[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 73 (Monday, April 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26184-26186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07846]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

[BLM_FRN_MO4500176455]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Proposed Skyline Mine Little Eccles Lease by Application in Emery 
County and Flat Canyon Lease Modification in Sanpete County, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior, USDA Forest Service, 
Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended (FLPMA), the National Forest Management Act of 1976 
(NFMA), and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (MLA), the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price Field Office, and U.S. Department 
of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA Forest Service) Manti-La Sal 
National Forest, as co-lead agencies, intend to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in response to a Lease by 
Application (LBA) for the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract (UTU-
92226) of 120 acres and a Lease Modification Application (LMA) to add 
640 acres to the Flat Canyon Lease Tract (UTU-77114). This notice is 
announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public 
comments and identify issues. The EIS will evaluate potential impacts 
of leasing and underground mining of Federal coal reserves contained in 
both lease tracts.

DATES: This notice initiates the public-scoping process for the EIS. 
The lead agencies request that the public submit comments concerning 
the scope of the analysis, potential alternatives, and identification 
of relevant information, and studies by May 30, 2024. To afford the 
lead agencies the opportunity to consider comments in the Draft EIS, 
please ensure your comments are received prior to the close of the 45-
day scoping period or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever 
is later.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Skyline Mine Little 
Eccles LBA and Flat Canyon LMA by the following methods:

 Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015277/510
 Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Skyline Mine Little Eccles 
Lease by Application and Flat Canyon Lease Modification, 125 South 600 
West, Price, Utah 84501

    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at 
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015277/510, https://www.fs.usda.gov/sopa/forest-level.php?110410, and at the BLM Price 
Field Office: 125 South 600 West, Price, Utah 84501.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erika Tobin, BLM Green River District 
Mining Engineer, telephone 435-636-3605, address 125 South 600 West, 
Price, Utah 84501. Contact Ms. Tobin to have your name added to our 
mailing list. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, 
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services for contacting 
Ms. Tobin. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay 
services offered within their country to make international calls to 
the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Canyon Fuel Company, LLC (hereafter ``the 
Applicant''), submitted two coal lease applications to the BLM Price 
Field Office on June 10, 2019. One is an LBA for the Little Eccles 
Federal Coal Lease Tract of 120 acres in T. 14 S., R. 6 E., SLM, Emery 
County, Utah sec. 10: SE\1/4\. The other is an LMA for the existing 
Flat Canyon Lease Tract to add 640 acres in T. 14 S., R. 5 E., SLM, 
Sanpete County, Utah sec. 9. Both tracts are adjacent to the existing 
Skyline Mine which has been in operation since 1981. The surface estate 
of the lease tracts is administered by the USDA Forest Service Manti-La 
Sal National Forest. The mineral estate (coal) is administered by the 
BLM Price Field Office. The BLM and USDA Forest Service, as Federal 
defendants in WildEarth Guardians v. Haaland (2:16-cv-00168) (D. Utah), 
have a responsibility under the Settlement Agreement filed March 8, 
2023, to prepare an EIS and issue a decision to lease or to forgo 
leasing of the coal reserves in the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease 
Tract and to modify or forgo lease modification of the Flat Canyon 
Federal Coal Lease Tract.

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the BLM and USDA Forest Service actions is to 
respond to: (1) the Applicant's LBA to competitively lease up to 120 
acres and approximately 2.2 million tons of recoverable coal contained 
in the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract and (2) the Applicant's 
LMA for the existing Flat Canyon Federal Coal Lease Tract to increase 
the tract acreage by up to 640 acres and approximately 8.6 million tons 
of recoverable coal.
    The need for the BLM action is established by the MLA sec. 2 and 3 
(30 U.S.C. 201 and 203) and its implementing regulations (43 CFR 3432 
and 3425), as amended by the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 
1976, and the FLPMA sec. 102. (43 U.S.C. 1701).
    The need for the USDA Forest Service action is to respond to 
requests for consent to coal leasing pursuant to the MLA, as amended.

Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives

    Under the No Action alternative, the BLM would deny the LBA to 
lease the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract and LMA to modify the 
existing Flat Canyon Lease Tract. Under this alternative, none of the 
estimated 10.8 million tons of Federal coal would be leased and 
extraction of Federal coal within the lease tracts would not occur. 
There are an estimated 13.6 million tons of privately-owned coal 
contained in tracts abutting the Federal lease tracts. Under the No 
Action Alternative, it is reasonably foreseeable that approximately 8 
million tons of privately-owned coal not subject to Federal decisions 
would be mined. However, the remaining 5.6 million tons of privately-
owned coal would not be feasible to extract.
    Under the Proposed Action alternative, the BLM would offer for 
competitive leasing the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract (UTU-
92226; 120 acres) containing an estimated 2.2 million tons of 
recoverable coal and authorize the Applicant's requested non-
competitive lease modification to add 640 acres and an estimated 8.6 
million tons of recoverable coal to the Flat Canyon Lease Tract (UTU-
77114). The USDA Forest Service, Manti-La Sal National Forest would 
consent to leasing both tracts of Federal coal. Leasing the Federal 
coal contained in the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract and the 
modified Flat Canyon Lease Tract would allow the Applicant to recover 
the full quantity of the estimated 13.6 million tons of privately-owned 
coal abutting the Federal lease tracts.
     Under the Proposed Action the Federal coal leases would be subject 
to standard lease terms and conditions. In addition, as part of the 
NEPA process

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the BLM and USDA Forest Service may identify stipulations to address 
impacts to non-mineral interests and these stipulations may be included 
in the applicable decision(s) and attached to the applicable lease(s).
    Other alternatives to be considered in the EIS are expected to be 
variations of tract configuration based on resource issues identified 
through the scoping process. The lead agencies welcome comments on all 
preliminary alternatives as well as suggestions for additional 
alternatives.

