Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the John Day Basin Portion of the Central Oregon Resource Area and Associated Environmental Impact Statement, 8868-8869 [E6-2388]
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8868
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 21, 2006 / Notices
to be offered is limited to coal
recoverable by underground mining
methods. One purpose of the hearing is
to obtain public comments on the EA
and on the following items:
(1) The method of mining to be
employed to obtain maximum economic
recovery of the coal,
(2) The impact that mining the coal in
the proposed leasehold may have on the
area, and
(3) The methods of determining the
fair market value of the coal to be
offered.
In addition, the public is invited to
submit written comments concerning
the MER and FMV of the coal resource.
Public comments will be utilized in
establishing FMV for the coal resource
in the described lands. Comments
should address specific factors related
to fair market value including, but not
limited to:
1. The quality and quantity of the coal
resource.
2. The price that the mined coal
would bring in the market place.
3. The cost of producing the coal.
4. The interest rate at which
anticipated income streams would be
discounted.
5. Depreciation and other accounting
factors.
6. The mining method or methods
which would achieve maximum
economic recovery of the coal.
7. Documented information on the
terms and conditions of recent and
similar coal land transactions in the
lease area, and
8. Any comparable sales data of
similar coal lands in the lease area.
Written requests to testify orally at the
March 30, 2006, public hearing should
be received at the Little Snake Field
Office prior to the close of business
March 30, 2006. Those who indicate
they wish to testify when they register
at the hearing may have an opportunity
if time is available.
As provided by 43 CFR 3422.1(a),
proprietary data marked as confidential
may be provided in response to this
solicitation of public comments. Data so
marked shall be treated in accordance
with the laws and regulations governing
the confidentiality of such information.
A copy of the comments submitted by
the public on FMV and MER, except
those portions identified as proprietary
and meeting exemptions stated in the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), will
be available for public inspection at the
BLM office noted above. If you wish to
withhold your name or address from
public review or from disclosure under
the FOIA, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your
written comments. Such requests will
VerDate Aug<31>2005
13:48 Feb 17, 2006
Jkt 208001
be honored to the extent allowed by the
FOIA. All submissions from
organizations, businesses and
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses will be
available for public inspection in its
entirety. Written comments on the EA,
MER, and FMV should be sent to the
Little Snake Field Office at the above
address prior to the close of business on
April 13, 2006, the end of the 30 day
public comment period.
Substantive comments, whether
written or oral, will receive equal
consideration prior to any lease offering.
A copy of the EA, the case file, and the
comments submitted by the public,
except those portions identified as
proprietary by the commenter and
meeting exemptions stated in the FOIA,
will be available for public inspection
after June 1, 2006, at the Colorado State
Office, 2850 Youngfield, Lakewood,
Colorado, 80215.
December 27, 2005.
Karen Zurek,
Solid Minerals Staff, Division of Energy,
Lands and Minerals.
[FR Doc. E6–2387 Filed 2–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–JB–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[4310–32–P HAG–06–0036]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource
Management Plan for the John Day
Basin Portion of the Central Oregon
Resource Area and Associated
Environmental Impact Statement
Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), Prineville District
Office, intends to prepare a Resource
Management Plan (RMP) with an
associated Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the John Day Basin,
and by this notice is announcing public
scoping meetings. The RMP will amend
or replace certain decisions within the
John Day RMP (1985) and the portions
of the Two Rivers RMP (1986) and Baker
RMP (1989) that guide the management
of public lands located in the Planning
Area.
DATES: The BLM will announce public
scoping meetings through local news
media, newsletters, and the BLM Web
site at https://www.or.blm.gov/
landuseplanning.htm at least 15 days
prior to the first meeting. We will
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
provide formal opportunities for public
participation upon publication of the
Draft RMP/EIS.
ADDRESSES: You may submit scoping
comments by any of the following
methods:
• E-mail:
John_Day_Basin_RMP@blm.gov.
• Fax: (541) 416–6798.
• Mail: BLM, Prineville District
Office, 3050 NE 3rd St., Prineville, OR
97754.
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined at the BLM Prineville
Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information or to have your
name added to our mailing list, please
contact Brent Ralston, Planning Team
Leader, telephone (541) 416–6713; or email: John_Day_Basin_RMP@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
planning area is located in parts of
Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, Umatilla,
Grant, Wheeler, Jefferson, and Wasco
Counties in the State of Oregon. This
planning area encompasses
approximately 452,000 acres of BLMmanaged land. The plan will fulfill the
needs and obligations set forth by the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act (FLPMA), and BLM
management policies. The BLM will
work collaboratively with interested
parties to identify the management
decisions that are best suited to local,
regional, and national needs and
concerns.
