Notice of Availability of the Buckskin Mine Hay Creek II Coal Lease-by-Application Final Environmental Impact Statement, Wyoming, 45612-45614 [2011-19093]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 146 / Friday, July 29, 2011 / Notices
would be required. No new route
alternatives were considered in detail
because this is a rebuild of an existing
line.
Segment 7 consists of a 118-mile,
single-circuit 500-kV transmission line
between the Populus Substation and the
proposed Cedar Hill Substation near the
county line between Cassia and Twin
Falls Counties in Idaho. Ten alternative
route segments were considered in
detail, including two that cross the
Sawtooth National Forest, one of which
crosses into Nevada for approximately 9
miles.
Segment 8 consists of a 131-mile,
single-circuit 500-kV transmission line
between the Midpoint Substation and
the Hemingway Substation, located
approximately 30 miles southwest of
Boise, Idaho. Five alternative route
segments were considered in detail.
Segment 9 consists of a 162-mile,
single-circuit 500-kV transmission line
between the proposed Cedar Hill
Substation and the planned Hemingway
Substation near Murphy, Idaho. Eight
alternative route segments were
considered in detail.
Segment 10 consists of a 34-mile,
single-circuit 500-kV transmission line
between the Midpoint Substation,
located approximately 9 miles south of
Shoshone, and Cedar Hill Substation
near the county line between Cassia and
Twin Falls Counties in Idaho. No other
alternative routes were considered in
detail for this segment.
The BLM, USFS, Proponents, and
Cooperating Agencies worked together
to develop routes that would conform to
existing Federal land use plans.
However, this objective was not reached
for many of the routes analyzed in the
DEIS. Unlike the regulations at 43 CFR
46.425 that allow the BLM to defer
identification of an agency preferred
route alternative until the Final EIS, the
BLM planning regulations at 43 CFR
1610.4–7 require identification of the
BLM’s Preferred Plan Amendment in
the DEIS. The BLM has identified draft
plan amendments below for each
situation of nonconformance that would
bring the Proposed or Alternative Route
into conformance with the respective
land use plan. Each of these plan
amendments is the BLM’s preferred
plan amendment. The specific land use
plan amendments actually needed will
be determined by the final agency
preferred route selected. Therefore,
some of the following prospective plan
amendments may not need to be
implemented. The BLM will identify
those plan amendments it intends to
implement (as Proposed Plan
Amendments), along with its preferred
route, in the Final EIS.
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The following land-use plan
amendments may be needed to bring the
Gateway West Transmission Line
Project into conformance with the
applicable Resource Management Plans
(RMPs) and Management Framework
Plans (MFPs) for BLM-managed lands
and Land and Resource Management
Plans (Forest Plans) for National Forest
System lands crossed by the project,
depending on project approval and on
the final route selected. All prospective
plan amendments will comply with
applicable Federal laws and regulations,
be analyzed in the Gateway West EIS,
and apply only to Federal lands and
mineral estate administered by the BLM
or USFS.
Casper RMP: An amendment may be
needed for visual resource management.
Rawlins RMP: An amendment may be
needed for visual resource management.
Green River RMP: Amendments may
be needed for visual resource
management, sage-grouse, and raptor
management.
Kemmerer RMP: Amendments may be
needed for management of visual
resources, historic trails, heritage
resources, sage-grouse, the Rock Creek/
Tunp Special Designation Area, and
recreation.
Malad MFP: Amendments may be
needed for management of visual
resources and to designate a new utility
corridor.
Bennett Hills/Timmerman Hills MFP:
An amendment may be needed for
visual resource management.
Cassia RMP: Amendments may be
needed for management of visual
resources, historic trails, and to
designate a new utility corridor.
Twin Falls MFP: An amendment may
be needed for visual resource
management and to allow a linear
facility outside of existing corridors.
Jarbidge RMP: Amendments may be
needed for management of visual
resources, paleontological sites, historic
trails, to adjust management objectives
in an ACEC, and to designate a new
utility corridor.
Kuna MFP: An amendment may be
needed for a historic site and to
designate a new utility corridor.
Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of
Prey National Conservation Area RMP:
Amendments may be needed for
management of visual resources, nonmotorized area management, to adjust
management objectives in a Special
Recreation Management Area, sensitive
plant habitat, and to designate a new
utility corridor.
Bruneau MFP: An amendment may be
needed for visual resource management.
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Wells RMP: An amendment may be
needed to allow a linear facility outside
of identified planning corridors.
Medicine Bow Forest Plan: An
amendment may be needed for
management of visual resources,
goshawk and amphibian habitat,
recreation, and to change the
management prescription for any area
crossed by new transmission lines not
within the WWE corridor.
