[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 393-394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-28407]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 189S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 
18XS501520]


Notice of Availability of the Western Energy Company's Rosebud 
Mine Area F Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, U.S. 
Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 
and Enforcement (OSMRE) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Western Energy Company's Rosebud Mine Area F 
(Project) in southeastern Montana and by this notice is announcing the 
opening of the comment period. The Montana Department of Environmental 
Quality (DEQ) is a co-lead on this EIS process.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, OSMRE will accept 
electronic or written comments on or before 45 days from the date that 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes the Notice of 
Availability for the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. OSMRE will 
publish in the Federal Register and/or local newspapers the date, time, 
and location of the public meeting on the Draft EIS. If you are a 
disabled individual who needs reasonable accommodation to attend the 
public meeting, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT after we publish the notice of the specific meeting 
location and date.

ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS is available for review at: https://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/initiatives/westernEnergy/documentLibrary.shtm. 
Paper and computer compact disk (CD) copies of the Draft EIS are 
available for review at the OSMRE Western Region Office, 1999 Broadway 
Street, Suite 3320, Denver, Colorado 80202. In addition, a paper and CD 
copy of the Draft EIS is available for review at each of the following 
locations:

    Rosebud County Library, 201 North 9th Avenue, Forsyth, MT 59327. 
Between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday; 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday 
(Closed Sunday)
    Montana DEQ Headquarters (Lee Metcalf Building), 1520 East 6th 
Avenue, Helena, MT 59620. Between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. 
Monday through Friday (Closed Saturday and Sunday)
    BLM Miles City Field Office, 111 Garryowen Road, Miles City, MT 
59301. Between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through 
Friday (Closed Saturday and Sunday)
    BLM State Office, Billings, MT, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 
59101. Between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through 
Friday (Closed Saturday and Sunday)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Logan Sholar, OSMRE Project 
Coordinator; Telephone: 303-293-5036; Address: 1999 Broadway Street, 
Suite 3320, Denver, Colorado 80202-3050; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
     I. Project Purpose
     II. Background on the Rosebud Mine
     III. Background on the Project
     IV. Alternative

I. Project Purpose

    The purpose of the Project is to consider continued operations at 
the Rosebud Mine by permitting and developing a new surface mine permit 
area, known as permit Area F. Western Energy submitted a permit 
application to DEQ for the proposed 6,746-acre permit Area F (also 
referred to as the project area) at the Rosebud Mine, which is an 
existing 25,455-acre surface coal mine annually producing 8.0 to 10.25 
million tons of low-sulfur subbituminous coal. If DEQ approves the 
permit and a Federal mining plan for the Project is approved as 
proposed, at the current rate of production, the operational life of 
the Rosebud Mine would be extended by 8 years. Mining operations in the 
project area, which would commence after all permits and approvals have 
been secured and a reclamation and performance bond has been posted, 
would last 19 years. Western Energy estimates that 70.8 million tons of 
recoverable coal reserves exist in the project area and would be 
removed during the 19-year operations period. As with other permit 
areas of the Rosebud Mine, all coal would be combusted locally at the 
Colstrip and Rosebud Power Plants.
    Western Energy is required to obtain a surface coal mine operating 
permit (pursuant to the Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation 
Act (MSUMRA), Section 82-4-221 et seq., Montana Code Annotated) and 
approval of a Federal surface mining plan (30 CFR 746) for proposed 
permit Area F. OSMRE's purpose for the Project is to review and make a 
recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals 
Management (ASLM) in the form of a Mining Plan Decision Document to 
approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions, the proposed Federal 
surface mining plan for the Project. The ASLM will decide whether the 
mining plan is approved, disapproved, or approved with conditions.
    DEQ's purpose for the Project is to review and make a decision on 
Western Energy's surface mine operating permit application under MSUMRA 
and to review and make decisions on the following related permits: (1) 
An application for a new Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(MPDES) permit, and (2) an application to modify Montana Air Quality 
Permit #1570*07 to include the project area. The Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) is a cooperating agency on the Draft EIS.
    The Draft EIS evaluates the direct, indirect, and cumulative 
effects of the Proposed Action and alternatives on the environment.
    OSMRE is complying with Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA Section 106)(16 U.S.C. 470f), as provided in 36 
CFR 800.2(d)(3), concurrently with the NEPA process, including public 
involvement requirements and consultation with the State Historic 
Preservation Officer and Historic Preservation Officers with Tribal 
nations. Native American Tribal consultations are ongoing and have been 
conducted in accordance with

