[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1880-1881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00180]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNM-922000-L51100000-GA0000-LVEMG12CG300; NMNM-126813]


Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Notice 
of Public Hearing for the Peabody Natural Resources Company Federal 
Coal Lease Application, NM

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal coal management regulations, 
the Peabody Natural Resources Company, Federal Coal Lease-by-
Application Environmental Assessment (EA) is available for public 
review and comment. The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) New Mexico State Office, will hold a public hearing to 
receive comments on the EA, Fair Market Value (FMV), and Maximum 
Economic Recovery (MER) of the coal resources for Peabody Natural 
Resources Company, NMNM-126813.

DATES: The public hearing will be held at 3 p.m. on February 8, 2013. 
Written comments should be received no later than March 11, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Cibola County 
Convention Room, 515 West High St., Grants, New Mexico. Written 
comments should be sent to Gary Torres at the BLM Farmington Field 
Office, 6251 College Blvd., Suite A, Farmington, NM 87402 or by fax at 
505-564-7608. Copies of the Draft EA, the unsigned Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) and the MER report are available at the 
Farmington Field Office address above. The documents are also available 
electronically at the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/fo/Farmington_Field_Office/ffo_nepa/ffo_mineral_eas_open.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannon Hoefeler at 505-564-7732, 
[email protected], or Gary Torres at 505-564-7612, [email protected]. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to 
contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individuals. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A lease-by-application was filed by Peabody

[[Page 1881]]

Natural Resources Company. The coal resource to be offered is limited 
to coal recoverable by surface mining methods. The Federal coal is 
located in lands outside established coal production regions and may 
supplement the reserves at the El Segundo Mine. The Federal coal 
resources are located in McKinley County, New Mexico.

New Mexico Principal Meridian

T. 17 N., R. 9 W.,
Sec. 34, ALL.

    These lands contain 640 acres, more or less.

    The EA addresses the cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and 
cumulative impacts that would likely result from leasing these coal 
lands. Two alternatives are addressed in the EA:
    Alternative 1: (Proposed Action)--The tracts would be leased as 
requested in the application; and
    Alternative 2: (No Action)--The application would be rejected or 
denied. The Federal coal reserves would be bypassed.
    Proprietary data marked as confidential may be submitted to the BLM 
in response to this solicitation of public comments. Data so marked 
shall be treated in accordance with the laws and regulations governing 
the confidentiality of such information. A copy of the comments 
submitted by the public on the EA, FONSI, FMV, and MER, 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 BLM Farmington Field Office, 6251 College Blvd., 
Suite A, Farmington, NM 87402, during regular business hours from 9 
a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
    Comments on the EA, FMV, and MER should address, but not 
necessarily be limited to, the following:
    1. The quality and quantity of the coal resources;
    2. The method of mining to be employed to obtain MER of the coal, 
including: Specifications of the seams to be mined; timing and rate of 
production; restrictions to mining; and the inclusion of the tracts in 
an existing mining operation;
    3. The FMV appraisal including, but not limited to: the evaluation 
of the tract as an incremental unit of an existing mine; quality and 
quantity of the coal resource; potential sales value of the severed 
coal; mining and reclamation costs; net present value discount factors; 
depreciation and other tax accounting factors; the mining method or 
methods; and any comparable sales data on similar coal lands. The 
values given above may or may not change as a result of comments 
received from the public and changes in market conditions between now 
and when final economic evaluations are completed.
    Written comments on the EA, MER, and FMV should be sent to Gary 
Torres at the above address or sent via email to [email protected] prior 
to close of business March 11, 2013. Please note ``Coal Lease by 
Application'' in the subject line for all emails. Substantive comments, 
whether written or oral, will receive equal consideration prior to any 
lease offering.
    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.

    Authority:  43 CFR parts 3422 and 3425.

Jesse J. Juen,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-00180 Filed 1-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-FB-P