Caribou Forest Plan: An amendment
may be needed to designate a new
utility corridor.
Sawtooth Forest Plan: An amendment
may be needed for management of
visual resources and recreation.
The DEIS analyzes the environmental
consequences of the No Action
alternative, the proposed action,
segment and design alternatives, and
land use plan amendments. For this EIS,
the No Action alternative means that the
Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain
Power ROW application for the Gateway
West project would be denied by the
BLM. The BLM will utilize and
coordinate the NEPA commenting
process to satisfy the public
involvement process for Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act
(16 U.S.C. 470f), as provided for in 36
CFR 800.2(d)(3). Ongoing Native
American Tribal consultations will
continue to be conducted in accordance
with policy, and Tribal concerns,
including impacts on Indian trust assets,
will be given due consideration.
Federal, State, and local agencies, along
with other stakeholders that may be
interested or affected by the BLM’s
decision on this project, are invited to
participate.
Brent L. Larson,
Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National
Forest.
Donald A. Simpson,
Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2011–19094 Filed 7–28–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWYP00000–L51100000–GA0000–
LVEMK09CK380, WYW172684]
Notice of Availability of the Buckskin
Mine Hay Creek II Coal Lease-byApplication Final Environmental
Impact Statement, Wyoming
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 146 / Friday, July 29, 2011 / Notices
1969 (NEPA), and the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976
(FLPMA), the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) announces the
availability of the Buckskin Mine Hay
Creek II Coal Lease-by-Application
(LBA) Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS). The tract is being
considered for sale as a result of a coal
lease application received from the
operator of the adjacent Buckskin Mine
in Campbell County, Wyoming.
DATES: To ensure comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Buckskin
Mine Hay Creek II Final EIS within 30
days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• E-mail:
Hay_Creek_II_WYMail@blm.gov. Please
include ‘‘Hay Creek II Coal FEIS—
Teresa Johnson’’ in the subject line.
• FAX: 307–261–7587, Attn: Teresa
Johnson.
• Mail: Wyoming High Plains District
Office, Bureau of Land Management,
Attn: Teresa Johnson, 2987 Prospector
Drive, Casper, Wyoming 82604.
• Written comments may also be
hand-delivered to the BLM Wyoming
High Plains District Office in Casper.
Copies of the Final EIS are available at
the following BLM office locations: BLM
Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming
82009; and the BLM Wyoming High
Plains District Office, 2987 Prospector
Drive, Casper, Wyoming 82604. The
Final EIS is available electronically at
the following Web site: https://
www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/
documents/hpd/HayCreekII.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Teresa Johnson or Mike Karbs at the
BLM Wyoming High Plains District
Office address above or telephone 307–
261–7600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final
EIS analyzes and discloses to the public
direct, indirect, and cumulative
environmental impacts of issuing the
Hay Creek II LBA, case number
WYW172684, in the Wyoming portion
of the decertified Powder River Federal
Coal Production Region. The BLM is
considering issuing a coal lease as a
result of a March 24, 2006, application
submitted by Kiewit Mining Properties,
Inc., to lease Federal coal near the
Buckskin Mine approximately 12 miles
north of Gillette, Wyoming.
Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc.
proposes to lease the tract as a
maintenance tract to extend the life of
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the existing mining operations at the
Buckskin Mine under the provisions of
the Leasing on Application regulations
at 43 CFR subpart 3425. BLM personnel
reviewed the application and delineated
a proposed tract that would best serve
the public interest. The BLM’s preferred
tract delineation contains approximately
1,567 acres and approximately 277
million tons of in-place coal. The lands
are in Campbell County, Wyoming and
are generally located within sections 7
through 9 and 17 through 19 in T. 52 N.,
R. 72 W., 6th PM, Wyoming. If a
decision is made to lease the coal, the
lands will be specifically described in
the Notice of Coal Lease Sale.
The Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)
and the Wyoming Department of
Environmental Quality (WDEQ) are
cooperating agencies in the preparation
of this Final EIS.
If the tract is leased as a maintenance
tract, the new lease will be incorporated
into the existing mining and
reclamation plan for the adjacent mine.
The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary)
must approve the revision to the
Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) mining plan
before the Federal coal can be mined. If
the tract is leased, OSM is the Federal
agency that would be responsible for
recommending approval, approval with
conditions, or disapproval of the revised
MLA mining plan to the Secretary. The
WDEQ has entered into a cooperative
agreement with the Secretary to regulate
surface coal mining operations on
Federal and non-Federal lands within
Wyoming.
