Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Signal Peak Energy, LLC's Federal Mine Plan for Federal Lease MTM-97988; Bull Mountains Mine Amendment 3 and 5 EIS, 52205-52206 [2023-16846]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 150 / Monday, August 7, 2023 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement
[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000
234S180110; S2D2S SS08011000
SX064A000 23XS501520]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for
Signal Peak Energy, LLC’s Federal
Mine Plan for Federal Lease MTM–
97988; Bull Mountains Mine
Amendment 3 and 5 EIS
Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement, Regions
5, 7–11, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
AGENCY:
The Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE)
is publishing this notice to announce
that it will prepare an environmental
impact statement (EIS) for Signal Peak
Energy, LLC’s (Signal Peak) proposed
Federal Mining Plan modification for
Federal Lease MTM–97988 (the Project).
OSMRE is preparing this EIS to address
deficiencies in OSMRE’s earlier analysis
of environmental impacts related to a
mining plan modification that the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals identified in a
2022 decision. 350 Mont. v. Haaland, 29
F.4th 1158 (9th Cir. 2022), amended by
50 F.4th 1254 (9th Cir. 2022). With this
notice, OSMRE is also providing
notification to the public that it will
hold a public scoping meeting and
provide for a 30-day public scoping
period to receive comments on the
environmental issues, alternatives, and
information that OSMRE should analyze
in this EIS.
DATES: OSMRE requests comments
concerning the scope of the analysis in
the EIS, alternatives, and identification
of relevant information, studies, and
analyses. All comments must be
received by September 6, 2023. The
public scoping meeting will be held at
the Roundup Community Center in
Roundup, Montana from 3:00–6:00 p.m.
MDT on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.
OSMRE anticipates publishing the
draft EIS in Spring 2024 and the final
EIS in Fall 2024 with the Record of
Decision expected to be published in
early 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the Project by any of the
following methods:
• Email: BULLMTNS_AMD3_EIS@
icf.com Be sure to send emails with the
subject line: ATTN: Bull Mountains
Mine Amd 3 EIS.
• Mail: ATTN: Bull Mtns Amd3 EIS,
C/O: Roberta Martı´nez Herna´ndez,
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:58 Aug 04, 2023
Jkt 259001
OSMRE Western Regions 5, 7–11, P.O.
Box 25065, Lakewood, CO 80225–0065.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Roberta Martı´nez Herna´ndez, NEPA
Project Manager; telephone (303) 236–
4705; email: rmartinezhernandez@
osmre.gov or at the address provided in
the ADDRESSES section.
Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSMRE
Regions 5 and 7 through 11 will prepare
an EIS for the Bull Mountains Mine
Mining Plan modification to address a
2022 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
decision related to the 2018 mining plan
modification that OSMRE prepared for
Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988. 350
Mont., 29 F.4th 1158. Mining of Federal
coal was allowed to continue during the
litigation challenging OSMRE’s
environmental assessment under the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), but the mining plan
modification approval was ultimately
vacated by the U.S. District Court for the
District of Montana on February 10,
2023, requiring Signal Peak to
immediately stop mining any remaining
Federal coal authorized under the
vacated mining plan. 350 Mont. v.
Haaland, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23219
(D. Mont. Feb. 10, 2023), motion for
clarification denied, 2023 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 33516 (D. Mont. Feb. 28, 2023).
In accordance with the Mineral Leasing
Act of 1920 (MLA), the Assistant
Secretary for Land and Minerals
Management (ASLM) must approve,
disapprove, or approve the Project with
conditions because the Project contains
lands with leased Federal coal
associated with MTM 97988. The Bull
Mountains Mine is operated by Signal
Peak under Permit C1993017, issued by
Montana Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ), in accordance with its
state mine permit.
OSMRE will complete a corrective
NEPA analysis by preparing an EIS to
analyze the potential environmental
effects of the Project, including potential
effects on climate from project-related
greenhouse gas emissions. The EIS will
analyze the potential environmental
effects of mining all of the Federal coal
under the originally proposed mining
plan modification, including the mining
that already occurred under the nowvacated ASLM approval and the mining
of the remaining Federal coal. The EIS
will also consider an additional
amendment currently pending with
MDEQ which would add 7.1 million
PO 00000
Frm 00098
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
52205
tons (Mt) of Federal coal to the mining
plan, and any new information available
when analyzing potential impacts to
other resources in the environment that
could result if mining of the Federal
coal is approved.
