Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the Proposed Absaloka Mine Crow Reservation South Extension Coal Lease Approval, Mine Development Plan and Related Federal and State Permitting Actions, Big Horn County, MT, 60318-60319 [E8-23784]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 198 / Friday, October 10, 2008 / Notices
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VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:11 Oct 09, 2008
Jkt 217001
Dated: October 2, 2008.
Ronald Y. Spraker,
Acting General Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Housing.
[FR Doc. E8–24196 Filed 10–9–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Final Environmental Impact Statement
and Record of Decision for the
Proposed Absaloka Mine Crow
Reservation South Extension Coal
Lease Approval, Mine Development
Plan and Related Federal and State
Permitting Actions, Big Horn County,
MT
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public
that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
and the Montana Department of
Environmental Quality (MDEQ) as joint
lead agencies, with the Crow Tribe of
Indians, the Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE),
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), as cooperating agencies,
intend to file a Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS) with the EPA
for the proposed extension of the
existing Absaloka mine onto the Crow
Indian Reservation and for related
federal and state permitting actions.
This notice also announces that the BIA
will simultaneously issue its Record of
Decision (ROD) for approval of the
Westmoreland Resources, Inc. (WRI)
lease with the Crow Tribe for the South
Extension coal lease tract on the
Reservation, and the approval of all
surface use agreements between WRI
and the allottee surface owners in the
South Extension tract. The FEIS and
ROD are now available for public
review.
DATES: The waiting period for the FEIS
and the appeal period for the ROD end
on November 10, 2008. Any written
comments on the FEIS must arrive by
November 10, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry
written comments on the FEIS to George
Gover, Superintendent; Crow Agency,
P.O. Box 69; Crow Agency, MT.
Directions on how and where to file
appeals are included in the ROD.
You may review the FEIS and ROD at
BIA, Weaver Avenue, Building 2, Crow
Agency, MT; BIA, Rocky Mountain
Regional Office, 316 N. 26th Street
(Environmental, Cultural and Safety—
PO 00000
Frm 00091
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Room 4433), Billings, MT; BLM,
Montana State Office (Solid Minerals
Section), 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings,
MT; EPA, 10 W. 15th Street, Suite 3200,
Helena, MT; MDEQ, 1520 E. 6th
Avenue, Helena, MT; the Crow Tribal
Office, Crow Agency, MT; Big Horn
County Library, Hardin, MT; or Little
Bighorn College Library, Crow Agency,
MT. The documents are also available
on the Internet at https://
www.deq.mt.gov.
Computer disk copies of the FEIS may
be obtained by contacting Rick Stefanic,
Regional Environmental Protection
Officer, Rocky Mountain Region, at 316
N. 26th Street, Billings, MT 59101, or at
the telephone number provided below.
Copies have been mailed to parties on
the distribution list and to others who
commented during the development
and review process for this EIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick
Stefanic, (406) 247–7911.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: WRI has
operated the Absaloka Mine on the
existing Tract III Crow Indian coal lease
in the Crow Ceded Area since 1974.
WRI proposes to advance surface coal
mining operations southward onto the
Crow Reservation pursuant to the terms
of an agreement with the Crow Tribe
under the Indian Mineral Development
Act (IMDA). The legal description for
the coal acreage on the Reservation is
generally given as being within T.1S.,
R.37E., Sections 1, 12, 13; and T.1S.,
R.38E., Sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16,
17, 20, and 21; Montana Principal
Meridian. This area totals 3,660.23 acres
in Big Horn County, Montana. All of the
minerals are owned by the Crow Tribe.
The surface estate is owned by the Crow
Tribe (32%), allotted Indian owners
(14%), and non-Indian fee owners
(54%).
The FEIS analyzes three alternatives,
the Proposed Action, Alternative One,
and No Action. Under the Proposed
Action, the MDEQ and OSMRE would
approve Absaloka Mine’s proposed
Tract III Revision. The BIA would
approve the IMDA lease for the
proposed South Extension and the
surface use agreements between the
allottee surface owners and WRI; and
OSMRE would approve the mining
permit for the South Extension. Under
this alternative, approximately 76.6
million tons of additional coal would be
recovered, and the mine life would be
extended until about 2023.
