[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61167-61168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25847]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLMT930000 L16100000 DS0000 LXSS036E0000 19X]


Notice of Intent for the Potential Amendment to the Approved 
Resource Management Plan for the Miles City Field Office, Montana, and 
To Prepare an Associated Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Miles 
City Field Office, Miles City, Montana, intends to prepare a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and potential 
amendment for the 2015 Miles City Field Office Approved Resource 
Management Plan (RMP). The Supplemental EIS is in response to a United 
States District Court, District of Montana, opinion and order (Western 
Organization of Resource Councils, et al vs BLM). This notice announces 
the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and 
identify issues presented in the opinion and order.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments by December 28, 2018. The BLM will announce a public 
scoping meeting through local news media, newsletters, e-Planning, and 
the BLM website https://www.blm.gov/montana-dakotas at least 15 days 
prior to the meeting. The BLM will provide additional opportunities for 
public participation upon publication of the Draft Supplemental EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues, planning criteria, and 
resource information by any of the following methods:
     Website: https://go.usa.gov/xPv49.
     Mail: Miles City RMP Draft Supplemental EIS; Amy Waring, 
Supplemental EIS Project Manager; Montana/Dakotas State Office, 5001 
Southgate Dr., Billings, MT 59101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Waring, Supplemental EIS Project 
Manager; telephone (406) 896-5095; email [email protected]; or at the 
mailing address or website listed earlier (see ADDRESSES). 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 individuals 
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 individuals. 
You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Supplemental EIS is in response to a 
United States Montana District court opinion and order (Western 
Organization of Resource Councils, et al. vs BLM; CV 16-21-GF-BMM; 3/
26/2018 and 7/31/2018).
    In September 2015, the BLM approved the Record of Decision for the 
Approved RMPs and Amendments in the Rocky Mountain Region, which 
included the Montana Miles City Field Office. The 2015 Miles City 
Approved RMP provides a single, comprehensive land use plan that guides 
management of BLM-administered surface and mineral estate in the Miles 
City Field Office. The plan provides goals, objectives, land use 
allocations, and management direction for the BLM-administered surface 
and mineral estate based on multiple use and sustained yield, unless 
otherwise specified by law (FLPMA Sec. 102(c), 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 
The Miles City Field Office manages approximately 2.7 million surface 
acres and 10.6 million acres of Federal mineral estate across 17 
counties in eastern Montana.
    On March 26, 2018, the U.S. District Court concluded: (1) NEPA 
requires the BLM to consider an alternative that would decrease the 
amount of coal potentially available for leasing, which requires 
conducting new coal screening that considers climate change impacts to 
assess the amount of recoverable coal available in the Approved RMP, 
(2) The BLM must supplement the Miles City Final EIS with an analysis 
of the environmental consequences of downstream combustion of coal, 
oil, and gas open to development under the Approved RMP; and (3) The 
BLM must provide additional justification and analysis of global 
warming potential over an appropriate planning period consistent with 
evolving science.
    The purpose of this public scoping process is to solicit public 
input that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis with 
respect to the three conclusions by the U.S. District Court.
    There are currently five active coal mining operations in or 
adjacent to the planning area, four of which operate on Federal coal 
leases, and are administered by the BLM (Decker, Rosebud, Savage, and 
Spring Creek), and one mine (Absaloka) that operates entirely on two 
Indian coal leases. In addition, two additional mines are proposed, the 
Big Metal Mine (Indian reserves) and Otter Creek Mine (currently 
private reserves). The Miles City Field Office also authorizes a 
domestic coal license to a private individual in Fallon County for home 
heating.
    The 2015 Approved RMP relied upon coal screening completed during 
two previous RMP revisions: Big Dry (1996) and Powder River (1985). 
These planning efforts identified approximately 68.38 billion tons of 
coal that are available for further consideration for coal leasing 
across the Miles City Field Office (62.20 billion tons in the Power 
River RMP and 6.18 billion tons of coal in the Big Dry RMP). A 
reasonable foreseeable development scenario (RFD) was developed for the 
Final EIS based upon the U.S. Energy Information Administration 
projections in order for specialists to analyze the potential effects 
related to Federal coal leasing. The RFD was based upon continued 
operations of the five existing mines, with no new mines being 
developed over the 20-year planning timeframe. The RFD did not consider 
leasing of the entire 68.38 billion tons of coal that may be available. 
The air quality analysis estimated annual emissions from the RFD 
estimate of 56.2 million tons of Federal and 26.8 million tons of non-
Federal coal produced per year, based upon coal production limits 
prescribed in each associated Montana Air Quality Permit issued by the 
Montana Department of Environmental Quality for the five operating 
mines.
    As defined in 43 CFR 3420.1-4, the four principal factors the BLM 
must consider for coal resource development during land use planning 
include:
    1. Estimate coal development potential, and consider only those 
areas that have development potential for further consideration for 
leasing.
    2. Apply the unsuitability criteria set out in 43 CFR subpart 3461 
to the BLM-administered coal mineral estate to identify areas 
unsuitable for all, or certain stipulated methods of mining.
    3. Consider multiple land use management conflicts which may 
eliminate coal deposits from further consideration for leasing to 
protect other resource values and land uses that are locally, 
regionally or nationally important or unique, that are not included in 
the unsuitability criteria.
    4. Consult with qualified surface owners, as defined in 43 CFR 
3400.0-5, whose lands overlie BLM-administered coal mineral estate to 
determine preference for or against mining by

[[Page 61168]]

other than underground mining techniques.

Call for Coal and Other Resource Information

    The BLM requests that industry, State and local governments, and 
the public interested in coal management in the planning area provide 
the BLM relevant coal resource data that can help inform this project. 
Specifically, the BLM requests information on the development potential 
(e.g., location, quality, and quantity) of BLM-administered coal 
mineral estate, and on surface resource values related to multiple use 
conflicts.
    The purpose of this request is to assure that the planning effort 
has sufficient information and data to consider a reasonable range of 
resource uses, management options, and alternatives for management of 
the BLM-administered Federal coal mineral estate. The BLM will use this 
information to complete the Supplemental EIS and formulate alternatives 
that identify areas acceptable for further consideration for leasing.
    Proprietary data marked as ``Confidential'' may be submitted in 
response to this request for coal and other resource information. 
Please submit all proprietary information submissions to the Montana/
Dakotas State Director at the address listed above. The BLM will treat 
submissions marked as ``Confidential'' in accordance with the laws and 
regulations governing the confidentiality of such information.
    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 
request us to withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

(Authority: 43 CFR 1610.2(c) and 3420.1-2)

Jon K. Raby,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-25847 Filed 11-27-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P