The Bull Mountains Mine is located
approximately 30 miles north of
Billings, Montana. The Project as
proposed in 2015 allowed for 475 acres
of additional surface disturbance and
37.5 Mt of recoverable Federal coal,
extending the life of mine (LOM) by
11.5 years. Following the 2023 vacatur
of the mining plan approval, mining of
Federal coal at this site is currently
stopped unless and until ASLM
approves a new mining plan. As
proposed, this mining plan
modification, including the additional
7.1 Mt of Federal coal from lease MTM–
97988 (Amendment 5), would allow for
249 acres of additional surface
disturbance and recovery of an
additional 30.6 Mt of Federal coal,
extending the LOM by approximately 8
to 10 years, depending on production
rates. The annual production rate used
to calculate the environmental impacts
resulting from the Project is
approximately 8 to 10 million tons per
year (Mtpy), which is below the
maximum permitted production rate of
15 Mtpy set by MDEQ-Air Quality
Division Air Quality Permit MAQP
#3179–12. If the Bull Mountains Mine
maintains an annual production rate of
approximately 8 to 10 Mtpy, the Project
could extend production until 2032, but
this date could vary depending on
annual production rates. As with other
areas of the Bull Mountains Mine, coal
would be primarily sold, exported, and
combusted in South Korea and Japan,
with approximately 4 percent being sent
to domestic customers across the USA.
If the Project is not approved, the Bull
Mountains Mine would be expected to
continue producing coal for
approximately 1 to 2 years, ending in
2024 to 2025, depending on production
rates. The surface of the permit area is
a mix of private, State, and Federally
owned land, and current surface land
uses in the Project area include grazing
and wildlife habitat.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed
Action
On October 14, 2022, the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals held that
OSMRE failed to adequately examine
the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions
resulting from the 2015 Federal mining
plan modification in OSMRE’s 2018
Environmental Assessment and
remanded the case to the U.S. District
Court for the District of Montana. On
February 10, 2023, the District Court
E:\FR\FM\07AUN1.SGM
07AUN1
52206
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 150 / Monday, August 7, 2023 / Notices
determined that vacatur of the approved
Federal mining plan was necessary
while OSMRE prepared the updated
NEPA analysis. 350 Mont., 2023 U.S.
Dist. Lexis 23219.
The purpose of this EIS is to complete
a corrective NEPA analysis to analyze
the potential environmental effects of
the Project, including potential effects
on climate from project-related
greenhouse gas emissions. The EIS will
consider any new information available
in analyzing potential impacts to other
resources in the environment that could
result if mining of the Federal coal is
approved, and will also consider the
potential effects of proposed
Amendment 5, which is pending before
MDEQ.
In accordance with the MLA, the
Department of the Interior’s ASLM must
approve, disapprove, or approve the
Project with conditions because the
Project contains lands with leased
Federal coal. This EIS will assist
OSMRE in preparing a recommendation
to ASLM to approve, disapprove, or
approve with conditions the Federal
mining plan modification. Signal Peak,
the current mine operator, must obtain
approval from ASLM to access and
recover the Federal coal reserves in
Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Preliminary Proposed Project and
Alternatives
The Project as proposed in 2015
allowed for 475 acres of additional
surface disturbance and recovery of an
additional 37.5 Mt of recoverable
Federal coal, extending the LOM by 11.5
years. If approved by ASLM, the
proposed mining plan modification
under review in this EIS would allow
for an additional 249 acres of additional
surface disturbance, recovery of an
additional 30.6 Mt of Federal coal, and
extend the LOM by approximately 8 to
10 years. Signal Peak started operation
in 1991 and could continue to operate
until approximately 2032 under the
proposed Federal mining plan
modification, depending on production
rates. The EIS will evaluate the
proposed action alternative, a no-action
alternative, and at least one additional
alternative that would result in lower
greenhouse gas emissions than the
proposed action.
Summary of Expected Impacts
OSMRE has completed internal
scoping and identified preliminary
analysis issues that will be evaluated in
the EIS. Reasonably foreseeable effects
of mining Federal coal will be evaluated
for the following resources:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:58 Aug 04, 2023
Jkt 259001
• Air Quality, including air pollutants
and related values such as visibility
(haze) and atmospheric deposition
• Combustion of greenhouse gases as it
relates to climate change
• Surface water and groundwater
quality and quantity (including
impacts to wetlands)
• Socioeconomics
• Environmental Justice
• Federally listed threatened/
endangered species
• Geology
• Soils
• Cultural Resources
• Visual Resources
• Wildlife
• Transportation and Electrical
Transmission
• Land Use and Realty
• Topography and Physiography
• Solid and Hazardous Materials
• Human Health
• Vegetation (including noxious weeds
and invasive species)
• Noise and Vibration
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
ASLM action on the Federal mining
plan modification.