On December 21, 2007, the BLM
published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to
prepare an EIS for the Hay Creek II coal
lease application in the Federal Register
(72 FR 72750). A notice announcing the
availability of the Draft EIS was
published in the Federal Register by the
EPA on March 12, 2010, (75 FR 11882).
A 60-day comment period on the Draft
EIS commenced with publication of the
EPA’s notice of availability and ended
on May 10, 2010. The BLM published a
Notice of Availability and Notice of
Public Hearing in the Federal Register
on March 12, 2010, (75 FR 11906). The
BLM’s Federal Register notice
announced the date and time of a public
hearing, which was held on April 22,
2010, in Gillette, Wyoming. The
purpose of the hearing was to solicit
comments on the Draft EIS, fair market
value, and the maximum economic
recovery of the Federal coal. No
statements were given as testimony at
the public hearing. During the Draft EIS
comment period, the BLM received
eight comment letters, which are
included in an appendix to the Final
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45613
EIS with BLM’s responses to the
comments.
The Final EIS analyzes leasing the
Hay Creek II coal tract as-applied-for as
the Proposed Action. Under the
Proposed Action, a competitive sale
would be held and a lease issued for
Federal coal in the tract as applied for
by Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc. As
part of the coal leasing process, the BLM
identified an alternative tract
configuration, which is the preferred
alternative, to assure the maximum
economic recovery of the coal, to avoid
isolating or bypassing marketable coal,
and to prompt competitive interest in
the unleased Federal coal for this area.
The alternate tract configuration that
BLM has identified is described and
analyzed as a separate alternative in the
Final EIS. Under this alternative, a
competitive sale would be held and a
lease would be issued for Federal coal
lands included in a tract modified by
the BLM. The Final EIS also analyzes
the alternative of rejecting the
application to lease Federal coal as the
No Action Alternative. The Proposed
Action and alternatives being
considered in the Final EIS are in
conformance with the Resource
Management Plan for Public Lands
Administered by the Bureau of Land
Management Buffalo Field Office (2001).
A Record of Decision (ROD) will be
prepared after the close of the 30-day
review period for the Final EIS.
Comments received on the Final EIS
will be considered during preparation of
the ROD.
Copies of the Final EIS have been
mailed to all parties on the mailing list
for this project. Requests for copies can
be made in writing, by facsimile, or
electronically to the addresses listed at
the beginning of this notice. The BLM
asks that those submitting comments on
the Final EIS 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 as part of the BLM decisionmaking process. Please note that
comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses, and
e-mail addresses of respondents will be
available for public review and
disclosure at the above address during
regular business hours (7:45 a.m.
through 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, please be aware that your
entire comment, including your
personal identifying information, may
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 146 / Friday, July 29, 2011 / Notices
be made publicly available at any time.
While you may 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.
Donald A. Simpson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2011–19093 Filed 7–28–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCOF02000 L71220000.EA0000
LVTFC09C6050]
Notice of Availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Over the River Art
Project, Colorado
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976, as
amended, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has prepared a
Final Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Proposed Over the River Art
Project (Over the River Final EIS) and by
this notice is announcing its availability
and the initiation of the 30-day
availability period.
DATES: The publication of the BLM’s
Notice of Availability of this Final EIS
in the Federal Register initiates a 30day public availability period. The Final
EIS will be available to the public until
August 29, 2011. While the availability
period is not a formal public comment
period, BLM may receive comments on
the Final EIS which may be addressed
in the Record of Decision.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Over the River
Final EIS are available for public
inspection at the BLM Royal Gorge Field
Office. See the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for additional
public inspection addresses. Interested
persons may also review the Final EIS
at the following Web site: https://
www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/planning/
otr.html.
Any written comments related to the
Over the River Final EIS may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Web site comment form: https://
www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/planning/
otr.html.
• E-mail: co_otr_comments@blm.gov.
• Fax: (719) 269–8599.
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SUMMARY:
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16:17 Jul 28, 2011
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• Mail: BLM Royal Gorge Field
Office, Over the River Comments, 3028
˜
E. Main St., Canon City, Colorado
81212.