Under Alternative One, WRI would
not implement the South Extension
development plan on the Crow Indian
Reservation if the BIA does not approve
the IMDA lease for the South Extension
tract. Furthermore, because the South
E:\FR\FM\10OCN1.SGM
10OCN1
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 198 / Friday, October 10, 2008 / Notices
Extension includes allotted trust lands,
the South Extension development plan
would not be implemented if the BIA
does not approve all surface use
agreements between the allottee surface
owners and WRI. The coal contained in
the South Extension tract on the Crow
Indian Reservation would not be mined.
WRI would, however, receive approval
from MDEQ and OSMRE to revise
Absaloka Mine’s existing mine and
reclamation plan to include the Tract III
Revision area. Under this alternative,
approximately 13 million tons of
additional coal would be mined and the
mine life would be extended to about
2011.
Under the No Action Alternative,
none of the proposed actions would
occur and WRI would not implement
the South Extension development plan.
The remaining (already permitted) 14
million tons of in-place coal reserves
would be mined by approximately 2009
at the current 6.5 to 7.0 million-ton
annual production rate.
In addition to the BIA’s proposed
action alternatives described above, the
EIS analyzes the proposed action for the
EPA to issue a Clean Water Act National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit for discharges of storm
water associated with the proposed
mine expansion onto the Crow Indian
Reservation. The proposed stormwater
management alternative is for EPA
Region 8 to issue an NPDES permit for
the use of 24 sediment traps to contain
the 2-year, 24-hour runoff event during
the initial clearing and grubbing and
during the reclamation phase.
Supplemental internal sediment traps
would be used during the operational
phase to contain 10-year, 24-hour runoff
volume in aggregate. Sediment traps
would then be reduced in size to small
depressions as a best management
practice as reclamation is completed.
A second alternative analyzed is to
issue an NPDES permit for the use of
conventional sediment pond dams to
detain the 10-year, 24-hour runoff event
plus sediment storage. A third, is to
issue an NPDES permit for the use of a
single large dam on the main stem of
Middle Fork Sarpy Creek, downstream
of mine operations. The No Action
Alternative for the proposed
management corresponds with BIA
alternatives that do not involve
expansion of the mine onto the Crow
Indian Reservation, in which case, EPA
would not issue an NPDES permit.
The BIA has afforded government
agencies and the public full opportunity
to participate in the preparation of this
EIS. The BIA published a notice of
intent to prepare the EIS for the
proposed action in the Federal Register
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:11 Oct 09, 2008
Jkt 217001
on November 28, 2006 (71 FR 68831);
and held a public scoping meeting on
December 14, 2006, in West Hardin,
Montana. A Notice of Availability for
the Draft EIS was published in the
Federal Register on March 21, 2008 (73
FR 15189). The Draft was available for
public comment until May 5, 2008, with
an extension until June 4, 2008,
published in the Federal Register on
May 2, 2008 (73 FR 24304). The BIA
held a public hearing on the Draft EIS
on April 23, 2008, in West Hardin,
Montana. This date was announced in
the Federal Register on April 2, 2008
(73 FR 17995), in correction of an April
10, 2008, meeting date erroneously
announced in the March 21, 2008,
Notice of Availability (73 FR 15189).
Public Comment Availability
Comments, including names and
addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the BIA
address shown in the ADDRESSES
section, during business hours, 8 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays. 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.
Authority: This notice is published in
accordance with section 1503.1 of the
Council of Environmental Quality
Regulations (40 CFR, Parts 1500 through
1508) implementing the procedural
requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4371 et seq.), Department of the Interior
Manual (516 DM 1–6), and is in the exercise
of authority delegated to the Director, Office
of Environmental Policy and Compliance, via
516 DM 6.3 B. and Environmental Statement
Memorandum ESM04–12.6(e).
Willie R. Taylor,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy and
Compliance.
[FR Doc. E8–23784 Filed 10–9–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–W7–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[F–14888–A; AK–965–1410–KC–P]
Alaska Native Claims Selection
AGENCY:
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
PO 00000
Frm 00092
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
60319
Notice of decision approving
lands for conveyance.
ACTION:
SUMMARY: As required by 43 CFR
2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an
appealable decision approving lands for
conveyance pursuant to the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act will be
issued to The Kuskokwim Corporation,
Successor in Interest to Lower Kalskag
Incorporated. The lands are in the
vicinity of Lower Kalskag, Alaska, and
are located in:
Seward Meridian, Alaska
T. 16 N., R. 60 W.,
Secs. 27 to 30, inclusive.
