Notice of Availability of the East Lynn Lake Coal Lease Draft Land Use Analysis and Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Hearing, Wayne County, West Virginia, 34035-34037 [E8-13457]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 116 / Monday, June 16, 2008 / Notices
additional staffing, the Service would
collect baseline biological information
for wildlife and habitats. Wildlifedependent recreation opportunities
would be provided and enhanced where
compatible with refuge purposes. Efforts
would be increased in the operations
and maintenance of natural resources on
the refuge and to maintain and develop
partnerships that promote wildlife and
habitat research and management.
Alternative C is the Service’s
proposed action and basis for the draft
comprehensive conservation plan.
Under Alternative C, the Memorandum
of Agreement between the Bureau of
Reclamation and the Service would be
modified to eliminate Service interest in
lands (approximately 10,800 acres) that
are difficult to manage and provide
minimal opportunity to improve
wildlife habitat. Remaining refuge areas
would be managed similar to those
actions described in Alternative B. This
would enable the Service to focus efforts
on manageable lands, thereby enhancing
refuge management and efficiently
directing refuge resources toward
accomplishing the mission of the Refuge
System.
The proposed action (Alternative C)
was selected because it best meets the
purposes and goals of the refuge, as well
as the mission and goals of the National
Wildlife Refuge System. The proposed
action will also benefit federally listed
species, shore birds, migrating and
nesting waterfowl and resident wildlife.
Environmental education and
partnerships will result in improved
wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities. Cultural and historical
resources as well as federally listed
species will be protected.
Opportunity for public input will be
provided at a public meeting to be
scheduled soon. The specific date and
time for the public meeting is yet to be
determined, but will be announced via
local media and a planning update. All
information provided voluntarily by
mail, by phone, or at public meetings
(e.g., names, addresses, letters of
comment, input recorded during
meetings) becomes part of the official
public record. If requested under the
Freedom of Information Act by a private
citizen or organization, the Service may
provide copies of such information. The
environmental review of this project
will be conducted in accordance with
the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.); NEPA Regulations (40 CFR parts
1500–1508); other appropriate Federal
laws and regulations; Executive Order
12996; the National Wildlife Refuge
System Improvement Act of 1997; and
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:04 Jun 13, 2008
Jkt 214001
Service policies and procedures for
compliance with those laws and
regulations.
Dated: June 5, 2008.
Sharon R. Rose,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E8–13469 Filed 6–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R9–IA–2008–N0129; 96300–1671–
0000–P5]
Receipt of Applications for Permit
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications
for permit.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The public is invited to
comment on the following applications
to conduct certain activities with
endangered species.
DATES: Written data, comments or
requests must be received by July 16,
2008.
ADDRESSES: Documents and other
information submitted with these
applications are available for review,
subject to the requirements of the
Privacy Act and Freedom of Information
Act, by any party who submits a written
request for a copy of such documents
within 30 days of the date of publication
of this notice to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Division of Management
Authority, 4401 North Fairfax Drive,
Room 212, Arlington, Virginia 22203;
fax 703–358–2281.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Division of Management Authority,
telephone 703–358–2104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Endangered Species
The public is invited to comment on
the following applications for a permit
to conduct certain activities with
endangered species. This notice is
provided pursuant to Section 10(c) of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ).
Written data, comments, or requests for
copies of these complete applications
should be submitted to the Director
(address above).
Applicant: University of Texas at
Austin, Austin, TX, PRT–182099
The applicant requests a permit to
transport biological samples from the
following species: Lowland gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla gorilla), pygmy
chimpanzee (Pan paniscus),
PO 00000
Frm 00065
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
34035
chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), Borneo
orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus),
and Sumatran orangutan (Pongo
pygmaeus abelii) from the Coriell
Institute for Medical Research, Camden,
New Jersey for the purpose of
enhancement of the species through
scientific research. This notification
covers activities conducted by the
applicant for a five-year period.
Applicant: Thomas E. Tate, Glendale,
CA, PRT–182074
The applicant requests a permit to
import the sport-hunted trophy of one
male bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus
pygargus) culled from a captive herd
maintained under the management
program of the Republic of South Africa,
for the purpose of enhancement of the
survival of the species.
Applicant: Patrick J. Mulligan, Dallas,
TX, PRT–180778
The applicant requests a permit to
import the sport-hunted trophy of one
male bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus
pygargus) culled from a captive herd
maintained under the management
program of the Republic of South Africa,
for the purpose of enhancement of the
survival of the species.
