[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 103 (Thursday, May 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 32046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11441]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLMTC02000.L51100000.GA0000.LVEME14CE500]


Notice of Termination of Spring Creek Coal Mine Environmental 
Impact Statement, Big Horn County, MT

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of termination.

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SUMMARY: The preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 
Spring Creek Coal Mine is no longer necessary and the process is hereby 
terminated.

DATES: This termination takes effect immediately.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irma Nansel, Planning and 
Environmental Coordinator, Miles City Field Office, telephone: 406-233-
3653, 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 Ms. Nansel during normal business hours. The 
FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or 
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as implemented by the Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
announced its Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS in the Federal 
Register on December 14, 2016 (81 FR 90380).
    The EIS was to evaluate the potential impacts of four proposed 
actions related to coal mining at the Spring Creek Mine in Big Horn 
County, Montana: (1) Federal Coal Lease by Application; (2) Application 
To Modify Federal Coal Lease; (3) Application To Amend Land Use Permit; 
and (4) Application for a Land Use Lease. The proposed actions involved 
the potential sale of two tracts of Federal coal through a Lease-By-
Application (LBA) and a lease modification application. Both 
applications covered proposed actions for Federal coal within the 
Spring Creek Mine. Related to these leasing requests, the EIS would 
have also evaluated proposed amendments to an existing land use permit 
to maintain access to mine monitoring and gauging stations and an 
existing land use lease to provide room for the placement of overburden 
and infrastructure.
    Since the publication of the NOI to prepare an EIS, the BLM no 
longer proposes to take action due to the unknown timeframe to complete 
required lease transfers to the new company (the previous company filed 
for bankruptcy after the NOI was published). Lease transfers may be 
prolonged due to ongoing bankruptcy court proceedings and the primary 
need to obtain required State permits to continue current mine 
operations. In addition, depending on the request by the new company 
owner, the BLM would need to determine the type of NEPA document to be 
completed for the proposed action while considering the Miles City 
Field Office Supplemental EIS Record of Decision, which was signed on 
November 24, 2019. The lack of lease and mine permit transfers in the 
near future, in addition to an unknown proposed action, has eliminated 
the need for detailed analysis. Therefore, the BLM hereby terminates 
preparation of an EIS for the Spring Creek Coal Mine.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)

John Mehlhoff,
State Director, Montana/Dakotas BLM.
[FR Doc. 2020-11441 Filed 5-27-20; 8:45 am]
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