[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26985-26986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09613]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[19X.LLMTC03200.L51100000.GA0000. LVEME19CE830 MO #4500133387]


Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for Coyote 
Creek Mining Company's Lease-by-Application NDM 110277, Mercer County, 
ND, 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 and public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), North Dakota Field Office 
(NDFO) is publishing this notice to announce that an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) for Coyote Creek Mining Company's (CCMC) Federal Coal 
Lease-by-Application (LBA), serial number NDM 110277, is available for 
public review and comment. The BLM is also announcing that it will hold 
a public hearing by teleconference to receive comments on the EA, Fair 
Market Value (FMV), and Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) of the coal 
resources contained in the proposed CCMC LBA lease tracts. The Office 
of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is also accepting 
comments on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis 
regarding the potential Federal mine plan decision.

DATES: The public hearing by teleconference will be held from 3:00 p.m. 
to 5:00 p.m. (Central time zone) on May 20, 2020. Written or electronic 
comments should be submitted to the NDFO or postmarked no later than 
May 29, 2020.

ADDRESSES: A public hearing by teleconference will be held by calling 
1-800-369-1853 and entering passcode 3787572 when prompted. The 
teleconference will convene on May 20, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. (Central time 
zone) and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. (Central time zone). Please note 
that any details and updates made to any aspect of the hearing will be 
posted on the BLM ePlanning web page (https://go.usa.gov/xVyfF). While 
the BLM expects the hearing to go forward as set forth above, please 
monitor the ePlanning website or contact the person listed in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to determine if there are any 
updates. In addition, copies of the EA are available on ePlanning, at 
the NDFO, and may be

[[Page 26986]]

requested by mail, email or phone using the contacts provided in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. You may submit comments 
related to the CCMC EA, FMV and MER by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected];
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management North Dakota Field Office, 
Attention: Joel Hartmann, Project Lead, 99 23rd Avenue West, Suite A, 
Dickinson, ND 58601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Hartmann, Geologist; telephone: 
406-896-5159; or at the address and email provided in the ADDRESSES 
section. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Mr. 
Hartmann during normal business hours. The Service is available 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question for Mr. 
Hartmann. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. If you 
have questions regarding the potential Federal mine plan decision, 
please contact Michelle Fishburne at telephone: 202-208-2982, email: 
[email protected]. If you have questions regarding attending the 
hearing by teleconference, please contact Al Nash at telephone: 406-
896-5260; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 13, 2017, CCMC submitted an 
application to lease two 160-acre Federal coal lease tracts comprising 
320 acres, located in Mercer County, North Dakota. As project co-leads, 
the BLM and OSMRE developed the issue-based EA, which analyzed and 
disclosed potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of leasing 
and subsequent mining of the proposed lease tracts. The tracts are 
located at the Coyote Creek Mine and contain about 5.23 million tons of 
in-place Federal coal resources. The tracts underlie private surface 
and are described as follows:

Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota

T. 143 N., R. 89 W.,
    Sec. 24, SW1/4;
    Sec. 26, SE1/4.

    The areas described aggregate 320.00 acres.

    Through this notice, the BLM is inviting the public to provide 
comments regarding the potential environmental impacts related to the 
proposed action, and to submit comments on the FMV and the MER for the 
proposed LBA tract. The BLM usually holds a public hearing in the local 
community where the tracts are located. However, due to the COVID-19 
National Emergency and the uncertainty of Federal, State, and local 
social distancing guidelines, the BLM and OSRME are holding the public 
hearing by teleconference to ensure staff and interested community 
members are able to participate safely. A stenographer will record the 
presentation and comments received during the teleconference. All 
public comments, whether written or oral, will receive consideration 
prior to the BLM's decision regarding the leasing of the Federal coal 
contained in the tracts.
    Public comments on the EA should address the potential 
environmental impacts of the proposed action. Public comments on the 
FMV and MER for the proposed lease tracts may address, but do not 
necessarily have to be limited to, the following:
    1. The quantity and quality of the Federal coal resource;
    2. The mining method to be employed to obtain the MER of the coal 
resource, including the name of the coal bed(s) to be mined, timing and 
rate of production, restriction of mining, and the inclusion of the 
lease tracts into the existing mining operation;
    3. The price that the mined coal would bring when sold;
    4. Costs, including mining and reclamation, 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;
    7. The value of privately held mineral or surface estate in the 
Coyote Creek Mine area.
    Any proprietary information or data that you submit to the BLM must 
be marked as confidential to ensure the data 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 tracts, 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, NDFO, 99 23rd Avenue West, Suite A, 
Dickinson, North Dakota, during regular business hours (8:00 a.m.-4:30 
p.m. Central time zone), 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 publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that we will 
be able to do so.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 3422.1, 3425.3 and 3425.4)

John J. Mehlhoff,
BLM Montana/Dakotas State Director, Billings, Montana.
[FR Doc. 2020-09613 Filed 5-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P