[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 247 (Thursday, December 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66743-66744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27175]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNM922000.L51100000. GA0000. LVEMG15CG420]


Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for Evans 
McCurtain Federal Coal Lease-by-Application OKNM127509, Haskell and 
LeFlore Counties, OK, Notice of Public Hearing, and Request for Comment 
on Environmental Assessment, Maximum Economic Recovery, and Fair Market 
Value

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Oklahoma Field Office 
(Field Office) is publishing this Notice to announce that an 
environmental assessment (EA) for Evans Coal Company Federal coal 
Lease-by-Application (LBA), serial number OKNM-127509, is available for 
public review and comment. The BLM is also announcing that it will hold 
a public hearing to receive comments on the EA, proposed sale, fair 
market value (FMV), and maximum economic recovery (MER) of the coal 
resources contained in the proposed LBA tract.

DATES: The public hearing will be held on January 7, 2019 from 5:00 
p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Written comments should be received no later than 
January 11, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at McCurtain City Hall, 308 
Main Street, McCurtain, OK 74944. Comments related to the Evans 
McCurtain LBA EA, FMV, and MER may be submitted through either of the 
following methods:
     Electronic submissions may be uploaded in ePlanning. A 
link to the Evans-McCurtain LBA-OKNM-127509 ePlanning site is at: 
https://www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/new-mexico/coal.
     Hardcopy submissions may be mailed to April Crawley, BLM 
Oklahoma Field Office, 201 Stephenson Pkwy, Ste. 1200, Norman, OK 73072
    Comments submitted by the public related to the Evans McCurtain LBA 
EA, FMV, and MER for the tract, will be made available for public 
inspection at the Field Office address listed above.

FOR FURTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: April Crawley, BLM Natural Resource 
Specialist, BLM Oklahoma Field Office, 201 Stephenson Parkway, Norman, 
OK 73072; [email protected]; 405-579-7171. 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 individuals. You 
will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Evans Coal Company (Evans) filed an LBA for 
Federal segregated coal reserves underlying 1,270 acres of private 
surface acres in Haskell and LeFlore counties, Oklahoma. Coal reserves 
within the tract are recoverable by underground mining methods only. 
The BLM's EA analyzes and discloses the potential direct, indirect, and 
cumulative impacts of leasing and subsequent mining of the proposed LBA 
tract. The tract contains an estimated 3.28 tons of recoverable coal. 
The applicant plans on entering underground mining operations on land 
previously surface mined and owned by Evans.

Indian Meridian, Oklahoma (OK)

T. 8 N., R. 22 E., Indian Meridian, Haskell County, Oklahoma
    sec. 11, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, E\1/2\;
    sec. 12, N\1/2\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\, N\1/2\SE\1/4\, and a tract 
commencing at the southwest corner of section 12, T. 8 N., R. 22 E., 
thence a distance of 111.61 feet N 0[deg]1' W, along the west line of 
said section 12 to the point of beginning, thence easterly a distance 
of 5,326.57 feet N 80[deg]45'30'' E, to a point on the east line of 
said section 12, thence north a distance of 397.42 feet north along the 
east line of said section 12 to the southeast corner of the NE\1/
4\SE\1/4\ of said section 12, thence west a distance of 5,280 feet to 
the west line of said section 12, thence a distance of 1,208.39 feet S 
0[deg]1' E, along the west line of said section to the point of 
beginning.
    sec. 14, a tract of land commencing at the northeast corner of 
section 14, T. 8 N., R. 22 E., thence a distance of 682.72 feet S 
89[deg]40' W, along the north line of said section 14 to the point of 
beginning, thence a distance of 1,946.72 feet S 89[deg]40' W, along the 
north line of said section 14 to the north quarter corner, thence a 
distance of 794.04

[[Page 66744]]

feet S 0[deg]1'8'' W, along the west line of the NE quarter of said 
section 14, thence a distance of 2,106.95 feet N 67[deg]31'38'' E, to 
the point of beginning.
T. 8 N., R. 23 E., Indian Meridian, LeFlore County, Oklahoma
    sec. 7, lots 2 to 4, inclusive, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, 
N\1/2\SE\1/4\SW\1/4\;
    Containing 1,270.85 acres, more or less.
    The three alternatives listed in the EA are generally described 
below:
     Alternative A: (No Action): The application would be 
rejected or denied. A competitive lease sale would not be held at this 
time;
     Alternative B: (Proposed Action): The tracts would be 
leased as requested in the application, subject to standard and special 
lease stipulations developed for the tract; or
     Alternative C: (Reduced Acreage Action): The tract would 
be reduced to 940 acres, subject to standard and special lease 
stipulations developed for the tract.
    If you submit proprietary data marked as confidential to the BLM in 
response to this solicitation of public comments, the BLM will treat 
the data so marked in accordance with the laws and regulations 
governing the confidentiality of such information, including the 
Freedom of Information Act. A copy of the comments submitted by the 
public on the EA, 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 
address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice during regular 
business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 
excluding Federal holidays.
    Public comments on the LBA EA should address the potential 
environmental impacts of the proposed action. Public comments on the 
FMV and MER for the proposed lease tract may address, but do not have 
to be limited to, the following:
    1. The quality and quantity of the Federal coal reserves;
    2. The method of mining to be employed to obtain the MER of the 
coal, including: Specifications of the seams to be mined; timing and 
rate of production; restrictions to mining; and the inclusions of 
tracts in an existing mining operation;
    3. The price that the mined coal would bring when sold;
    4. Costs, including mining and reclamation costs, of producing the 
coal and the anticipated timing of production;
    5. The percentage rate at which anticipated income streams should 
be discounted, either with inflation, or in the absence of inflation, 
in which case the anticipated rate of inflation should be given;
    6. Depreciation, depletion, amortization, and other tax accounting 
factors; and
    7. The value of any privately held mineral or surface estate in the 
McCurtain area.
    The values given above may or may not change because of comments 
received from the public and changes in market conditions between now 
and when final economic evaluations are completed.
    Please send written comments on the LBA EA, MER, and FMV to April 
Crawley at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section in the notice or 
through ePlanning, as described above, prior to close of business 
January 11, 2019. 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 personal identifying information 
from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Authority: 43 CFR 3422, 43 CFR 3425, 43 CFR 3427.

Timothy R. Spisak,
Acting BLM New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 2018-27175 Filed 12-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-FB-P