Containing approximately 2,254 acres.
T. 16 N., R. 61 W.,
Secs. 25 to 29, inclusive.
Containing approximately 3,145 acres.
T. 16 N., R. 63 W.,
Secs. 8, 17, and 19.
Containing approximately 1,821 acres.
T. 14 N., R. 64 W.,
Secs. 1, 2, and 3;
Secs. 10 to 16, inclusive.
Containing approximately 4,949 acres.
Aggregating approximately 12,169 acres.
The subsurface estate in these lands
will be conveyed to Calista Corporation
when the surface estate is conveyed to
The Kuskokwim Corporation. Notice of
the decision will also be published four
times in the Tundra Drums.
The time limits for filing an
appeal are:
1. Any party claiming a property
interest which is adversely affected by
the decision shall have until November
10, 2008 to file an appeal.
2. Parties receiving service of the
decision by certified mail shall have 30
days from the date of receipt to file an
appeal.
Parties who do not file an appeal in
accordance with the requirements of 43
CFR Part 4, Subpart E, shall be deemed
to have waived their rights.
DATES:
A copy of the decision may
be obtained from: Bureau of Land
Management, Alaska State Office, 222
West Seventh Avenue, #13, Anchorage,
Alaska 99513–7504.
ADDRESSES:
The
Bureau of Land Management by phone
at 907–271–5960, or by e-mail at
ak.blm.conveyance@ak.blm.gov. Persons
who use a telecommunication device
(TTD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–
8330, 24 hours a day, seven days a
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
E:\FR\FM\10OCN1.SGM
10OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 198 (Friday, October 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60318-60319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23784]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for
the Proposed Absaloka Mine Crow Reservation South Extension Coal Lease
Approval, Mine Development Plan and Related Federal and State
Permitting Actions, Big Horn County, MT
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) as joint lead agencies, with the Crow Tribe of Indians, the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), as cooperating agencies, intend to file a Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) with the EPA for the proposed
extension of the existing Absaloka mine onto the Crow Indian
Reservation and for related federal and state permitting actions. This
notice also announces that the BIA will simultaneously issue its Record
of Decision (ROD) for approval of the Westmoreland Resources, Inc.
(WRI) lease with the Crow Tribe for the South Extension coal lease
tract on the Reservation, and the approval of all surface use
agreements between WRI and the allottee surface owners in the South
Extension tract. The FEIS and ROD are now available for public review.
DATES: The waiting period for the FEIS and the appeal period for the
ROD end on November 10, 2008. Any written comments on the FEIS must
arrive by November 10, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry written comments on the FEIS to
George Gover, Superintendent; Crow Agency, P.O. Box 69; Crow Agency,
MT. Directions on how and where to file appeals are included in the
ROD.
You may review the FEIS and ROD at BIA, Weaver Avenue, Building 2,
Crow Agency, MT; BIA, Rocky Mountain Regional Office, 316 N. 26th
Street (Environmental, Cultural and Safety--Room 4433), Billings, MT;
BLM, Montana State Office (Solid Minerals Section), 5001 Southgate
Drive, Billings, MT; EPA, 10 W. 15th Street, Suite 3200, Helena, MT;
MDEQ, 1520 E. 6th Avenue, Helena, MT; the Crow Tribal Office, Crow
Agency, MT; Big Horn County Library, Hardin, MT; or Little Bighorn
College Library, Crow Agency, MT. The documents are also available on
the Internet at https://www.deq.mt.gov.
Computer disk copies of the FEIS may be obtained by contacting Rick
Stefanic, Regional Environmental Protection Officer, Rocky Mountain
Region, at 316 N. 26th Street, Billings, MT 59101, or at the telephone
number provided below. Copies have been mailed to parties on the
distribution list and to others who commented during the development
and review process for this EIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Stefanic, (406) 247-7911.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: WRI has operated the Absaloka Mine on the
existing Tract III Crow Indian coal lease in the Crow Ceded Area since
1974. WRI proposes to advance surface coal mining operations southward
onto the Crow Reservation pursuant to the terms of an agreement with
the Crow Tribe under the Indian Mineral Development Act (IMDA). The
legal description for the coal acreage on the Reservation is generally
given as being within T.1S., R.37E., Sections 1, 12, 13; and T.1S.,
R.38E., Sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, and 21; Montana
Principal Meridian. This area totals 3,660.23 acres in Big Horn County,
Montana. All of the minerals are owned by the Crow Tribe. The surface
estate is owned by the Crow Tribe (32%), allotted Indian owners (14%),
and non-Indian fee owners (54%).
