[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 146 (Friday, July 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45612-45614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19093]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYP00000-L51100000-GA0000-LVEMK09CK380, WYW172684]


Notice of Availability of the Buckskin Mine Hay Creek II Coal 
Lease-by-Application Final Environmental Impact Statement, 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

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1969 (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Buckskin Mine Hay Creek II Coal Lease-by-Application (LBA) Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The tract is being considered for 
sale as a result of a coal lease application received from the operator 
of the adjacent Buckskin Mine in Campbell County, Wyoming.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Buckskin Mine Hay Creek II Final EIS within 30 
days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Please include 
``Hay Creek II Coal FEIS--Teresa Johnson'' in the subject line.
     FAX: 307-261-7587, Attn: Teresa Johnson.
     Mail: Wyoming High Plains District Office, Bureau of Land 
Management, Attn: Teresa Johnson, 2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, 
Wyoming 82604.
     Written comments may also be hand-delivered to the BLM 
Wyoming High Plains District Office in Casper.

Copies of the Final EIS are available at the following BLM office 
locations: BLM Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, 
Wyoming 82009; and the BLM Wyoming High Plains District Office, 2987 
Prospector Drive, Casper, Wyoming 82604. The Final EIS is available 
electronically at the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/hpd/HayCreekII.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Teresa Johnson or Mike Karbs at the 
BLM Wyoming High Plains District Office address above or telephone 307-
261-7600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final EIS analyzes and discloses to the 
public direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of 
issuing the Hay Creek II LBA, case number WYW172684, in the Wyoming 
portion of the decertified Powder River Federal Coal Production Region. 
The BLM is considering issuing a coal lease as a result of a March 24, 
2006, application submitted by Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc., to lease 
Federal coal near the Buckskin Mine approximately 12 miles north of 
Gillette, Wyoming.
    Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc. proposes to lease the tract as a 
maintenance tract to extend the life of the existing mining operations 
at the Buckskin Mine under the provisions of the Leasing on Application 
regulations at 43 CFR subpart 3425. BLM personnel reviewed the 
application and delineated a proposed tract that would best serve the 
public interest. The BLM's preferred tract delineation contains 
approximately 1,567 acres and approximately 277 million tons of in-
place coal. The lands are in Campbell County, Wyoming and are generally 
located within sections 7 through 9 and 17 through 19 in T. 52 N., R. 
72 W., 6th PM, Wyoming. If a decision is made to lease the coal, the 
lands will be specifically described in the Notice of Coal Lease Sale.
    The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) and 
the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) are cooperating 
agencies in the preparation of this Final EIS.
    If the tract is leased as a maintenance tract, the new lease will 
be incorporated into the existing mining and reclamation plan for the 
adjacent mine. The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) must approve 
the revision to the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) mining plan before the 
Federal coal can be mined. If the tract is leased, OSM is the Federal 
agency that would be responsible for recommending approval, approval 
with conditions, or disapproval of the revised MLA mining plan to the 
Secretary. The WDEQ has entered into a cooperative agreement with the 
Secretary to regulate surface coal mining operations on Federal and 
non-Federal lands within Wyoming.
    On December 21, 2007, the BLM published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to 
prepare an EIS for the Hay Creek II coal lease application in the 
Federal Register (72 FR 72750). A notice announcing the availability of 
the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register by the EPA on March 
12, 2010, (75 FR 11882). A 60-day comment period on the Draft EIS 
commenced with publication of the EPA's notice of availability and 
ended on May 10, 2010. The BLM published a Notice of Availability and 
Notice of Public Hearing in the Federal Register on March 12, 2010, (75 
FR 11906). The BLM's Federal Register notice announced the date and 
time of a public hearing, which was held on April 22, 2010, in 
Gillette, Wyoming. The purpose of the hearing was to solicit comments 
on the Draft EIS, fair market value, and the maximum economic recovery 
of the Federal coal. No statements were given as testimony at the 
public hearing. During the Draft EIS comment period, the BLM received 
eight comment letters, which are included in an appendix to the Final 
EIS with BLM's responses to the comments.
    The Final EIS analyzes leasing the Hay Creek II coal tract as-
applied-for 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 Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc. As part of 
the coal leasing process, the BLM identified an alternative tract 
configuration, which is the preferred alternative, to assure the 
maximum economic recovery of the coal, to avoid isolating or bypassing 
marketable coal, and to prompt competitive interest in the unleased 
Federal coal for this area. The alternate tract configuration that BLM 
has identified is described and analyzed as a separate alternative in 
the Final EIS. Under this alternative, a competitive sale would be held 
and a lease would be issued for Federal coal lands included in a tract 
modified by the BLM. The Final EIS 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 Final EIS are in conformance with the Resource Management Plan for 
Public Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management Buffalo 
Field Office (2001). A Record of Decision (ROD) will be prepared after 
the close of the 30-day review period for the Final EIS. Comments 
received on the Final EIS will be considered during preparation of the 
ROD.
    Copies of the Final EIS have been mailed to all parties on the 
mailing list for this project. Requests for copies can be made in 
writing, by facsimile, or electronically to the addresses listed at the 
beginning of this notice. The BLM asks that those submitting comments 
on the Final EIS 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 as part of the BLM decision-making process. 
Please note that 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 (7:45 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, 
except holidays.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, please be aware 
that your entire comment, including your personal identifying 
information, may

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be made publicly available at any time. While you may 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.

Donald A. Simpson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2011-19093 Filed 7-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P