[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42702-42703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19179]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLMT921000-17X-L51100000.GA0000-LVEME17CE530; NDM 107039; MO 
#4500107901]


Competitive Coal Lease Sale, North Dakota

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of coal lease sale.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the coal resources in the lands 
described below in McLean County, North Dakota, will be offered for 
competitive lease by sealed bid in accordance with the provisions of 
the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended.

DATES: The lease sale will be held at 11 a.m. on October 17, 2017. 
Sealed bids must be submitted on or before 10 a.m. on October 17, 2017.

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held in the 920 Conference Room of 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Montana-Dakotas State Office, 5001 
Southgate Drive, Billings, Montana 59101-4669. The Detailed Statement 
of Lease Sale, the proposed coal lease, and Casefile NDM 107039 are 
available at this address. Sealed bids must be submitted to the 
Cashier, BLM Montana-Dakotas State Office, at this same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Fesko by telephone at 406-896-
5080 or by email at [email protected]; or Connie Schaff by telephone at 
406-896-5060 or by email at [email protected]. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 
Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during 
normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a 
week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You 
will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This sale is being held in response to a 
Lease by Application (LBA) filed by the Falkirk Mining Company. The 
Federal coal resource to be offered consists of the Federal 50 percent 
interest in the mineable lignite coal in the following described lands:

T 146 N., R. 82 W., 5th P.M.
    Sec. 10: E\1/2\.

    The 320-acre tract, located in McLean County, North Dakota, 
contains an estimated 2.2 million tons of Federal in-place coal 
resources. The tract contains two mineable coal beds, the Hagel A and 
Hagel B beds. The Hagel A bed averages 7.6 feet in thickness with an 
average overburden depth of 89 feet, and the Hagel B bed averages 3.7 
feet in thickness with an average interburden thickness of 36 feet. The 
coal quality for the Hagel A and Hagel B beds combined averages 6,320 
BTU's per pound in heating value, 7.7 percent ash, and 0.59 percent 
sulfur content.
    The tract will be leased to the qualified bidder of the highest 
cash amount, provided that the high bid meets or exceeds the BLM's 
estimate of the fair-market value of the tract. The minimum bid for the 
tract is $100 per acre or fraction thereof. The minimum bid is not 
intended to represent fair market value. The fair-market value will be 
determined by the authorized officer after the sale.
    The sealed bids should be sent by certified mail, return-receipt 
requested, or be hand delivered to the Cashier, BLM Montana-Dakotas 
State Office, at the address given above and clearly marked ``Sealed 
Bid for NDM 107039 Coal Sale--Not to be opened before 11 a.m. October 
17, 2017.'' The cashier will issue a receipt for each hand-delivered 
bid. Bids received after 10 a.m. will not be considered. If identical 
high bids are received, the tying high bidders will be requested to 
submit follow-up sealed bids until a high bid is received. All tie-
breaking sealed bids must be submitted within 15 minutes following the 
sale official's announcement at the sale that identical high bids have 
been received. Prior to lease issuance, the high bidder, if other than 
the applicant, must pay to the BLM the cost-recovery fees in the amount 
of $121,806 in addition to all processing costs the BLM incurs after

[[Page 42703]]

the date of this sale notice (43 CFR 3473.2).
    A lease issued as a result of this offering will provide for 
payment of an annual rental of $3 per acre, or fraction thereof, and a 
royalty payable to the United States of 12.5 percent of the value of 
coal mined by surface methods and 8 percent of the value of coal mined 
by underground methods. Bidding instructions for the tract offered and 
the terms and conditions of the proposed coal lease are included in the 
Detailed Statement of Lease Sale. Copies of the statement and the 
proposed coal lease are available at the Montana-Dakotas State Office. 
Casefile NDM 107039 is also available for public inspection at the 
Montana-Dakotas State Office.

(Authority: 43 CFR 3422.3-2)

Richard M. Hotaling,
Acting Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-19179 Filed 9-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P