Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Notice of Public Hearing for the New Elk Coal Company, LLC, Coal Lease-by-Application COC-71978, Las Animas County, CO, 32212 [2019-14344]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 32212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14344]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCOF02000 L51100000.GA0000 LVEMC18CC500 18X]


Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Notice 
of Public Hearing for the New Elk Coal Company, LLC, Coal Lease-by-
Application COC-71978, Las Animas County, CO

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearing.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Federal coal management regulations, the 
New Elk Coal Company, LLC (New Elk Coal) Federal Coal Lease-by-
Application (LBA) Environmental Assessment (EA) is available for public 
review and comment. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Royal Gorge 
Field Office (RGFO) will hold a public hearing to receive comments on 
the EA, Fair Market Value (FMV), and Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) of 
the coal resources contained in the proposed New Elk Coal LBA lease 
tract, serial number COC-71978.

DATES: The public hearing will be held on July 24, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 
8 p.m. Mountain Time. Comments should be received no later than August 
5, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Mount Carmel Wellness 
and Community Center, 911 Robison Avenue, Trinidad, Colorado 81082. 
Copies of the EA are available online at https://go.usa.gov/xENMj and 
at the BLM RGFO, 3028 East Main Street, Canon City, Colorado 81212. 
Verbal comments related to the New Elk Coal LBA EA, FMV and MER will be 
accepted at the public hearing, all other comments must be submitted 
electronically. Electronic submissions may be uploaded at: https://go.usa.gov/xENMj.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Smeins, Geologist; BLM RGFO, 
3028 East Main Street, Canon City, Colorado 81212; telephone: 719-269-
8523; email: [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 
1-800-877-8339 to contact Ms. Smeins during normal business hours. The 
FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or 
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 12, 2007, New Elk Coal submitted 
an application to lease 1,279 acres of Federal coal resources located 
in Las Animas County, Colorado. The company put the lease application 
on hold for several years and is now interested in proceeding with the 
lease application. The application is for the Blue and Maxwell coal 
seams, which would be mined by underground methods. The EA analyzes and 
discloses the potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of 
leasing of the proposed 1,279 acres of the Blue and Maxwell seams. The 
LBA is located at the New Elk Coal Mine and contains approximately 8 
million tons of recoverable Federal coal resources. The LBA underlies 
private surface owned by 12 individuals and is described as follows:

Sixth Principal Meridian, Colorado

T. 33 S., R. 67 W.,
    sec. 6, lots 2 thru 7, and E\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    sec. 7, lot 2;
    sec. 17, E\1/2\NE\1/4\, and NE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    sec. 18, lots 2 thru 4, and E\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    sec. 19, lot 1, NW\1/4\NE\1/4\, and NE\1/4\NW\1/4\.
T. 33 S., R. 68 W.,
    sec. 1, lots 1 and 2, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, and E\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    sec. 12, E\1/2\NE\1/4\;
    sec. 13, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\SE\1/4\, and SE\1/4\SE\1/4\.

    The areas described contain 1,279.63 acres of Federal coal 
resources.
    The EA addresses natural resource, cultural, socioeconomic, 
environmental, and cumulative impacts that would result from leasing 
these lands. Two alternatives are addressed in the EA:
    Alternative 1 (Proposed Action): The BLM would lease the tract as 
requested in the LBA; and
    Alternative 2 (No Action): The BLM would reject or deny the 
application, and the subsurface Federal coal reserves would be 
bypassed.
    Through this Notice, the BLM is inviting the public to provide 
comments regarding the potential environmental impacts related to the 
proposed action and to submit comments on the EA, FMV and the MER for 
the proposed LBA tract. All public comments will receive consideration 
prior to the BLM's decision regarding the leasing of the Federal coal 
contained in the tract.
    Proprietary information or data marked as confidential may be 
submitted to the BLM in response to this solicitation of comments. 
Information and data marked confidential will be treated in accordance 
with the applicable laws and regulations governing the confidentiality 
of such information or data. A copy of the comments submitted by the 
public on the EA, FMV, and MER for the tract, except those portions 
identified as proprietary and that meet one of the exemptions in the 
Freedom of Information Act, will be available for public inspection at 
the BLM RGFO at the address listed earlier during regular business 
hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. M.D.T.), Monday through Friday.
    Before including your address, phone number, email 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 public 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: 40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR 3425.3, and 3425.4)

Jamie E. Connell,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2019-14344 Filed 7-3-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P