The public scoping process identifies
relevant issues that will influence the
scope of the environmental analysis and
EIS alternatives. These issues also guide
the planning process. You may submit
comments on issues and planning
criteria in writing to the BLM at any
public scoping meeting, or you may
submit them to the BLM using one of
the methods listed in the ADDRESSES
section above. To be most helpful, you
should submit formal scoping
comments within 30 days after the last
public meeting. The minutes and list of
attendees for each meeting will be
available to the public and open for 30
days after the meeting to any
participants who wish to clarify the
views they expressed. Individual
respondents may request
confidentiality. If you wish to withhold
your name or street address from public
review or from disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act, you must
state this prominently at the beginning
of your written comment. Such requests
will be honored to the extent allowed by
law. All submissions from organizations
and businesses, and from individuals
E:\FR\FM\21FEN1.SGM
21FEN1
rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 21, 2006 / Notices
identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Preliminary issues and management
concerns have been identified by BLM
personnel, other agencies, and various
individuals and user groups. The major
preliminary issues to be addressed in
this planning effort include: vegetation
management (including upland and
watershed management, riparian areas
and wetlands, forests and woodlands,
fire and fuels management, wildlife
habitat management, special status
species, and noxious weeds), water
quality/aquatic resources/fisheries,
special management areas (including
Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern, significant caves, wild and
scenic rivers, and wilderness study
areas); recreation management; cultural
and paleontological resources;
socioeconomics and environmental
justice; energy and minerals; lands and
realty; and transportation (including off
highway vehicle management and
public access).
After public comments are gathered
on these and other issues that the plan
should address, they will be placed in
one of three categories:
1. Issues to be resolved in the plan;
2. Issues to be resolved through policy
or administrative action; or
3. Issues beyond the scope of this
plan.
The BLM will provide an explanation
in the plan as to why we placed an issue
in category two or three. In addition to
these major issues, a number of
management questions and concerns
will be addressed in the plan. The
public is encouraged to help identify
these questions and concerns during the
scoping phase.
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary
approach to develop the plan in order
to consider the variety of resource issues
and concerns identified. Specialists
with expertise in the following
disciplines will be involved in the
planning process: Rangeland
management, minerals and geology,
forestry, fire and fuels, botany, outdoor
recreation, archaeology, paleontology,
wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty,
hydrology, soils, civil engineering,
sociology, and economics.
Dated: December 19, 2005.
Elaine M. Brong,
State Director, Oregon/Washington BLM.
[FR Doc. E6–2388 Filed 2–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
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13:48 Feb 17, 2006
Jkt 208001
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[NV–040–5101–ER–F336; 6–08807]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for a
Proposed Coal-Fired Electric Power
Generating Plant in Southeastern
Lincoln County and Notice of Public
Scoping Meetings; Nevada
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement and
Initiate Scoping.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102 (2)(C)
of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), Ely Field Office,
will be directing the preparation of an
environmental impact statement (EIS)
and conducting public scoping meetings
for the proposed Toquop Energy Power
Project, which is a coal-fired electric
power generating plant and associated
ancillary facilities. BLM has received
right-of-way applicants for this project
from Toquop Energy Inc. The EIS will
assess the potential impacts of a rightof-way for a proposed coal-fired facility
and a new railroad line to transport coal
to the facility. The Toquop Energy
Power Project was previously analyzed
in a March 2003 EIS as an 1100 MW gasfired electric generating facility. Use of
an alternative fuel such as coal was
eliminated from the 2003 EIS and never
analyzed due to economics and other
factors at the time.
DATES: The publication of this notice
initiates the public scoping comment
period. Comments on the scope of the
EIS, including concerns, issues, or
proposed alternatives that should be
considered in the EIS must be submitted
in writing to the address below.
Comments will be accepted until March
23, 2006. Four public scoping meetings
are planned during the 30-day scoping
period. The meetings will provide the
public an opportunity to present
comments concerning the Proposed
Action that will be addressed in the EIS.
The meetings will be held in Reno,
Caliente, Mesquite, and Las Vegas,
Nevada. The dates, locations, and times
of the meetings will be distributed by
mail and announced in the local news
media on or about the date of this
notice.
All comments received at the public
scoping meetings or through submitted
written comments will aid the BLM in
identifying alternatives and mitigating
measures to assure all issues are
analyzed in the EIS.
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8869
Please mail written
comments to the BLM, Ely Field Office,
HC 33 Box 33500, Ely, NV 89301, or by
visiting the Ely Field Office at 702 North
Industrial Way. Comments submitted
during this EIS process, including
names and street addresses of
respondents, will be available for public
review at the Ely Field Office during
regular business hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
holidays. Individual respondents may
request confidentiality. If you wish to
withhold your name and address from
public review or disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act, you must
state this prominently at the beginning
of your comments. Such requests will be
honored to the extent allowed by law.
All submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or business, will be made
available for public inspection in their
entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Doris Metcalf at (775) 289–1852, or email Doris_Metcalf@nv.blm.gov. You
may also contact Ms. Metcalf at the
address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June
15 and June 28, 2001, Toquop Energy
Inc. filed applications for Federal Land
Policy and Management Act rights-ofway and a temporary use permit to
construct and operate an 1100 MW gasfired power plant to be located in
southeast Lincoln County. The
applications sought rights-of-way for: (1)
An access road from Interstate 15 to the
planned project site; (2) a water
pipeline, electrical line and well field
access road easement running from the
proposed power plant site to a terminus
point in a proposed well field site in the
Tule Desert Area; and (3) a well field in
the Tule Desert area and an associated
water pump station and equalizer tank.
In March 2003, the BLM completed a
Final EIS in support of this request. The
EIS evaluated the proposed rights-ofway and a No Action alternative. The
BLM granted Toquop Energy Inc. the
rights-of-way in 2003.
The March 2003 EIS considered
evaluating several project and right-ofway alternatives, among which was the
use of an alternative fuel such as coal.
This alternative was eliminated from the
2003 EIS because project economics did
not support such an alternative at the
time. Therefore, a coal-fired plant was
never analyzed. However, a recent
change in market conditions, driven by
the ever higher and volatile prices of
natural gas, is making this alternative
more desirable and economically viable.
ADDRESSES:
E:\FR\FM\21FEN1.SGM
21FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8868-8869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2388]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[4310-32-P HAG-06-0036]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan for the
John Day Basin Portion of the Central Oregon Resource Area and
Associated Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Prineville District
Office, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an
associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the John Day Basin,
and by this notice is announcing public scoping meetings. The RMP will
amend or replace certain decisions within the John Day RMP (1985) and
the portions of the Two Rivers RMP (1986) and Baker RMP (1989) that
guide the management of public lands located in the Planning Area.
DATES: The BLM will announce public scoping meetings through local news
media, newsletters, and the BLM Web site at https://www.or.blm.gov/
landuseplanning.htm at least 15 days prior to the first meeting. We
will provide formal opportunities for public participation upon
publication of the Draft RMP/EIS.
ADDRESSES: You may submit scoping comments by any of the following
methods:
E-mail: John--Day--Basin--RMP@blm.gov.
Fax: (541) 416-6798.
Mail: BLM, Prineville District Office, 3050 NE 3rd St.,
Prineville, OR 97754.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM
Prineville Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or to have
your name added to our mailing list, please contact Brent Ralston,
Planning Team Leader, telephone (541) 416-6713; or e-mail: John--Day--
Basin--RMP@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area is located in parts of
Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, Umatilla, Grant, Wheeler, Jefferson, and
Wasco Counties in the State of Oregon. This planning area encompasses
approximately 452,000 acres of BLM-managed land. The plan will fulfill
the needs and obligations set forth by the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA),
and BLM management policies. The BLM will work collaboratively with
interested parties to identify the management decisions that are best
suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
The public scoping process identifies relevant issues that will
influence the scope of the environmental analysis and EIS alternatives.
These issues also guide the planning process. You may submit comments
on issues and planning criteria in writing to the BLM at any public
scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the BLM using one of the
methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To be most helpful, you
should submit formal scoping comments within 30 days after the last
public meeting. The minutes and list of attendees for each meeting will
be available to the public and open for 30 days after the meeting to
any participants who wish to clarify the views they expressed.
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to
withhold your name or street address from public review or from
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from
organizations and businesses, and from individuals
[[Page 8869]]
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Preliminary issues and management concerns have been identified by
BLM personnel, other agencies, and various individuals and user groups.
The major preliminary issues to be addressed in this planning effort
include: vegetation management (including upland and watershed
management, riparian areas and wetlands, forests and woodlands, fire
and fuels management, wildlife habitat management, special status
species, and noxious weeds), water quality/aquatic resources/fisheries,
special management areas (including Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern, significant caves, wild and scenic rivers, and wilderness
study areas); recreation management; cultural and paleontological
resources; socioeconomics and environmental justice; energy and
minerals; lands and realty; and transportation (including off highway
vehicle management and public access).
After public comments are gathered on these and other issues that
the plan should address, they will be placed in one of three
categories:
1. Issues to be resolved in the plan;
2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action;
or
3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan.
The BLM will provide an explanation in the plan as to why we placed
an issue in category two or three. In addition to these major issues, a
number of management questions and concerns will be addressed in the
plan. The public is encouraged to help identify these questions and
concerns during the scoping phase.
The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan
in order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns
identified. Specialists with expertise in the following disciplines
will be involved in the planning process: Rangeland management,
minerals and geology, forestry, fire and fuels, botany, outdoor
recreation, archaeology, paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, lands
and realty, hydrology, soils, civil engineering, sociology, and
economics.
Dated: December 19, 2005.
Elaine M. Brong,
State Director, Oregon/Washington BLM.
[FR Doc. E6-2388 Filed 2-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P
