[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71923-71924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19844]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 245S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000 
24XS501520]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for Navajo Transitional Energy Company's Federal Mining Plan 
Modification for Federal Lease MTM 94378; Spring Creek Mining Plan 
Modification EIS

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the draft environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 
(OSMRE) is publishing this notice to announce that it has prepared a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Navajo Transitional 
Energy Company's (NTEC) Lease by Application (LBA) 1 Federal Mining 
Plan Modification for Federal Lease MTM-94378 (the Project). With this 
notice, OSMRE also announces that it will hold a public meeting and 45-
day public comment period to receive comments on the DEIS. Spring Creek 
Mine (SCM) is located in Big Horn County, Montana, approximately 32 
miles from Sheridan, Wyoming. SCM started operation in 1974. The 
proposed Project would allow 162.5 acres of additional surface 
disturbance and recovery of an additional 39.9 million tons (Mt) of 
Federal coal.

DATES: OSMRE requests comments concerning the analyses in the DEIS. All 
comments must be received by October 22, 2024. The public meeting will 
be held at the Big Horn County Courthouse, Hardin, MT from 5--8 p.m. 
MST on September 24, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    You may submit comments related to the Project by any of the 
following methods:
 Email: [email protected]
     Mail: ATTN: Spring Creek Mining Plan Modification EIS, C/
O: Marcelo Calle, OSMRE Western Regions 5, 7-11, P.O. Box 25065, 
Lakewood, CO 80225-0065

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marcelo Calle, Program Support 
Division Manager; telephone (303) 236-2929; email: [email protected] or 
at the address and email provided in the ADDRESSES section.
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf

[[Page 71924]]

(TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSMRE has prepared a DEIS for SCM's LBA 1 
Mining Plan Modification for inclusion in its decision document 
recommending approval, disapproval, or conditional approval of the 
mining plan to the Secretary. 30 CFR 746.13. In accordance with the 
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA), the Assistant Secretary for Land and 
Minerals Management (ASLM) at the Department of the Interior must 
approve, disapprove, or approve the project with conditions because the 
project contains lands with leased Federal coal associated with MTM-
94378.
    OSMRE initially published an environmental assessment (EA) for LBA 
1 on October 3, 2016. This EA was challenged, and the United States 
District Court for the District of Montana held in WildEarth Guardians 
v. Haaland, No. CV 17-80-BLG-SPW (D. Mont. 2021), that the EA failed to 
take a hard look at indirect and cumulative effects of diesel 
emissions, noise, vibrations, and coal dust emissions; indirect effects 
of non-greenhouse gas from downstream combustion emissions; and effects 
related to the social costs of greenhouse gases. This DEIS updates and 
expands on the environmental analysis in the 2016 EA and provides the 
additional impacts analysis identified as deficient by the district 
court.
    The SCM is operated by NTEC under Permit SMP C1979012, issued by 
the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), in accordance 
with its state mine permit. As proposed, the Project would allow 162.5 
acres of additional surface disturbance and recovery of an additional 
39.9 Mt of Federal coal. The final environmental impact statement is 
scheduled for release in December 2024 with the Record of Decision 
expected to be completed in January 2025.
    Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action:
    OSMRE's purpose in preparing this DEIS is to fully analyze the 
environmental impacts from the Federal mining plan modification, with 
particular attention to addressing the deficiencies identified by the 
district court, so that OSMRE can make a recommendation to the ASLM to 
approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve the proposed Federal 
mining plan modification for LBA 1. NTEC, the current operator, will 
not be able to access or recover the remaining Federal coal in the LBA 
1 tracts unless OSMRE completes its NEPA analysis and the ASLM approves 
the Federal mining plan modification.

Proposed Project

    The proposed Project would allow 162.5 acres of additional surface 
disturbance and the recovery of an additional 39.9 Mt of Federal coal 
in the LBA1 tracts.

Summary of Expected Impacts

    Reasonably foreseeable effects of mining Federal coal have been 
evaluated for the following resources in the DEIS:

 Air Quality (measured as concentration of criteria air 
pollutants regulated under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 
Hazardous Air Pollutants, and Air Quality Related Values such as 
visibility (haze) and atmospheric deposition)
 Emissions of greenhouse gases as they relate to climate 
change, measured in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent for both 20-year 
and 100-year global warming potentials
 Surface water and groundwater quality and quantity
 Socio-economic effects, including changes to state and local 
taxes, royalties, fees, lease bids and bonuses, as well as payroll 
benefits as well as effects to Environmental Justice populations
 Federally listed threatened/endangered species
 Geology
 Soils
 Cultural Resources
 Visual Resources
 Wildlife

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    None at this time.

Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

    The Department plans to have the Record of Decision signed in 
January 2025.

Public Comment Period

    This notice of availability initiates the comment period, which 
allows the agency to gather input on the analyses included in the DEIS. 
In addition to this notice and the project web page on OSMRE's website 
at https://www.osmre.gov/lrg/projects/SpringCreek.shtm, interested 
stakeholders, agencies, and Tribes will be notified of the 45-day 
comment period via mailed letters.
    All public comments must be submitted by email or by hard copy mail 
to the addresses listed under ADDRESSES. 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 may request in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, OSMRE cannot 
guarantee that this will occur.
    The project page will include the description of the Project as 
submitted by NTEC, a map of the proposed mine plan, and information 
about how to submit public comment on issues or concerns related to the 
Project that are analyzed in the NEPA document.
    OSMRE will review public comments and prepare formal responses to 
all substantive comments. OSMRE will make revisions as needed based on 
input from the public while preparing the final EIS.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    OSMRE is the lead agency for this EIS. No agencies indicated an 
interest in being a cooperating agency on the OSMRE EIS.

Decision Maker

    Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    Informed by the NEPA analysis, OSMRE will make a recommendation to 
the ASLM about the Federal mining plan modification associated with 
development of the LBA 1 Federal coal tracts. The ASLM will use OSMRE's 
recommendation to decide whether the new mining plan modification is 
approved, disapproved, or approved with conditions. OSMRE's 
recommendation to the ASLM is based, at a minimum, on the documentation 
specified at 30 CFR 746.13.

Marcelo Calle,
Acting OSMRE Regional Director, Regions 5, 7-11.
[FR Doc. 2024-19844 Filed 9-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P