[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32212-32213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14353]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCOSO01000 L51100000.GA0000.LVEMC18CC400.18X]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment and 
Notice of Public Hearing for the GCC Energy, LLC, Coal Lease-by-
Application and Mine Plan Modification COC-78825, La Plata County, CO

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearing.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Federal coal management regulations, the 
GCC Energy, LLC, (GCCE) Federal Coal Lease-by-Application (LBA) 
Environmental Assessment (EA) is available for public review and 
comment. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Tres Rios Field Office 
(TRFO) will hold a public hearing to receive comments on the EA, Fair 
Market Value (FMV), and Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) of the coal 
resources contained in the proposed

[[Page 32213]]

Dunn Ranch LBA lease tract, serial number COC-78825.

DATES: The public hearing will be held on July 24, 2019, from 5 p.m. to 
8 p.m. Comments should be received no later than August 5, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Dolores Public Lands 
Office, 29211 Highway 184, Dolores, Colorado 81323. Copies of the EA 
are available online at https://go.usa.gov/xEKTV, and at the BLM Tres 
Rios Field Office, located in the Dolores Public Lands Office. Verbal 
comments related to the GCCE Coal LBA EA, FMV and MER will be accepted 
at the public hearing; all other comments must be submitted online at: 
https://go.usa.gov/xEKTV.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Blair, Geologist; BLM Tres Rios 
Field Office, 29211 Highway 184, Dolores, Colorado 81323; telephone: 
970-882-1135; email: [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 for the above individual. You will 
receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM and the Office of Surface Mining, 
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) are preparing the EA jointly. In 
accordance with the TRFO Resource Management Plan, the BLM will 
consider a lease sale for the lands in the LBA and, if a lease sale is 
conducted, determine whether or not to approve the lease. Should the 
BLM approve and issue the lease, OSMRE will review the proposed permit 
revision and mining plan modification to mine the leased Federal coal 
and provide the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management 
(ASLM) a recommendation to approve, approve with conditions, or 
disapprove the permit revision and mining plan. The BLM and OSMRE will 
issue separate decision documents.
    On January 10, 2018, GCCE submitted an application to lease 2,462 
acres (as amended) of Federal coal located in La Plata County, 
Colorado. The application is for coal within the Cretaceous Menefee 
Formation, which would be mined by underground methods. The EA analyzes 
and discloses the potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of 
leasing and mining the proposed 2,462-acres of coal. The LBA is located 
adjacent to the King II Mine and contains an estimated 9.54 million 
tons of recoverable coal reserves, as determined by the BLM. As 
proposed, up to 12 million tons of combined private and Federal coal 
would be mined, resulting in approximately 20 acres of surface 
disturbance. An engineered, below-grade, steel-lined haulage way called 
a ``low-cover crossing'' (LCC) would be constructed to connect the LBA 
to the existing mine. The LCC would allow underground mining equipment 
to pass beneath East Alkali Gulch and not emerge to the surface. 
Surface facilities, operations and haulage at the existing King II Coal 
Mine would not change.
    About two-thirds of the coal shipped from the mine is used to fuel 
cement manufacturing plants controlled by GCCE's parent company, Grupo 
Cementos de Chihuahua. The plants are located in Arizona, Colorado, New 
Mexico, and Texas, as well as in Mexico. The excess coal is sold for 
use on local scenic railways, home heating and on the spot market. Coal 
for cement plants in Arizona, Texas, and Mexico and for some spot 
market buyers is initially transported to a railhead in Gallup, New 
Mexico.
    GCCE produces approximately 600,000 tons of coal each year, 
shipping approximately 80 truckloads of coal per day with 28.5 tons per 
load. If the BLM issues the lease, production may increase to 800,000 
tons per year, with a shipping increase of 120 truckloads per day.
    If the proposal is approved, the total mine life at the King II 
Coal Mine would be extended by 22 years (including both private and 
Federal coal).
    The proposed project area is mostly split-estate federally owned 
coal, with various surface estate owners. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe 
owns the majority of the surface estate, with private individuals 
owning a small portion, as well as one 47-acre parcel of BLM-managed 
land. The lands are in an area referred to as the Dunn Ranch in La 
Plata County and described as follows:

New Mexico Principal Meridian, Colorado

T. 35 N, R. 11 W,
    Sec. 18, lots 2 thru 5, 8, 9, and 10, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, and NE\1/
4\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 19, lots 1, 2, 6, and 7, NE\1/4\NW\1/4\, and N\1/2\SE\1/
4\NW\1/4\.
T. 35 N, R. 12 W,
    Sec. 13, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, S\1/2\SW\1/4\, NE\1/
4\SE\1/4\, and S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 14, S\1/2\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SW\1/
4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\SE\1/4\, and S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 15, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\ and S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 22, N\1/2\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\SW\1/
4\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NE\1/4\NW\1/4\, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\NW\1/
4\, and E\1/2\NW\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 23, N\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\, SE\1/
4\SW\1/4\, and SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 24, N\1/2\, SW\1/4\ and NW\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 26, N\1/2\NE\1/4\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\NE\1/4\, NW\1/
4\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\NW\1/4\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\NW\1/
4\, and SE\1/4\NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 27, NE\1/4\NE\1/4\ and SE\1/4\NW\1/4\NE\1/4\.

    The area described contains 2,462.07 acres.

    The EA addresses natural resource, cultural, socioeconomic, 
environmental, and cumulative impacts that would result from leasing 
and mining these lands. Two alternatives are addressed in the EA:
    Alternative 1 (Proposed Action): The BLM would offer the tract for 
competitive lease as requested in the LBA and issue a lease to the 
winning bidder, with OSMRE approving the proposed permit revision and 
mine plan modification to the lessee; and
    Alternative 2 (No Action): The BLM would reject or deny the 
application, and the subsurface Federal coal reserves would be 
bypassed. If the BLM does not issue a Federal coal lease, OSMRE's 
proposed action would be moot.
    Proprietary information or data marked as confidential may be 
submitted to the BLM in response to this solicitation of comments. 
Information and data marked confidential will be treated in accordance 
with the applicable laws and regulations governing the confidentiality 
of such information or data. A copy of the comments submitted by the 
public on the EA, FMV, and MER for the tract, except those portions 
identified as proprietary and that meet one of the exemptions in the 
Freedom of Information Act, will be available for public inspection at 
the BLM TRFO at the address listed above, during regular business hours 
(8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday.
    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 public 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.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR 3425.3 and 3425.4.)

Jamie E. Connell,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2019-14353 Filed 7-3-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P