Notice of Availability, Notice of a Public Hearing, and Request for Comment on Environmental Assessment, Maximum Economic Recovery, and Fair Market Value for BNI Coal LTD's Lease-by-Application NDM-105513, Oliver County, ND, 55476 [2020-19800]
Download as PDF
55476
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 174 / Tuesday, September 8, 2020 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[20X.LLMTC03200.L13200000.EL0000.
LVEME17CE560 MO #4500145975]
Notice of Availability, Notice of a
Public Hearing, and Request for
Comment on Environmental
Assessment, Maximum Economic
Recovery, and Fair Market Value for
BNI Coal LTD’s Lease-by-Application
NDM–105513, Oliver County, ND
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public
hearing.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), North Dakota Field
Office (NDFO) is publishing this notice
to announce that an Environmental
Assessment (EA) for BNI Coal Ltd.’s
(BNI) Federal Coal Lease-by-Application
(LBA), serial number NDM–105513, is
available for public review and
comment. The BLM is also announcing
that it 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
BNI LBA lease tracts.
DATES: The public hearing will be held
from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CDT on
Thursday, September 24, 2020. Written
comments should be submitted and
received by the NDFO no later than
Thursday, October 8, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be
held at the Betty Hagel Memorial Civic
Center, 312 Lincoln Ave., Center, ND
58530. Should pandemic conditions in
North Dakota change to prevent or
further restrict an in-person meeting, the
public hearing may be held as a
teleconference. Updates would be
provided through eplanning and a press
release.
In addition, copies of the EA are
available at https://ow.ly/f1y650ASuiG
and at the NDFO. You may submit
comments related to the BNI’s EA, FMV
and MER by any of the following
methods:
Electronic: https://ow.ly/f1y650ASuiG;
or by mail at: Bureau of Land
Management North Dakota Field Office,
Attention: Carissa Shilling, 99 23rd
Avenue West, Suite A, Dickinson, ND
58601.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carissa Shilling, Geologist; telephone:
406–233–3163; email: cshilling@
blm.gov; or at the address provided in
the ADDRESSES section. Persons who use
a telecommunications device for the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:32 Sep 04, 2020
Jkt 250001
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service at 1–800–877–8339 to contact
Ms. Shilling during normal business
hours. The Service 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
February 14, 2017, BNI submitted an
application to lease several Federal coal
lease tracts comprising 630 acres,
located in Oliver County, North Dakota.
The BLM developed the issue-based EA
which analyzed and disclosed potential
direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts
of leasing and subsequent mining of the
proposed lease tracts. The tracts are
located at the Center Mine and contain
about 6.97 million tons of in-place
Federal coal resources. The tracts
underlie private surface and are
described as follows:
Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota
T. 141 N., R. 83 W.,
Sec. 8, S1⁄2 NE1⁄4NE1⁄4.
T. 141 N., R. 84 W.,
Sec. 14, E1⁄2NE1⁄4, S1⁄2SW, and SE1⁄4.
T. 142 N., R. 84 W.,
Sec. 20, NE1⁄4, NW1⁄4SW1⁄4,
NW1⁄4NE1⁄4SE1⁄4, and E1⁄2SW1⁄4.
The areas described aggregate 630.00 acres.
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 FMV
and the MER for the proposed LBA
tract. All public comments, whether
written or oral, will receive
consideration prior to the BLM’s
decision regarding the leasing of the
Federal coal contained in the tracts.
Public comments on the EA should
address the potential environmental
impacts of the proposed action. Public
comments on the FMV and MER for the
proposed lease tracts may address, but
do not necessarily have to be limited to,
the following:
1. The quantity and quality of the
Federal coal resource;
2. The mining method to be employed
to obtain the MER of the coal resource,
including the name of the coal bed(s) to
be mined, timing and rate of production,
restriction of mining, and the inclusion
of the lease tracts into the existing
mining operation;
3. The price that the mined coal
would bring when sold;
4. Costs, including mining and
reclamation, and the anticipated timing
of production;
5. The percentage rate at which
anticipated income streams should be
discounted, either with inflation, or in
the absence of inflation, in which case
PO 00000
Frm 00069
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
the anticipated rate of inflation should
be given;
6. Depreciation, depletion,
amortization, and other tax accounting
factors;
7. The value of privately held mineral
or surface estate in the Center Mine
area.