Schedule for the Decision-Making
Process
OSMRE anticipates signing the
Record of Decision in early 2025, and
that ASLM will make a decision on the
Federal mining plan modification in
Spring 2025.
Public Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the
scoping process, which guides the
development of the EIS. In addition to
this notice and the project web page on
OSMRE’s website at https://
www.osmre.gov/laws-and-regulations/
nepa/projects, interested stakeholders,
agencies, and Tribes will be notified of
the 30-day comment period via mailed
letters. All public scoping comments
must be submitted by email or by hard
copy mail to the addresses listed under
ADDRESSES. 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 may
request in your comment to withhold
your personal identifying information
from public review, OSMRE cannot
guarantee that this will occur.
The project web page includes the
description of the Project as submitted
by Signal Peak, a map of the proposed
mining area, and information about how
to submit comments on issues or
PO 00000
Frm 00099
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
concerns related to the Project that may
need to be analyzed in the EIS.
OSMRE will review public scoping
comments and prepare a scoping
summary report. The scoping summary
report will be used by OSMRE to
identify issues for further analysis,
resources and issues that can be
dismissed from detailed analysis
because they are not present or not
affected, and potential alternatives to be
analyzed. The scoping summary report
will be made available to the public as
an appendix to the draft EIS.
Request for Identification of Potential
Alternatives, Information, and
Analyses Relevant to the Proposed
Action
In addition to comments concerning
the scope of the EIS analysis,
commenters are encouraged to identify
relevant information, studies, and
analyses that would assist the
Department in making its decision and
identifying potential alternatives to the
Project.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
OSMRE is the lead agency for this
EIS, and the Bureau of Land
Management is a cooperating agency.
MDEQ has been invited to be a
cooperating agency on this EIS. Other
Federal agencies, State, Tribal, and local
governments with jurisdiction by law or
special expertise that are interested in
participating in the preparation of this
EIS should contact the above mentioned
NEPA Project Manager.
Decision Maker
Assistant Secretary of Land and
Minerals Management.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Informed, in part, by the EIS analysis,
OSMRE will make a recommendation to
ASLM about the Federal mining plan
modification associated with the
Federal coal tracts included in Federal
Coal Lease MTM 97988. ASLM will
consider OSMRE’s recommendation and
decide whether the mining plan
modification will be approved,
disapproved, or approved with
conditions. OSMRE’s recommendation
to ASLM is based, at a minimum, on the
documentation specified at 30 CFR
746.13.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Unified Regions 5, 7–11.
[FR Doc. 2023–16846 Filed 8–4–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–05–P
E:\FR\FM\07AUN1.SGM
07AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 150 (Monday, August 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52205-52206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16846]
[[Page 52205]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 234S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 SX064A000
23XS501520]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
Signal Peak Energy, LLC's Federal Mine Plan for Federal Lease MTM-
97988; Bull Mountains Mine Amendment 3 and 5 EIS
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Regions
5, 7-11, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE) is publishing this notice to announce that it will prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) for Signal Peak Energy, LLC's
(Signal Peak) proposed Federal Mining Plan modification for Federal
Lease MTM-97988 (the Project). OSMRE is preparing this EIS to address
deficiencies in OSMRE's earlier analysis of environmental impacts
related to a mining plan modification that the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals identified in a 2022 decision. 350 Mont. v. Haaland, 29 F.4th
1158 (9th Cir. 2022), amended by 50 F.4th 1254 (9th Cir. 2022). With
this notice, OSMRE is also providing notification to the public that it
will hold a public scoping meeting and provide for a 30-day public
scoping period to receive comments on the environmental issues,
alternatives, and information that OSMRE should analyze in this EIS.
DATES: OSMRE requests comments concerning the scope of the analysis in
the EIS, alternatives, and identification of relevant information,
studies, and analyses. All comments must be received by September 6,
2023. The public scoping meeting will be held at the Roundup Community
Center in Roundup, Montana from 3:00-6:00 p.m. MDT on Wednesday, August
30, 2023.
OSMRE anticipates publishing the draft EIS in Spring 2024 and the
final EIS in Fall 2024 with the Record of Decision expected to be
published in early 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Project by any of the
following methods:
Email: [email protected] Be sure to send emails
with the subject line: ATTN: Bull Mountains Mine Amd 3 EIS.
