[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 2, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14454-14455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05671]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[PO #4820000251; Order #02412-014-004-047181.0]
Draft Environmental Assessment, Public Hearing, and Request for
Comment on the Draft Environmental Assessment, Maximum Economic
Recovery, and Fair Market Value for the Freedom Mine Company Proposed
Emergency Federal Coal Lease-by-Application and Mining Plan
Modification for NDM 111186 and Mining Plan Modification for NDM
091535, Mercer County, ND
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) announce that a draft
environmental assessment (EA) is available for public review and
[[Page 14455]]
comment for the Coteau Property Company's emergency Federal coal lease-
by-application (LBA) for Freedom Mine, serial number NDM-111186, and
mining plan modifications for NDM-091535 and the proposed NDM-111186.
The BLM and OSMRE also announce that a public hearing will be held to
receive comments on the draft EA, Fair Market Value (FMV), Maximum
Economic Recovery (MER), and on factors that may affect the FMV and MER
determinations of the coal resources contained in the proposed LBA
lease tracts. The BLM and OSMRE take these actions in compliance with
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended.
DATES: The draft EA will be available for public comment on April 2,
2025. To receive due consideration, written comments must be received
by the BLM Montana/Dakotas State Office no later than May 2, 2025.
A public hearing will be held on April 24, 2025, at 3 p.m. central
time (CT).
ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Beulah Civic Center,
120 7th Street NE, Beulah, ND 58523. Any updates to the public hearing
will be provided through the ePlanning project website and a press
release.
The draft EA and documents pertinent to this proposal are available
for review on the BLM ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2036373/510. Please submit your
comments to this website.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tessa Wallace, BLM Montana/Dakotas
State Office, Solid Minerals, 5001 Southgate Dr., Billings, MT 59101;
telephone: 406-896-5086; email: [email protected].
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. Wallace. 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: The purpose and need for the BLM's Federal
action is to respond to Coteau Properties Company's emergency LBA to
lease Federal coal resources at the Freedom Mine in North Dakota. The
Federal tracts contain approximately 24 million tons of minable coal
over approximately 1,350 acres, which could be mined through 2045. The
purpose of OSMRE's Federal action is to conduct a thorough analysis of
the potential environmental effects of the proposed mining plan
modification for both the NDM 091535 and the proposed NDM 111186
leases. OSMRE will use this analysis to inform its recommendation to
the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, who may
approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions the proposed Federal
mining plan modification. Four alternatives are analyzed in the draft
EA.
Comments on the draft EA, FMV, and MER received from the public
will be considered and incorporated as appropriate into the final EA
and written report.
The tracts for the proposed NDM 111186 lease underlie private
surface and are described as follows:
Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota
Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota
T. 145 N., R. 86 W.,
Sec. 2, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, and SW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
Sec. 4, lots 2 thru 4, S\1/2\NW\1/4\, and SW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
Sec. 6, lots 3 thru 5 and SE\1/4\NW\1/4\.
T. 146 N., R. 86 W.,
Sec. 30, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\;
Sec. 32, E\1/2\NE\1/4\ and E\1/2\SE\1/4\;
Sec. 36, N\1/2\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\ and N\1/2\NW\1/4\SE\1/4\.
T. 144 N., R. 89 W.,
Sec. 2, N\1/2\SW\1/4\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\SW\1/
4\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, and W\1/2\SE\1/4\;
Sec. 12, W\1/2\.
The areas described aggregate 1,342.18 acres, according to the
surveys of the said land, on file with the BLM.
The tracts for the proposed mining plan modification for NDM 091535
underlie private surface and are described as follows:
Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota
Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota
T. 145 N., R. 88 W.,
Sec. 4, E\1/2\.
T. 144 N., R. 89 W.,
Sec. 12, E\1/2\.
The areas described are, in aggregate, 640 acres, according to
the land surveys on file with the BLM.
Through this notice, the BLM and OSMRE are inviting the public to
provide comments regarding the potential environmental impacts related
to the proposed action and any factors that may affect the
determinations of the FMV and MER.
Any proprietary information or data that you submit to the BLM must
be marked as confidential and mailed directly to the BLM Montana-
Dakotas State Office, Attention: Tessa Wallace (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT) to assure 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 draft 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 Montana/Dakotas State Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT), during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. CT), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
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 3425.3 and 3425.4)
Joshua F. Alexander,
Deputy State Director, BLM Montana/Dakotas.
[FR Doc. 2025-05671 Filed 4-1-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-20-P