[[Page 394]]

applicable laws, regulations, and U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) 
policy. Federal, Tribal, State, and local agencies, along with other 
stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the Federal 
agencies' decisions on the Project, are invited to submit comments on 
the Draft EIS.
    As part of its consideration of the proposed Project's impacts on 
threatened and endangered species, OSMRE conducted informal 
consultation as well as streamlined consultation per the final 4(d) 
rule for the northern long-eared bat with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)(16 
U.S.C. 1536), and its implementing regulations, as provided in 50 CFR 
400. The Section 7 consultation considered direct and indirect impacts 
from the proposed Project, including mining and related operations in 
the project area and continued operation of the Colstrip and Rosebud 
Power Plants.
    In addition to compliance with NEPA, NHSA Section 106, and ESA 
Section 7, all Federal actions will be in compliance with applicable 
requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 
(30 U.S.C. 1021-1328), the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251-1387), the 
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q), and Executive Orders relating to 
environmental justice, Tribal consultation, and other applicable laws 
and regulations.

II. Background on the Rosebud Mine

    Coal has been mined at Colstrip, MT for more than 90 years. The 
Norther Pacific Railway established the city of Colstrip and its 
associated mine in the 1920s to access coal from the Fort Union 
Formation. Coal mining began in 1924, providing fuel for the railway's 
steam locomotive trains. During the initial 34 years of mining, 44 
million tons of coal were mined. By 1958, diesel-powered locomotives 
replaced steam engines and mining ceased in the Colstrip area.
    In 1959, the Montana Power Company purchased rights to the Rosebud 
Mine in the city of Colstrip with plans to build power generation 
facilities. The Rosebud Mine operation began production in 1968. In 
2001, Westmoreland purchased the Rosebud Mine; its subsidiary, Western 
Energy, continues to operate the mine today. Although the Rosebud Mine 
has shipped coal by rail as recently as 2010, all coal currently 
produced by the mine is consumed locally at the Colstrip and Rosebud 
Power Plants.

III. Background on the Western Energy Proposed Permit Area F

    Western Energy proposes to conduct surface coal mining and 
reclamation operations within the 6,746-acre proposed permit Area F of 
the Rosebud Mine. The project area would be adjacent to the western 
boundary of Area C, 12 miles west of Colstrip. Western Energy proposes 
to conduct surface coal mining operations on an approximately 2,159-
acre portion of the project area, with a total disturbance footprint, 
including soil storage, scoria pits, and haul roads, of approximately 
4,260 acres. The project area would, in conjunction with the mining of 
any reserves remaining with existing permit areas of the Rosebud Mine, 
supply low-sulfur coal to the Colstrip Power Plant (Unites 3 and 4) at 
a rate of between 7.7 and 9.95 million tons annually. In addition, coal 
from the Rosebud Mine with higher sulfur content would be supplied to 
the Rosebud Power Plant at a rate of approximately 300,000 tons 
annually.
    Approval of the proposed permit Area F is expected to require 
several other agency actions, including:
     Finding and recommendation by BLM and OSMRE with respect 
to Western Energy's Resource Recovery and Protection Plan and other 
requirements of Western Energy's lease. BLM will also submit a 
recommendation regarding the Federal mining plan;
     Approval by DEQ of Western Energy's Montana Air Quality 
Permit #1570-07 to allow expansion of the geographic extent of the mine 
to include the proposed permit Area F; and
     Approval by DEQ of a new MPDES permit.

IV. Alternatives

    Alternatives carried forward in the Draft EIS include No Action 
(Alternative 1), the Proposed Action (Alternative 2), and the Proposed 
Action Plus Environmental Protection Measures (Alternative 3). Several 
alternatives were considered but dismissed from further consideration.
    Public Comment Procedures: In accordance with the Council on 
Environmental Quality's regulations for implementing NEPA and DOI's 
NEPA regulations, OSMRE solicits public comments on the Draft EIS. 
Comments on the Draft EIS may be submitted in writing or by email. At 
the top of your letter or in the subject line of your message indicate 
that the comments are ``Western Energy Area F Draft EIS Comments.''
    You are invited to mail your comments on the Draft EIS to: ATTN: 
Western Energy Area F EIS C/O: Nicole Bauman, ERO Resources 
Corporation, 1842 Clarkson Street, Denver, CO 80218. You may also 
submit your comments electronically to http://svc.mt.ogv/deq/publiccomment or by email to the following email address: [email protected]. Comments can also be made either in 
writing or verbally at a public meeting that will be announced at a 
later date. Be specific in your comments and indicate the chapter, 
page, paragraph, and sentence that your comment applies to.
    All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses, will be available for public review to the 
extent consistent with applicable law.
    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 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. 
Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; 
however, those who submit anonymous comments may not have standing to 
appeal the subsequent decision.
    If you would like to be placed on the mailing list to receive 
future information, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.1

    Dated: August 17, 2017.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2017-28407 Filed 1-2-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-05-P