Dated: May 9, 2008.
Lisa J. Lierheimer,
Senior Permit Biologist, Branch of Permits,
Division of Management Authority.
[FR Doc. E8–13450 Filed 6–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[ES–030–08–1320–EL; WVES–50560;
WVES–50556]
Notice of Availability of the East Lynn
Lake Coal Lease Draft Land Use
Analysis and Draft Environmental
Impact Statement and Notice of
Hearing, Wayne County, West Virginia
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA) and the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976
(FLPMA), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and its cooperating
agencies have prepared a Draft Land Use
Analysis and Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DLUA/DEIS) to
analyze the potential impacts of two
Federal Coal Lease By Applications
(LBAs), WVES–50556 and WVES–
50560, totaling 13,089.55 acres at the
E:\FR\FM\16JNN1.SGM
16JNN1
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
34036
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 116 / Monday, June 16, 2008 / Notices
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE)
East Lynn Lake Project in Wayne
County, West Virginia. By this notice,
the BLM announces the beginning of a
90-day public review and comment
period and notice of a public hearing for
the DLUA/DEIS, Maximum Economic
Recovery (MER), and Fair Market Value
(FMV) pursuant to the 43 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) 3425.4. The
public is invited to review and comment
on the DLUA/DEIS, MER, and FMV.
DATES: Comments will be accepted for
90 days following the date that the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability for
this DLUA/DEIS in the Federal Register.
The BLM will hold the public hearing
at 7 p.m. EDT, on July 31, 2008, at the
Town Hall, 1300 Norfolk Avenue,
Wayne, West Virginia. The BLM will
announce this public hearing as well as
any future meetings or hearings and any
other public involvement activities at
least 15 days in advance through public
notices, media news releases, and/or
mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• E-mail:
EastLynnLakeComments@blm.gov.
• Mail: BLM–ES Milwaukee Field
Office, Attn: Chris Carusona, 626 E.
Wisconsin Ave., Suite 200, Milwaukee,
WI 53202.
• Facsimile: 414–297–4409, Attn:
Chris Carusona.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chris Carusona, Planning and
Environmental Coordinator, at 414–
297–4463, (Chris_Carusona@blm.gov),
or at the location listed in the
ADDRESSES section.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM
is considering issuing two coal leases as
a result of applications made by Argus
Energy WV, LLC (Argus) and
Rockspring Development, Inc.
(Rockspring) to lease the Federal coal in
the East Lynn Lake Project area in
Wayne County, West Virginia. Argus
submitted a coal LBA (WVES–50556) to
BLM for 7,639.63 acres bordering a
portion of the southern shore of East
Lynn Lake and Rockspring submitted a
coal LBA (WVES–50560) for 5,449.92
acres that borders a portion of the north
shore of the lake. East Lynn Lake is
located approximately 25 miles south of
Huntington, West Virginia, and is
managed by the USACE for flood
control, recreation, and wildlife. The
DLUA/DEIS analyzes and discloses to
the public direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental impacts of
issuing Federal coal leases in the East
Lynn Lake Project area. A copy of the
DLUA/DEIS will be sent to affected
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:04 Jun 13, 2008
Jkt 214001
Federal, State, and local government
agencies; persons and entities identified
as potentially being affected by a
decision to lease the Federal coal in this
area; and persons who indicated to the
BLM that they wanted to receive a copy
of the DLUA/DEIS. The purpose of the
public hearing is to solicit comments on
the DLUA/DEIS, on the proposed
competitive lease sale and the MER and
FMV of the Federal coal from the
Federal coal tracts near East Lynn Lake.
Argus and Rockspring applied for the
tracts in accordance with 43 CFR 3425
in order to extend the life of their
existing underground mines they
operate on adjacent private land. Argus
estimated that the tracts in their
application include 55 million tons of
in-place Federal coal and Rockspring
estimated that the tracts they applied for
include 40.98 million tons of in-place
Federal coal. The coal seam proposed to
be mined is the Coalburg/Winifrede
seam.
The State of West Virginia does not
use the Public Land Rectangular Survey
System to legally describe land tracts
within the State, but instead utilizes
metes and bounds property
descriptions. Consequently, to avoid
numerous pages of lengthy legal
descriptions, the Federal coal reserves
encompassed by the LBAs are described
below by referencing the USACE
mineral-tract numbers. It should be
pointed out that referencing a mineraltract number in the listing below does
not necessarily mean the entire mineral
tract is under application. More detailed
property descriptions are available in
the DLUA/DEIS.