Any proprietary information or data
that you submit to the BLM must be
marked as confidential and mailed
directly to the BLM NDFO, Attention:
Carissa Shilling (see ADDRESSES earlier)
to assure the data 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 tracts, 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 NDFO (see
ADDRESSES earlier), during regular
business hours (8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.),
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 publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, the
BLM cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 3425.3
and 3425.4
John Mehlhoff,
Montana/Dakotas State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020–19800 Filed 9–4–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–DN–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0030724;
PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion:
Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville,
TN
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA) has completed an
inventory of associated funerary objects
in consultation with the appropriate
Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, and has determined that
there is no cultural affiliation between
the associated funerary objects and any
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\08SEN1.SGM
08SEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 55476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19800]
[[Page 55476]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[20X.LLMTC03200.L13200000.EL0000.LVEME17CE560 MO #4500145975]
Notice of Availability, Notice of a Public Hearing, and Request
for Comment on Environmental Assessment, Maximum Economic Recovery, and
Fair Market Value for BNI Coal LTD's Lease-by-Application NDM-105513,
Oliver County, ND
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), North Dakota Field Office
(NDFO) is publishing this notice to announce that an Environmental
Assessment (EA) for BNI Coal Ltd.'s (BNI) Federal Coal Lease-by-
Application (LBA), serial number NDM-105513, is available for public
review and comment. The BLM is also announcing that it 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 BNI LBA lease tracts.
DATES: The public hearing will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CDT
on Thursday, September 24, 2020. Written comments should be submitted
and received by the NDFO no later than Thursday, October 8, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Betty Hagel Memorial
Civic Center, 312 Lincoln Ave., Center, ND 58530. Should pandemic
conditions in North Dakota change to prevent or further restrict an in-
person meeting, the public hearing may be held as a teleconference.
Updates would be provided through eplanning and a press release.
In addition, copies of the EA are available at https://ow.ly/f1y650ASuiG and at the NDFO. You may submit comments related to the
BNI's EA, FMV and MER by any of the following methods:
Electronic: https://ow.ly/f1y650ASuiG; or by mail at: Bureau of Land
Management North Dakota Field Office, Attention: Carissa Shilling, 99
23rd Avenue West, Suite A, Dickinson, ND 58601.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carissa Shilling, Geologist;
telephone: 406-233-3163; email: [email protected]; or at the address
provided in the ADDRESSES section. Persons who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-
877-8339 to contact Ms. Shilling during normal business hours. The
Service 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 February 14, 2017, BNI submitted an
application to lease several Federal coal lease tracts comprising 630
acres, located in Oliver County, North Dakota. The BLM developed the
issue-based EA which analyzed and disclosed potential direct, indirect,
and cumulative impacts of leasing and subsequent mining of the proposed
lease tracts. The tracts are located at the Center Mine and contain
about 6.97 million tons of in-place Federal coal resources. The tracts
underlie private surface and are described as follows:
Fifth Principal Meridian, North Dakota
T. 141 N., R. 83 W.,
Sec. 8, S\1/2\ NE\1/4\NE\1/4\.
T. 141 N., R. 84 W.,
Sec. 14, E\1/2\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\SW, and SE\1/4\.
T. 142 N., R. 84 W.,
Sec. 20, NE\1/4\, NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, NW\1/4\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\, and
E\1/2\SW\1/4\.
The areas described aggregate 630.00 acres.
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 FMV and the MER for the
proposed LBA tract. All public comments, whether written or oral, will
receive consideration prior to the BLM's decision regarding the leasing
of the Federal coal contained in the tracts.
Public comments on the EA should address the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed action. Public comments on the
FMV and MER for the proposed lease tracts may address, but do not
necessarily have to be limited to, the following:
1. The quantity and quality of the Federal coal resource;
2. The mining method to be employed to obtain the MER of the coal
resource, including the name of the coal bed(s) to be mined, timing and
rate of production, restriction of mining, and the inclusion of the
lease tracts into the existing mining operation;
3. The price that the mined coal would bring when sold;
4. Costs, including mining and reclamation, and the anticipated
timing of production;
5. The percentage rate at which anticipated income streams should
be discounted, either with inflation, or in the absence of inflation,
in which case the anticipated rate of inflation should be given;
6. Depreciation, depletion, amortization, and other tax accounting
factors;
7. The value of privately held mineral or surface estate in the
Center Mine area.
Any proprietary information or data that you submit to the BLM must
be marked as confidential and mailed directly to the BLM NDFO,
Attention: Carissa Shilling (see ADDRESSES earlier) to assure the data
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
tracts, 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 NDFO (see ADDRESSES
earlier), during regular business hours (8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.), 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 publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that we will
be able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 3425.3 and 3425.4
John Mehlhoff,
Montana/Dakotas State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-19800 Filed 9-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P