The FEIS analyzes three alternatives, the Proposed Action,
Alternative One, and No Action. Under the Proposed Action, the MDEQ and
OSMRE would approve Absaloka Mine's proposed Tract III Revision. The
BIA would approve the IMDA lease for the proposed South Extension and
the surface use agreements between the allottee surface owners and WRI;
and OSMRE would approve the mining permit for the South Extension.
Under this alternative, approximately 76.6 million tons of additional
coal would be recovered, and the mine life would be extended until
about 2023.
Under Alternative One, WRI would not implement the South Extension
development plan on the Crow Indian Reservation if the BIA does not
approve the IMDA lease for the South Extension tract. Furthermore,
because the South
[[Page 60319]]
Extension includes allotted trust lands, the South Extension
development plan would not be implemented if the BIA does not approve
all surface use agreements between the allottee surface owners and WRI.
The coal contained in the South Extension tract on the Crow Indian
Reservation would not be mined. WRI would, however, receive approval
from MDEQ and OSMRE to revise Absaloka Mine's existing mine and
reclamation plan to include the Tract III Revision area. Under this
alternative, approximately 13 million tons of additional coal would be
mined and the mine life would be extended to about 2011.
Under the No Action Alternative, none of the proposed actions would
occur and WRI would not implement the South Extension development plan.
The remaining (already permitted) 14 million tons of in-place coal
reserves would be mined by approximately 2009 at the current 6.5 to 7.0
million-ton annual production rate.
In addition to the BIA's proposed action alternatives described
above, the EIS analyzes the proposed action for the EPA to issue a
Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit for discharges of storm water associated with the proposed mine
expansion onto the Crow Indian Reservation. The proposed stormwater
management alternative is for EPA Region 8 to issue an NPDES permit for
the use of 24 sediment traps to contain the 2-year, 24-hour runoff
event during the initial clearing and grubbing and during the
reclamation phase. Supplemental internal sediment traps would be used
during the operational phase to contain 10-year, 24-hour runoff volume
in aggregate. Sediment traps would then be reduced in size to small
depressions as a best management practice as reclamation is completed.
A second alternative analyzed is to issue an NPDES permit for the
use of conventional sediment pond dams to detain the 10-year, 24-hour
runoff event plus sediment storage. A third, is to issue an NPDES
permit for the use of a single large dam on the main stem of Middle
Fork Sarpy Creek, downstream of mine operations. The No Action
Alternative for the proposed management corresponds with BIA
alternatives that do not involve expansion of the mine onto the Crow
Indian Reservation, in which case, EPA would not issue an NPDES permit.
The BIA has afforded government agencies and the public full
opportunity to participate in the preparation of this EIS. The BIA
published a notice of intent to prepare the EIS for the proposed action
in the Federal Register on November 28, 2006 (71 FR 68831); and held a
public scoping meeting on December 14, 2006, in West Hardin, Montana. A
Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS was published in the Federal
Register on March 21, 2008 (73 FR 15189). The Draft was available for
public comment until May 5, 2008, with an extension until June 4, 2008,
published in the Federal Register on May 2, 2008 (73 FR 24304). The BIA
held a public hearing on the Draft EIS on April 23, 2008, in West
Hardin, Montana. This date was announced in the Federal Register on
April 2, 2008 (73 FR 17995), in correction of an April 10, 2008,
meeting date erroneously announced in the March 21, 2008, Notice of
Availability (73 FR 15189).
Public Comment Availability
Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the BIA address shown in the ADDRESSES
section, during business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. 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.
Authority: This notice is published in accordance with section
1503.1 of the Council of Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR,
Parts 1500 through 1508) implementing the procedural requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4371 et seq.), Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and
is in the exercise of authority delegated to the Director, Office of
Environmental Policy and Compliance, via 516 DM 6.3 B. and
Environmental Statement Memorandum ESM04-12.6(e).
Willie R. Taylor,
Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.
[FR Doc. E8-23784 Filed 10-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P