Argus, LBA WVES–50556
Mineral Tract Numbers: 177M–14;
177M–12; 177M–11; 177M–1; 745M;
746M; 808; 840M; 843M; 846M; 1140M;
1140; 1301; 1313M; 1330M; 1717M;
1718M; 1810M; 1811M; 1813M; 2020M;
2321M; 2430M; 2431M; and 2737.
Approximately 7,639.63 acres in
Wayne County, West Virginia.
Rockspring, LBA WVES–50560
Mineral Tract Numbers: 174M; 177M–
2; 177M–1; 184M; 376ME–2; 375M;
376ME–1; 377M; 378M; 380M; 381M;
382M; 384M; 386M; 390ME–1; 395M;
430M; 517A; 517B; 545M; 547M; 548M;
550M; 553M; 554M; 556M; 745M;
1450M; 1451M; 1452M; 1453M; 1717M;
and 1718M.
Approximately 5,449.92 acres in
Wayne County, West Virginia.
The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare
a LUA/EIS for Federal coal leasing
administered by the BLM in Wayne
County, West Virginia, was published in
the Federal Register on July 14, 2005
PO 00000
Frm 00066
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(70 FR 40723–40725). The scope of the
analysis was to include an assessment of
the direct, indirect, and cumulative
environmental, cultural, social science,
and economic impacts associated with
commercial leasing of the Federal coal
under a range of alternatives.
The Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM),
the USACE, and the West Virginia
Division of Natural Resources (DNR) are
cooperating agencies in the preparation
of the DLUA/DEIS.
Argus proposes to mine the Federal
coal in the lease application area by
underground methods extending from
two of their existing underground mines
located on private land to the south of
the application area. Rockspring would
similarly access their application area
from their existing underground mine
located on private lands north of their
application area. No mining would
occur beneath East Lynn Lake and no
surface mining would take place. The
existing mines for Argus and Rockspring
have approved mining and reclamation
plans from the West Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) and an approved air quality
permit from the Air Quality Division of
the West Virginia DEQ.
It is reasonable to expect that
Rockspring may wish to conduct
exploratory drilling on their area of
interest. Both companies may need to
drill additional holes for mine plan
purposes if leases were to be issued and
mine plans approved.
The BLM is authorized to lease
Federal coal, under the Mineral Leasing
Act (43 CFR 3480.0–5(a)(25)) and the
Water Resource and Development Act of
1999, for Federally owned coal at East
Lynn Lake. The OSM, in cooperation
with the State of West Virginia, issues
mine permits under the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act.
The DLUA/DEIS analyzes leasing the
East Lynn Lake Federal coal tracts as the
Proposed Action and is the agency’s
preferred action. Under the proposed
action, a competitive sale would be held
and two leases issued for Federal coal
in the tracts under applications by
Argus and Rockspring. The DLUA/DEIS
also analyzes the alternative of rejecting
the applications to lease Federal coal as
the No Action Alternative.
Requests to be included on the
mailing list for this project and for
copies of the DLUA/DEIS, paper copy or
CD–ROM, or notification of the
comment period or hearing date, or
both, may be sent in writing, by
facsimile, or electronically to the
addresses previously stated at the
beginning of this notice. The BLM asks
that those submitting comments on the
E:\FR\FM\16JNN1.SGM
16JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 116 / Monday, June 16, 2008 / Notices
DLUA/DEIS make them as specific as
possible with reference to page numbers
and chapters of the document.
Comments that contain only opinions or
preferences will not receive a formal
response; however, they will be
considered and included as part of the
BLM decision-making process.
Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail 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.
Copies of the DLUA/DEIS are
available for public inspection at the
Milwaukee Field Office address listed
above, during regular business hours
(7:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., CDT),
Monday through Friday, with the
exception of Federal holidays. The
DLUA/DEIS is available on the
following Web site: https://
www.es.blm.gov/EastLynnLake/
index.php.
Dated: February 14, 2008.
Juan Palma,
State Director, Eastern States.
Editorial Note: This document was
received in the Office of the Federal Register
on June 11, 2008.
[FR Doc. E8–13457 Filed 6–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–GJ–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
National Register of Historic Places;
Notification of Pending Nominations
and Related Actions
Nominations for the following
properties being considered for listing
or related actions in the National
Register were received by the National
Park Service before May 31, 2008.
