[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 231 (Friday, November 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61671-61672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26042]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement


Notice of Availability of the Western Energy Company's Rosebud 
Mine Area F Final Environmental Impact Statement; S1D1S SS08011000 
SX064A000 190S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 19XS501520

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 Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Western Energy Company's Rosebud Mine Area F 
(Project) in southeastern Montana. This notice is announcing its 
availability. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is 
a co-lead on this EIS process.

DATES: The OSMRE will not issue a final decision on the Proposed Action 
and Alternatives for a minimum of 30 days from the date that the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) publishes this notice in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The Final EIS is available for review at: https://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/initiatives/westernEnergy/documentLibrary.shtm. 
Paper and computer compact disk (CD) copies of the Final 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 Final EIS are 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

    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 package 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. DEQ is the regulatory 
authority for permitting actions involving federal coal in Montana. 30 
CFR 926.10. 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 from DEQ (pursuant to the Montana Strip and Underground Mine 
Reclamation Act (MSUMRA), Section 82-4-221 et seq., Montana Code 
Annotated) and federal approval of the mining plan to mine leased 
federal coal in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 as 
Amended for the proposed project area to access additional coal 
reserves in Federal coal lease M82186 and in privately held leases G-
002 and G-002-A.The OSMRE's purpose for the Project is to review the 
mining plan 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 mining plan for the Project (30 CFR 746) . The ASLM will 
decide whether the mining plan is approved, disapproved, or approved 
with conditions.
    The 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 Final 
EIS.
    The Final EIS considers three alternatives and evaluates the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the Proposed Action and the 
other two 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 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 Final 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.

[[Page 61672]]

    In addition to compliance with NEPA, NHPA 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 within existing permit areas A, B, and C of the 
Rosebud Mine, supply low-sulfur coal to the Colstrip Power Plant (Units 
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:
     Findings and recommendations by BLM with respect to 
Western Energy's Resource Recovery and Protection Plan and other 
requirements of Western Energy's lease.
     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 Final EIS include the No Action 
Alternative (Alternative 1), the Proposed Action Alternative 
(Alternative 2), and the Proposed Action Plus Additional Environmental 
Protection Measures Alternative (Alternative 3). Several other 
alternatives were considered but dismissed from further consideration.

V. Revisions to the Draft EIS

    In accordance with the CEQ's regulations for implementing NEPA and 
the DOI's NEPA regulations, OSMRE solicited public comments on the 
Draft EIS. OSMRE responses to comments are included in Appendix F of 
the FEIS. The agencies considered comments received from the public on 
the Draft EIS and incorporated them, as appropriate, into the FEIS. The 
changes between the Draft EIS and Final EIS are a result of responding 
to comments received during the public comment period and generally 
consist of revisions to the text to clarify the analysis of resource-
specific potential impacts under each alternative. No new analyses were 
completed and no new or additional data were used to support the 
existing analyses.
    In addition, the FEIS includes updates based on evolving regulatory 
guidance and completion of the NHPA Section 106 and ESA Section 7 
consultation processes.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.1

    Dated: November 16, 2018.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Western Region.
[FR Doc. 2018-26042 Filed 11-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-05-P