Summary of Expected Impacts

    The effects of leasing and anticipated development under the 
Proposed Action are expected to include mining-induced subsidence and 
seismicity and hydrological effects (surface water and groundwater). 
Greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions are also expected 
to occur, including indirect effects associated with transportation and 
combustion of mined coal.

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    The Applicant would need BLM approval of the LBA and/or LMA. In 
addition, should the LBA be approved, the Applicant would need a 
Resource Recovery Protection Plan for the Little Eccles Lease Tract 
prepared by the BLM which would establish the terms to achieve Maximum 
Economic Recovery (MER) as required by 43 CFR 3422.1. The Applicant 
would also need a mining permit and/or permit modification from Utah 
Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (UDOGM). Finally, a mining plan 
decision document prepared by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 
and Enforcement (OSMRE) would need approval from the Assistant 
Secretary for Land and Minerals Management before the Applicant could 
mine the LBA and/or LMA.

Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

    The lead agencies will provide additional opportunities for public 
participation consistent with the NEPA process, including a 45-day 
comment period on the Draft EIS. Comment meeting(s) on the Draft EIS 
will be held concurrently with the MER and Fair Market Value hearing. 
The Draft EIS is anticipated to be available for public review in the 
fall of 2024, and the Final EIS is anticipated to be released in the 
spring of 2025 with Records of Decision later in spring of 2025.

Public Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping period. The lead 
agencies will be holding one virtual scoping meeting and two in-person 
scoping meetings. The specific dates and locations of the scoping 
meeting will be announced in advance through the BLM ePlanning page 
(see ADDRESSES) and other lead agency websites (see ADDRESSES).

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The BLM and USDA Forest Service are co-lead agencies. Based on 
special expertise and jurisdiction by law, OSMRE and the UDOGM are 
cooperating agencies. Based on special expertise on environmental 
impacts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a cooperating 
agency.

Responsible Officials

    The responsible official for the BLM is the BLM Utah State 
Director. The scope of the State Director's decision is limited to the 
LBA and the LMA. The responsible official for the USDA Forest Service 
is the Manti-La Sal National Forest Supervisor. The scope of the Forest 
Supervisor's decision is limited to consenting to lease.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The BLM will decide to lease or to forgo leasing of the coal 
reserves in the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract and Flat Canyon 
Federal Coal Lease Tract. The USDA Forest Service will decide to 
consent to or deny consent to the leasing of the subject Federal coal 
tracts.

Forest Service Regulations

    The decision that the USDA Forest Service will make is subject to a 
pre-decisional administrative review process, also known as an 
objection process (36 CFR 218, subparts A and B). The objection process 
provides an opportunity for members of the public who have participated 
in the planning process for the action to have any unresolved concerns 
reviewed by the USDA Forest Service prior to a final decision by the 
responsible official. It is important that reviewers provide their 
comments at such times and in such manner that they are useful to the 
agency's preparation of the final EIS; therefore, comments should be 
provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly 
articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions. Commenting during 
scoping and any other designated opportunity to comment provided by the 
responsible official as prescribed by the applicable regulations will 
also govern eligibility to object once the final EIS and draft Record 
of Decision has been published. Comments received in response to this 
solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will 
be part of the public record for this proposed action. Comments 
submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, they 
will not be used to establish eligibility for the objection process.
    Objections will be accepted only from those who have previously 
submitted specific written comments regarding the proposed project 
during scoping or other designated opportunity for public comment in 
accordance with Sec.  218.5(a). Issues raised in objections must be 
based on previously submitted timely, specific written comments 
regarding the proposed project unless based on new information arising 
after designated opportunities.

Additional Information

    The lead agencies will identify, analyze, and consider mitigation 
to address the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources from the 
proposed action and all analyzed reasonable alternatives and, in 
accordance with 40 CFR 1502.14(e), include appropriate mitigation 
measures not already included in the proposed action or alternatives. 
Mitigation may include avoidance, minimization, rectification, 
reduction or elimination over time, and compensation; and may be 
considered at multiple scales, including the landscape scale.
    The lead agencies will utilize and coordinate the NEPA process to 
help support compliance with applicable procedural requirements under 
the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) and section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 
CFR 800.2(d)(3), including public involvement requirements of section 
106. The information about historic and cultural resources and 
threatened and endangered species within the area potentially affected 
by the proposed action will assist the lead agencies in identifying and 
evaluating impacts to such resources.
    The lead agencies will consult with Indian Tribal Nations on a 
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 
13175, Forest Service Handbook 1509.13, Forest Service Manual 1500, FS-
1211 Strengthening Tribal Consultations and Nation-to-Nation 
Relationships. Presidential Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and 
Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships, January 26, 2021, BLM 
Manual Section 1780, and other Departmental policies. Tribal concerns,

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including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to 
cultural resources, will be given due consideration. Federal, State, 
and local agencies, along with Indian Tribal Nations and other 
stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the action the 
lead agencies are evaluating, are invited to participate in the scoping 
process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by the lead 
agencies to participate in the development of the environmental 
analysis as a cooperating agency.
    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, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9)

Gregory Sheehan,
BLM Utah State Director.
Barbara Van Alstine,
Acting Forest Supervisor, USDA Forest Service, Manti-La Sal National 
Forest.
[FR Doc. 2024-07846 Filed 4-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-25-P