Pursuant to section 60.13 of 36 CFR Part
60 written comments concerning the
significance of these properties under
the National Register criteria for
evaluation may be forwarded by United
States Postal Service, to the National
Register of Historic Places, National
Park Service, 1849 C St., NW., 2280,
Washington, DC 20240; by all other
carriers, National Register of Historic
Places, National Park Service, 1201 Eye
St., NW., 8th floor, Washington, DC
20005; or by fax, 202–371–6447. Written
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:04 Jun 13, 2008
Jkt 214001
or faxed comments should be submitted
by July 1, 2008.
J. Paul Loether,
Chief, National Register of Historic Places/
National Historic Landmarks Program.
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles County
Apartments at 1342–1346 N. Hayworth
Avenue, 1342–1346 N. Hayworth Ave.,
West Hollywood, 08000628
FLORIDA
Miami-Dade County
Seminole Cafe and Hotel, 55 S. Flagler Ave.,
Homestead, 08000641
Volusia County
Airport Clear Zone Archeological Site,
(Archeological Resources of the 18thCentury Smyrnea Settlement of Dr.
Andrew Turnbull MPS), Address
Restricted, New Smyrna Beach, 08000639
Blanchette Archeological Site, (Archeological
Resources of the 18th-Century Smyrnea
Settlement of Dr. Andrew Turnbull MPS),
Address Restricted, New Smyrna,
08000640
First Presbyterian Church Archeological Site,
(Archeological Resources of the 18thCentury Smyrnea Settlement of Dr.
Andrew Turnbull MPS), Address
Restricted, New Smyrna Beach, 08000635
Grange Archeological Site, (Archeological
Resources of the 18th-Century Smyrnea
Settlement of Dr. Andrew Turnbull MPS),
Address Restricted, New Smyrna Beach,
08000631
Hawks Archeological Site, (Archeological
Resources of the 18th-Century Smyrnea
Settlement of Dr. Andrew Turnbull MPS),
Address Restricted, Edgewater, 08000636
Janet’s Archeological Site, (Archeological
Resources of the 18th-Century Smyrnea
Settlement of Dr. Andrew Turnbull MPS),
Address Restricted, New Smyrna Beach,
08000630
Old Fort Park Archeological Site,
(Archeological Resources of the 18thCentury Smyrnea Settlement of Dr.
Andrew Turnbull MPS), Address
Restricted, New Smyrna Beach, 08000629
Old Stone Wharf Archeological Site,
(Archeological Resources of the 18thCentury Smyrnea Settlement of Dr.
Andrew Turnbull MPS), Address
Restricted, New Smyrna Beach, 08000638
Sleepy Hollow Archeological Site,
(Archeological Resources of the 18thCentury Smyrnea Settlement of Dr.
Andrew Turnbull MPS), Address
Restricted, New Smyrna Beach, 08000637
Turnbull Colonists’ House Archeological
Site, (Archeological Resources of the 18thCentury Smyrnea Settlement of Dr.
Andrew Turnbull MPS), Address
Restricted, New Smyrna Beach, 08000632
Turnbull Colonists’ House No. 2
Archeological Site, (Archeological
Resources of the 18th-Century Smyrnea
Settlement of Dr. Andrew Turnbull MPS),
Address Restricted, New Smyrna Beach,
08000633
White-Fox House Archeological Site,
(Archeological Resources of the 18th-
PO 00000
Frm 00067
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
34037
Century Smyrnea Settlement of Dr.
Andrew Turnbull MPS), Address
Restricted, New Smyrna Beach, 08000634
KANSAS
Cheyenne County
St. Francis City Park, (New Deal-Era
Resources of Kansas MPS), 300 Block of E.