Mail: ATTN: Bull Mtns Amd3 EIS, C/O: Roberta
Mart[iacute]nez Hern[aacute]ndez, OSMRE Western Regions 5, 7-11, P.O.
Box 25065, Lakewood, CO 80225-0065.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roberta Mart[iacute]nez
Hern[aacute]ndez, NEPA Project Manager; telephone (303) 236-4705;
email: [email protected] or at the address provided in the
ADDRESSES section.
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSMRE Regions 5 and 7 through 11 will
prepare an EIS for the Bull Mountains Mine Mining Plan modification to
address a 2022 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision related to the
2018 mining plan modification that OSMRE prepared for Federal Coal
Lease MTM 97988. 350 Mont., 29 F.4th 1158. Mining of Federal coal was
allowed to continue during the litigation challenging OSMRE's
environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), but the mining plan modification approval was ultimately
vacated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana on
February 10, 2023, requiring Signal Peak to immediately stop mining any
remaining Federal coal authorized under the vacated mining plan. 350
Mont. v. Haaland, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23219 (D. Mont. Feb. 10, 2023),
motion for clarification denied, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33516 (D. Mont.
Feb. 28, 2023). In accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920
(MLA), the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management (ASLM)
must approve, disapprove, or approve the Project with conditions
because the Project contains lands with leased Federal coal associated
with MTM 97988. The Bull Mountains Mine is operated by Signal Peak
under Permit C1993017, issued by Montana Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ), in accordance with its state mine permit.
OSMRE will complete a corrective NEPA analysis by preparing an EIS
to analyze the potential environmental effects of the Project,
including potential effects on climate from project-related greenhouse
gas emissions. The EIS will analyze the potential environmental effects
of mining all of the Federal coal under the originally proposed mining
plan modification, including the mining that already occurred under the
now-vacated ASLM approval and the mining of the remaining Federal coal.
The EIS will also consider an additional amendment currently pending
with MDEQ which would add 7.1 million tons (Mt) of Federal coal to the
mining plan, and any new information available when analyzing potential
impacts to other resources in the environment that could result if
mining of the Federal coal is approved.
The Bull Mountains Mine is located approximately 30 miles north of
Billings, Montana. The Project as proposed in 2015 allowed for 475
acres of additional surface disturbance and 37.5 Mt of recoverable
Federal coal, extending the life of mine (LOM) by 11.5 years. Following
the 2023 vacatur of the mining plan approval, mining of Federal coal at
this site is currently stopped unless and until ASLM approves a new
mining plan. As proposed, this mining plan modification, including the
additional 7.1 Mt of Federal coal from lease MTM-97988 (Amendment 5),
would allow for 249 acres of additional surface disturbance and
recovery of an additional 30.6 Mt of Federal coal, extending the LOM by
approximately 8 to 10 years, depending on production rates. The annual
production rate used to calculate the environmental impacts resulting
from the Project is approximately 8 to 10 million tons per year (Mtpy),
which is below the maximum permitted production rate of 15 Mtpy set by
MDEQ-Air Quality Division Air Quality Permit MAQP #3179-12. If the Bull
Mountains Mine maintains an annual production rate of approximately 8
to 10 Mtpy, the Project could extend production until 2032, but this
date could vary depending on annual production rates. As with other
areas of the Bull Mountains Mine, coal would be primarily sold,
exported, and combusted in South Korea and Japan, with approximately 4
percent being sent to domestic customers across the USA. If the Project
is not approved, the Bull Mountains Mine would be expected to continue
producing coal for approximately 1 to 2 years, ending in 2024 to 2025,
depending on production rates. The surface of the permit area is a mix
of private, State, and Federally owned land, and current surface land
uses in the Project area include grazing and wildlife habitat.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
On October 14, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that
OSMRE failed to adequately examine the impacts of greenhouse gas
emissions resulting from the 2015 Federal mining plan modification in
OSMRE's 2018 Environmental Assessment and remanded the case to the U.S.
District Court for the District of Montana. On February 10, 2023, the
District Court
[[Page 52206]]
determined that vacatur of the approved Federal mining plan was
necessary while OSMRE prepared the updated NEPA analysis. 350 Mont.,
2023 U.S. Dist. Lexis 23219.
The purpose of this EIS is to complete a corrective NEPA analysis
to analyze the potential environmental effects of the Project,
including potential effects on climate from project-related greenhouse
gas emissions. The EIS will consider any new information available in
analyzing potential impacts to other resources in the environment that
could result if mining of the Federal coal is approved, and will also
consider the potential effects of proposed Amendment 5, which is
pending before MDEQ.
