of this notice. OSM requests 
that other Federal and state agencies and the public submit written 
comments or statements on the need for an EIS on the petition and the 
scope of the issues which should be analyzed in the combined document.

DATES: Written comments must be received by 5 p.m. (EDT), April 14, 
2011. Oral and written comments may be presented at one of the three 
scoping meetings. The scoping meetings will be held at: Huntsville 
Middle School at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) on March 8, 2011; LaFollette Middle 
School, at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) on March 10, 2011; and Oak Ridge High School 
at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) on March 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted via e-mail to 
[email protected] or mailed or hand delivered to the Office of Surface 
Mining, Field Office Director, Attn: Earl D. Bandy Jr., John J. Duncan 
Federal Building, 710 Locust Street, Second Floor, Knoxville, Tennessee 
37902.
    Copies of the petition are available upon request from the OSM at 
the above address. Copies of the petition are also available via the 
internet at http://tn.gov/environment/lumpetition.shtml.
    The public record on the petition is available for review during 
normal working hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at the OSM office listed 
above. The March 8 scoping meeting will be held at the Huntsville 
Middle School, 3101 Baker Highway, Huntsville, Tennessee. The March 10 
scoping meeting will be held at the LaFollette Middle School, 1309 East 
Central Avenue, LaFollette, Tennessee. The March 15 scoping meeting 
will be held at the Oak Ridge High School, 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak 
Ridge, Tennessee.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Earl D. Bandy Jr., at the OSM office 
listed above (telephone: 865-545-4103 ex.186).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 1, 2010, the State of Tennessee 
petitioned the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSM), United States Department of the Interior, to designate certain 
lands within the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area and the 
Emory River Tracts Conservation Easement in Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, 
and Scott Counties, Tennessee as unsuitable for surface coal mining 
operations pursuant to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 
of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). The petition was amended on November 
5, 2010, and deemed administratively complete and accepted for 
processing on November 23, 2010. The petition as accepted is a 28-page 
document with a one-page exhibit. The amendment consisted of a three-
page cover letter, two exhibits totaling nine pages and four CD's 
containing various reference documents in support of their position. 
The Federal Program for Tennessee, as administered by OSM, applies to 
all surface coal mining operations in Tennessee including the 
processing of lands unsuitable for mining petitions (30 CFR part 942).
    The petition area occupies approximately 67,326 acres in Scott, 
Campbell, Anderson, and Morgan Counties, Tennessee and is identified as 
the land within 600 feet on each side (1,200 feet total) of all ridge 
lines lying within the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (WMA) 
which is comprised of the Royal Blue WMA, the Sundquist WMA, and the 
New River WMA (also known as the Brimstone Tract Conservation Easement) 
and the Emory River Tracts Conservation Easement.
    The major allegations of the petition can be summarized as follows:
    1. Surface mining operations in the petition area would be 
incompatible with the conservation goals of Tennessee's ``Connecting 
the Cumberland's'' project, as well as with various state land use 
plans, programs and strategies that govern and set goals for the lands 
within and downstream of the petition area.
    2. Surface mining operations in the petition area would 
significantly damage the natural systems and esthetic, recreational, 
cultural, and historic values of the ridge lines and their viewsheds 
that exist within these fragile lands.

[[Page 6826]]

    OSM has identified three possible alternatives that the combined 
PED/EIS would evaluate:
     Alternative 1--Designate the entire petition area as 
unsuitable for surface coal mining operations.
     Alternative 2--Not designate any of the area as unsuitable 
for surface coal mining operations.
     Alternative 3--Designate parts of the petition area as 
unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations.

A scoping comment period is intended to raise the relevant issues to be 
addressed by the combined document. OSM seeks public comments in 
relation to the scope of issues to be addressed by the impact 
evaluation, including impacts and alternatives that should be 
addressed. Written comments should be specific and confined to issues 
pertinent to the petition. The public comments received during the 
scoping period will assist OSM in making decisions on the petition 
evaluation and in preparing the PED/EIS. OSM believes that the proposed 
action is a major Federal action that may significantly affect the 
quality of the human environment and may require the preparation of an 
EIS. OSM additionally gives notice here that should information or 
analyses show that the proposed action does not require an EIS, we will 
terminate the EIS process through an appropriate notice in the Federal 
Register, prepare an environmental assessment, and continue processing 
of the petition under the regulations at 30 CFR parts 764 and 942.

    Dated: January 31, 2011.
Sterling Rideout,
Assistant Director, Program Support.
[FR Doc. 2011-2765 Filed 2-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P