Washington St., St. Francis, 08000645
Dickinson County
Elms Hotel, 201 W. 1st St., Abilene,
08000644
Graham County
Antelope Lake Park, (New Deal-Era
Resources of Kansas MPS), 2.5 miles W
and .5 miles N. of Jct. U.S. 24 and KS 85,
Morland, 08000643
Miami County
Jackson Hotel, 139 W. Peoria St., Paola,
08000646
KENTUCKY
Campbell County
Fort Thomas Commercial District, 1011–1123
S. Fort Thomas Ave., 9–11 River Rd., 12–
28 Midway Ct., Ft. Thomas, 08000653
Clark County
Woodford—Fishback—Venable Farm, 5696
Combs Ferry Rd., Winchester, 08000655
Fayette County
Hollywood Terrace Historic District, (Historic
Residential Suburbs in the United States,
1830–1960 MPS), Tates Creek Rd. and the
rear property lines of the properties facing,
Euclid, Tremont and Park Ave., Lexington,
08000652
Garrard County
Dr. Edwards House, 572 Danville St.,
Lancaster, 08000650
Jefferson County
Hadley, Mary Alica, House, 1638 Story Ave.,
Louisville, 08000649
Progress School, 200 Wood Rd., Louisville,
08000648
Logan County
Rhea Stadium, NE. corner of Intersection of
E. 9th and Summer St., Russellville,
08000647
Oldham County
Ross-Hollenbach Farm, 4701 S. Hwy. 1694,
Brownsboro, 08000651
TEXAS
Dallas County
Bromberg, Alfred and Juanita, House, 3201
Wendover Rd., Dallas, 08000658
Fayette County
Fayetteville Historic District, Roughly
bounded by E. Bell, N. Thompson, E.
Fayette, E. Main, Post Oak Lane,
Fayetteville, 08000657
WISCONSIN
Milwaukee County
Florida and Third Industrial Historic District,
234–500 (even side) W. Florida St., 222 W.
E:\FR\FM\16JNN1.SGM
16JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 116 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34035-34037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13457]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[ES-030-08-1320-EL; WVES-50560; WVES-50556]
Notice of Availability of the East Lynn Lake Coal Lease Draft
Land Use Analysis and Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice
of Hearing, Wayne County, West Virginia
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
(FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and its cooperating
agencies have prepared a Draft Land Use Analysis and Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DLUA/DEIS) to analyze the potential
impacts of two Federal Coal Lease By Applications (LBAs), WVES-50556
and WVES-50560, totaling 13,089.55 acres at the
[[Page 34036]]
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) East Lynn Lake Project in Wayne
County, West Virginia. By this notice, the BLM announces the beginning
of a 90-day public review and comment period and notice of a public
hearing for the DLUA/DEIS, Maximum Economic Recovery (MER), and Fair
Market Value (FMV) pursuant to the 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
3425.4. The public is invited to review and comment on the DLUA/DEIS,
MER, and FMV.
DATES: Comments will be accepted for 90 days following the date that
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of
Availability for this DLUA/DEIS in the Federal Register. The BLM will
hold the public hearing at 7 p.m. EDT, on July 31, 2008, at the Town
Hall, 1300 Norfolk Avenue, Wayne, West Virginia. The BLM will announce
this public hearing as well as any future meetings or hearings and any
other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance through
public notices, media news releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: EastLynnLakeComments@blm.gov.
Mail: BLM-ES Milwaukee Field Office, Attn: Chris Carusona,
626 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 200, Milwaukee, WI 53202.
Facsimile: 414-297-4409, Attn: Chris Carusona.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Carusona, Planning and
Environmental Coordinator, at 414-297-4463, (Chris_Carusona@blm.gov),
or at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM is considering issuing two coal
leases as a result of applications made by Argus Energy WV, LLC (Argus)
and Rockspring Development, Inc. (Rockspring) to lease the Federal coal
in the East Lynn Lake Project area in Wayne County, West Virginia.
Argus submitted a coal LBA (WVES-50556) to BLM for 7,639.63 acres
bordering a portion of the southern shore of East Lynn Lake and
Rockspring submitted a coal LBA (WVES-50560) for 5,449.92 acres that
borders a portion of the north shore of the lake. East Lynn Lake is
located approximately 25 miles south of Huntington, West Virginia, and
is managed by the USACE for flood control, recreation, and wildlife.
The DLUA/DEIS analyzes and discloses to the public direct, indirect,
and cumulative environmental impacts of issuing Federal coal leases in
the East Lynn Lake Project area. A copy of the DLUA/DEIS will be sent
to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies; persons and
entities identified as potentially being affected by a decision to
lease the Federal coal in this area; and persons who indicated to the
BLM that they wanted to receive a copy of the DLUA/DEIS. The purpose of
the public hearing is to solicit comments on the DLUA/DEIS, on the
proposed competitive lease sale and the MER and FMV of the Federal coal
from the Federal coal tracts near East Lynn Lake.
Argus and Rockspring applied for the tracts in accordance with 43
CFR 3425 in order to extend the life of their existing underground
mines they operate on adjacent private land. Argus estimated that the
tracts in their application include 55 million tons of in-place Federal
coal and Rockspring estimated that the tracts they applied for include
40.98 million tons of in-place Federal coal. The coal seam proposed to
be mined is the Coalburg/Winifrede seam.