In accordance with the MLA, the Department of the Interior's ASLM
must approve, disapprove, or approve the Project with conditions
because the Project contains lands with leased Federal coal. This EIS
will assist OSMRE in preparing a recommendation to ASLM to approve,
disapprove, or approve with conditions the Federal mining plan
modification. Signal Peak, the current mine operator, must obtain
approval from ASLM to access and recover the Federal coal reserves in
Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988.
Preliminary Proposed Project and Alternatives
The Project as proposed in 2015 allowed for 475 acres of additional
surface disturbance and recovery of an additional 37.5 Mt of
recoverable Federal coal, extending the LOM by 11.5 years. If approved
by ASLM, the proposed mining plan modification under review in this EIS
would allow for an additional 249 acres of additional surface
disturbance, recovery of an additional 30.6 Mt of Federal coal, and
extend the LOM by approximately 8 to 10 years. Signal Peak started
operation in 1991 and could continue to operate until approximately
2032 under the proposed Federal mining plan modification, depending on
production rates. The EIS will evaluate the proposed action
alternative, a no-action alternative, and at least one additional
alternative that would result in lower greenhouse gas emissions than
the proposed action.
Summary of Expected Impacts
OSMRE has completed internal scoping and identified preliminary
analysis issues that will be evaluated in the EIS. Reasonably
foreseeable effects of mining Federal coal will be evaluated for the
following resources:
Air Quality, including air pollutants and related values such
as visibility (haze) and atmospheric deposition
Combustion of greenhouse gases as it relates to climate change
Surface water and groundwater quality and quantity (including
impacts to wetlands)
Socioeconomics
Environmental Justice
Federally listed threatened/endangered species
Geology
Soils
Cultural Resources
Visual Resources
Wildlife
Transportation and Electrical Transmission
Land Use and Realty
Topography and Physiography
Solid and Hazardous Materials
Human Health
Vegetation (including noxious weeds and invasive species)
Noise and Vibration
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
ASLM action on the Federal mining plan modification.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
OSMRE anticipates signing the Record of Decision in early 2025, and
that ASLM will make a decision on the Federal mining plan modification
in Spring 2025.
Public Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the EIS. In addition to this notice and the project
web page on OSMRE's website at https://www.osmre.gov/laws-and-regulations/nepa/projects, interested stakeholders, agencies, and
Tribes will be notified of the 30-day comment period via mailed
letters. All public scoping comments must be submitted by email or by
hard copy mail to the addresses listed under ADDRESSES. 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 may request in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying information from public review,
OSMRE cannot guarantee that this will occur.
The project web page includes the description of the Project as
submitted by Signal Peak, a map of the proposed mining area, and
information about how to submit comments on issues or concerns related
to the Project that may need to be analyzed in the EIS.
OSMRE will review public scoping comments and prepare a scoping
summary report. The scoping summary report will be used by OSMRE to
identify issues for further analysis, resources and issues that can be
dismissed from detailed analysis because they are not present or not
affected, and potential alternatives to be analyzed. The scoping
summary report will be made available to the public as an appendix to
the draft EIS.
Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and
Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action
In addition to comments concerning the scope of the EIS analysis,
commenters are encouraged to identify relevant information, studies,
and analyses that would assist the Department in making its decision
and identifying potential alternatives to the Project.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
OSMRE is the lead agency for this EIS, and the Bureau of Land
Management is a cooperating agency. MDEQ has been invited to be a
cooperating agency on this EIS. Other Federal agencies, State, Tribal,
and local governments with jurisdiction by law or special expertise
that are interested in participating in the preparation of this EIS
should contact the above mentioned NEPA Project Manager.
Decision Maker
Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Informed, in part, by the EIS analysis, OSMRE will make a
recommendation to ASLM about the Federal mining plan modification
associated with the Federal coal tracts included in Federal Coal Lease
MTM 97988. ASLM will consider OSMRE's recommendation and decide whether
the mining plan modification will be approved, disapproved, or approved
with conditions. OSMRE's recommendation to ASLM is based, at a minimum,
on the documentation specified at 30 CFR 746.13.
David Berry,
Regional Director, Unified Regions 5, 7-11.
[FR Doc. 2023-16846 Filed 8-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P