Please write ‘‘OTR Comments’’ in the
subject line of comments that are emailed or faxed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Vincent Hooper, Over the River Project
Manager, at the Royal Gorge Field Office
(see ADDRESSES section above);
telephone (719) 269–8555; e-mail
co_otr_comments@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: The OTR
Corporation, formed by the artists
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, proposes to
install a work of art, known as Over the
River, on Federal, state, and private
lands adjacent to the Arkansas River
˜
between the cities of Salida and Canon
City in Colorado. Following an
estimated 2-year construction period,
the exhibit is proposed for a 2-week
display and viewing period in early
August 2014. The proposed art exhibit
involves the installation of
approximately 900 porous, semitransparent fabric panels, which would
be suspended 8 to 25 feet above the
water for a total distance of
approximately 5.9 miles at eight
locations. The panels would be
supported by approximately 1,270 steel
cables and a series of steel anchor
transition frames. More than 9,000 steel
anchors would be drilled along and into
the banks of the Arkansas River to
support the panels. At the end of the 2week exhibition period, the system of
cables and anchors and other aboveground materials would be removed
over an estimated 3-month period. The
artists would be responsible for
restoring the river corridor according to
the standards defined by permitting and
approval authorities. More than 300,000
people are expected to visit the
Arkansas River canyon during the 2week exhibition period. The proposed
art exhibit is a no-fee visitor event. As
proposed, the project would be located
primarily on Federal lands administered
by the BLM Royal Gorge Field Office,
but would also be located on lands
owned or managed by the Colorado
State Land Board (SLB), Union Pacific
Railroad, and private landowners; lands
leased by the Colorado Division of
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Wildlife (CDOW); and lands owned or
cooperatively managed by Colorado
State Parks in the Arkansas Headwaters
Recreation Area. The Colorado
Department of Transportation (CDOT)
and Colorado State Patrol have
jurisdiction for activities along U.S.
Highway 50. The majority of the project
area is within Fremont County;
however, a small portion at the western
end of the project is within Chaffee
County. Approximately 80 percent of
the area in the proposed project would
be located in the Arkansas Canyonlands
Area of Critical Environmental Concern
(ACEC), a BLM-designated area that
recognizes the need for recreation use as
well as protection for the river corridor’s
scenic values.
The Final EIS identifies 7 alternatives
(including a no action alternative) that
vary by panel length, transportation,
visitor management, and timing
considerations. The action alternatives
were also developed to consider and
compare configurations of public lands
that could be made available for artistic
panel placement as well as construction
and logistics.
The BLM Royal Gorge Field Office is
the lead Federal agency responsible for
preparing the EIS and complying with
the requirements of NEPA and other
applicable laws and regulations.
Multiple cooperating agencies and
permitting authorities have participated
and provided input in the development
of the Over the River Final EIS,
including CDOT, Chaffee and Fremont
Counties, and the Colorado Department
of Natural Resources (DNR), which
includes CDOW, Colorado State Parks,
and SLB.
Over the River was informally
proposed by the artists Christo and
Jeanne-Claude in 1996. Based on OTR
Corporation’s verbal proposal, the BLM
began an Environmental Assessment
(EA) and initiated an informal scoping
period through 8 public meetings held
in communities within the proposed
project area from April 1997 to October
2000. OTR Corp. re-approached the
BLM about the proposed project in
August 2005. Additional EA-level
scoping occurred in January and
February 2006. On May 24, 2006, the
BLM also hosted interagency meetings
with CDOT, DNR, Fremont County,
Chaffee County, and Colorado State
Patrol to discuss and understand the
public comments and questions. The
scoping comments led to a Notice of
Intent which published in the Federal
Register on June 19, 2006 (71 FR 35289),
announcing the intent to prepare an EIS.
The decision to prepare an EIS was
based on several factors, including a
specific request from the applicants, the
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 146 (Friday, July 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45612-45614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19093]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWYP00000-L51100000-GA0000-LVEMK09CK380, WYW172684]
Notice of Availability of the Buckskin Mine Hay Creek II Coal
Lease-by-Application Final Environmental Impact Statement, Wyoming
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
[[Page 45613]]
1969 (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
(FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability
of the Buckskin Mine Hay Creek II Coal Lease-by-Application (LBA) Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The tract is being considered for
sale as a result of a coal lease application received from the operator
of the adjacent Buckskin Mine in Campbell County, Wyoming.
DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Buckskin Mine Hay Creek II Final EIS within 30
days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: Hay_Creek_II_WYMail@blm.gov. Please include
``Hay Creek II Coal FEIS--Teresa Johnson'' in the subject line.
FAX: 307-261-7587, Attn: Teresa Johnson.
Mail: Wyoming High Plains District Office, Bureau of Land
Management, Attn: Teresa Johnson, 2987 Prospector Drive, Casper,
Wyoming 82604.
Written comments may also be hand-delivered to the BLM
Wyoming High Plains District Office in Casper.