The State of West Virginia does not use the Public Land Rectangular
Survey System to legally describe land tracts within the State, but
instead utilizes metes and bounds property descriptions. Consequently,
to avoid numerous pages of lengthy legal descriptions, the Federal coal
reserves encompassed by the LBAs are described below by referencing the
USACE mineral-tract numbers. It should be pointed out that referencing
a mineral-tract number in the listing below does not necessarily mean
the entire mineral tract is under application. More detailed property
descriptions are available in the DLUA/DEIS.
Argus, LBA WVES-50556
Mineral Tract Numbers: 177M-14; 177M-12; 177M-11; 177M-1; 745M;
746M; 808; 840M; 843M; 846M; 1140M; 1140; 1301; 1313M; 1330M; 1717M;
1718M; 1810M; 1811M; 1813M; 2020M; 2321M; 2430M; 2431M; and 2737.
Approximately 7,639.63 acres in Wayne County, West Virginia.
Rockspring, LBA WVES-50560
Mineral Tract Numbers: 174M; 177M-2; 177M-1; 184M; 376ME-2; 375M;
376ME-1; 377M; 378M; 380M; 381M; 382M; 384M; 386M; 390ME-1; 395M; 430M;
517A; 517B; 545M; 547M; 548M; 550M; 553M; 554M; 556M; 745M; 1450M;
1451M; 1452M; 1453M; 1717M; and 1718M.
Approximately 5,449.92 acres in Wayne County, West Virginia.
The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a LUA/EIS for Federal coal
leasing administered by the BLM in Wayne County, West Virginia, was
published in the Federal Register on July 14, 2005 (70 FR 40723-40725).
The scope of the analysis was to include an assessment of the direct,
indirect, and cumulative environmental, cultural, social science, and
economic impacts associated with commercial leasing of the Federal coal
under a range of alternatives.
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), the
USACE, and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) are
cooperating agencies in the preparation of the DLUA/DEIS.
Argus proposes to mine the Federal coal in the lease application
area by underground methods extending from two of their existing
underground mines located on private land to the south of the
application area. Rockspring would similarly access their application
area from their existing underground mine located on private lands
north of their application area. No mining would occur beneath East
Lynn Lake and no surface mining would take place. The existing mines
for Argus and Rockspring have approved mining and reclamation plans
from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and an
approved air quality permit from the Air Quality Division of the West
Virginia DEQ.
It is reasonable to expect that Rockspring may wish to conduct
exploratory drilling on their area of interest. Both companies may need
to drill additional holes for mine plan purposes if leases were to be
issued and mine plans approved.
The BLM is authorized to lease Federal coal, under the Mineral
Leasing Act (43 CFR 3480.0-5(a)(25)) and the Water Resource and
Development Act of 1999, for Federally owned coal at East Lynn Lake.
The OSM, in cooperation with the State of West Virginia, issues mine
permits under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.
The DLUA/DEIS analyzes leasing the East Lynn Lake Federal coal
tracts as the Proposed Action and is the agency's preferred action.
Under the proposed action, a competitive sale would be held and two
leases issued for Federal coal in the tracts under applications by
Argus and Rockspring. The DLUA/DEIS also analyzes the alternative of
rejecting the applications to lease Federal coal as the No Action
Alternative.
Requests to be included on the mailing list for this project and
for copies of the DLUA/DEIS, paper copy or CD-ROM, or notification of
the comment period or hearing date, or both, may be sent in writing, by
facsimile, or electronically to the addresses previously stated at the
beginning of this notice. The BLM asks that those submitting comments
on the
[[Page 34037]]
DLUA/DEIS make them as specific as possible with reference to page
numbers and chapters of the document. Comments that contain only
opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response; however,
they will be considered and included as part of the BLM decision-making
process.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 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.
Copies of the DLUA/DEIS are available for public inspection at the
Milwaukee Field Office address listed above, during regular business
hours (7:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., CDT), Monday through Friday, with
the exception of Federal holidays. The DLUA/DEIS is available on the
following Web site: https://www.es.blm.gov/EastLynnLake/index.php.
Dated: February 14, 2008.
Juan Palma,
State Director, Eastern States.
Editorial Note: This document was received in the Office of the
Federal Register on June 11, 2008.
[FR Doc. E8-13457 Filed 6-13-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P
