Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Notice of Public Hearing for the Sage Creek Holdings, LLC, Federal Coal Lease Application, COC-74219, 37826-37827 [2011-16052]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management
• Land Management Bureau

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37826-37827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16052]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCO-921000-L51100000-GA0000-LVEMC10CC770; COC-74219]


Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Notice 
of Public Hearing for the Sage Creek Holdings, LLC, Federal Coal Lease 
Application, COC-74219

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal coal management regulations, 
the Sage Creek Holdings, LLC, Federal Coal Lease-By-Application (LBA) 
Environmental Assessment (EA) is available for public review and 
comment. The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) Colorado State Office, will hold a public hearing to receive 
comments on the EA, Fair Market Value (FMV), and Maximum Economic 
Recovery (MER) of the coal resources for Sage Creek Holdings, LLC, COC-
74219.

DATES: The public hearing will be held at 6 p.m, on August 17, 2011. 
Written comments should be received no later than September 16, 2011.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the BLM Little Snake 
Field Office (BLM/LSFO) 455 Emerson St., Craig, Colorado 81625. Written 
comments should be sent to Jennifer Maiolo at the same address. You may 
also send Jennifer Maiolo a fax at 970-826-5002. Copies of the Draft 
EA, unsigned Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and MER report 
are available at the field office address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kurt M. Barton at 303-239-3714, 
kbarton@blm.gov, or Jennifer Maiolo at 970-826-5077, jmaiolo@blm.gov. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to 
contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An LBA was filed by Sage Creek Holdings, 
LLC. The coal resource to be offered is limited to coal recoverable by 
underground mining methods. The Federal coal is located in the lands 
outside established coal production regions and may supplement the 
reserves at the Sage Creek Mine. The Federal coal resources are located 
in Routt County, Colorado.

Sixth Principal Meridian,

T. 5 N., R. 87 W.,
    Sec. 21, NE\1/4\NE\1/4\;
    Sec. 22, N\1/2\, NW\1/4\SW\1/4\.

    These lands contain 400 acres, more or less.

    The EA addresses the cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and 
cumulative impacts that would likely result from leasing these coal 
lands. Two alternatives are addressed in the EA:
    Alternative 1: (Proposed Action) The tracts would be leased as 
requested in the application; and

[[Page 37827]]

    Alternative 2: (No Action) The application would be rejected or 
denied. The Federal coal reserves would be bypassed.
    Proprietary data marked as confidential may be submitted to the BLM 
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 the EA, FONSI, FMV, and MER, except those 
portions identified as proprietary by the author and meeting exemptions 
stated in the Freedom of Information Act, will be available for public 
inspection at the BLM Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield, Lakewood, 
Colorado 80215, during regular business hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Monday 
through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Comments on the EA, FMV, 
and MER should address, but not necessarily be limited to, the 
following:
    1. The quality and quantity of the coal resources;
    2. The method of mining to be employed to obtain MER of the coal, 
including specifications of the seams to be mined, timing and rate of 
production, restriction to mining, and the inclusion of the tracts in 
an existing mining operation;
    3. The FMV appraisal including, but not limited to, the evaluation 
of the tract as an incremental unit of an existing mine, quality and 
quantity of the coal resource, selling price of the coal, mining and 
reclamation costs, net present value discount factors, depreciation and 
other tax accounting factors, value of the surface estate, the mining 
method or methods, and any comparable sales data on similar coal lands. 
The values given above may or may not change as a result of comments 
received from the public and changes in market conditions between now 
and when final economic evaluations are completed.
    Written comments on the EA, MER, and FMV should be sent to Jennifer 
Maiolo at the above address prior to close of business on September 16, 
2011. Substantive comments, whether written or oral, will receive equal 
consideration prior to any lease offering. 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.
    The foregoing is published in the Federal Register pursuant to 43 
CFR 3422 and 3425.

    Dated: February 11, 2011.
Helen M. Hankins,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2011-16052 Filed 6-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P