Copies of the Final EIS are available at the following BLM office
locations: BLM Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne,
Wyoming 82009; and the BLM Wyoming High Plains District Office, 2987
Prospector Drive, Casper, Wyoming 82604. The Final EIS is available
electronically at the following Web site: https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/hpd/HayCreekII.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Teresa Johnson or Mike Karbs at the
BLM Wyoming High Plains District Office address above or telephone 307-
261-7600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final EIS analyzes and discloses to the
public direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of
issuing the Hay Creek II LBA, case number WYW172684, in the Wyoming
portion of the decertified Powder River Federal Coal Production Region.
The BLM is considering issuing a coal lease as a result of a March 24,
2006, application submitted by Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc., to lease
Federal coal near the Buckskin Mine approximately 12 miles north of
Gillette, Wyoming.
Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc. proposes to lease the tract as a
maintenance tract to extend the life of the existing mining operations
at the Buckskin Mine under the provisions of the Leasing on Application
regulations at 43 CFR subpart 3425. BLM personnel reviewed the
application and delineated a proposed tract that would best serve the
public interest. The BLM's preferred tract delineation contains
approximately 1,567 acres and approximately 277 million tons of in-
place coal. The lands are in Campbell County, Wyoming and are generally
located within sections 7 through 9 and 17 through 19 in T. 52 N., R.
72 W., 6th PM, Wyoming. If a decision is made to lease the coal, the
lands will be specifically described in the Notice of Coal Lease Sale.
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) and
the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) are cooperating
agencies in the preparation of this Final EIS.
If the tract is leased as a maintenance tract, the new lease will
be incorporated into the existing mining and reclamation plan for the
adjacent mine. The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) must approve
the revision to the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) mining plan before the
Federal coal can be mined. If the tract is leased, OSM is the Federal
agency that would be responsible for recommending approval, approval
with conditions, or disapproval of the revised MLA mining plan to the
Secretary. The WDEQ has entered into a cooperative agreement with the
Secretary to regulate surface coal mining operations on Federal and
non-Federal lands within Wyoming.
On December 21, 2007, the BLM published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to
prepare an EIS for the Hay Creek II coal lease application in the
Federal Register (72 FR 72750). A notice announcing the availability of
the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register by the EPA on March
12, 2010, (75 FR 11882). A 60-day comment period on the Draft EIS
commenced with publication of the EPA's notice of availability and
ended on May 10, 2010. The BLM published a Notice of Availability and
Notice of Public Hearing in the Federal Register on March 12, 2010, (75
FR 11906). The BLM's Federal Register notice announced the date and
time of a public hearing, which was held on April 22, 2010, in
Gillette, Wyoming. The purpose of the hearing was to solicit comments
on the Draft EIS, fair market value, and the maximum economic recovery
of the Federal coal. No statements were given as testimony at the
public hearing. During the Draft EIS comment period, the BLM received
eight comment letters, which are included in an appendix to the Final
EIS with BLM's responses to the comments.
The Final EIS analyzes leasing the Hay Creek II coal tract as-
applied-for as the Proposed Action. Under the Proposed Action, a
competitive sale would be held and a lease issued for Federal coal in
the tract as applied for by Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc. As part of
the coal leasing process, the BLM identified an alternative tract
configuration, which is the preferred alternative, to assure the
maximum economic recovery of the coal, to avoid isolating or bypassing
marketable coal, and to prompt competitive interest in the unleased
Federal coal for this area. The alternate tract configuration that BLM
has identified is described and analyzed as a separate alternative in
the Final EIS. Under this alternative, a competitive sale would be held
and a lease would be issued for Federal coal lands included in a tract
modified by the BLM. The Final EIS also analyzes the alternative of
rejecting the application to lease Federal coal as the No Action
Alternative. The Proposed Action and alternatives being considered in
the Final EIS are in conformance with the Resource Management Plan for
Public Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management Buffalo
Field Office (2001). A Record of Decision (ROD) will be prepared after
the close of the 30-day review period for the Final EIS. Comments
received on the Final EIS will be considered during preparation of the
ROD.
Copies of the Final EIS have been mailed to all parties on the
mailing list for this project. Requests for copies can be made in
writing, by facsimile, or electronically to the addresses listed at the
beginning of this notice. The BLM asks that those submitting comments
on the Final EIS 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 as part of the BLM decision-making process.
Please note that comments and information submitted including names,
street addresses, and e-mail addresses of respondents will be available
for public review and disclosure at the above address during regular
business hours (7:45 a.m. through 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, please be aware
that your entire comment, including your personal identifying
information, may
[[Page 45614]]
be made publicly available at any time. While you may 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.
Donald A. Simpson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2011-19093 Filed 7-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P
