Department of the Interior January 15, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Colorado State Office, Lakewood, Colorado, hereby gives notice that a public hearing will be held to receive comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) and Fair Market Value (FMV) of Federal coal to be offered. An application for coal lease was filed by CAM-Colorado, LLC (CAM) on September 12, 2006. As a result, the BLM offers for competitive lease 14,466 acres of Federal coal in Garfield County, Colorado. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the BLM has prepared a DEIS for the proposed Red Cliff Mine, located near Loma, Colorado. The DEIS responds to Right-of-Way (ROW) Applications for a railroad spur and associated mine facilities on Federal Lands, and an electrical transmission line. In addition, a Federal Coal Lease by Application (LBA) was submitted by CAM-Colorado, on September 12, 2006. The BLM is providing this notice to announce the availability of the Red Cliff Mine DEIS, the proposed LBA, and the public hearing requesting comments on the DEIS, MER and FMV, pursuant to 40 CFR 1503.1 and 43 CFR 3425.4. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being prepared in cooperation with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); the Colorado Department of Natural Resources; the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CDRMS); the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW); and Garfield and Mesa counties. The EIS analyzes the development of surface facilities for coal mining associated with CAM's proposed underground Red Cliff Mine, including roads, a water pipeline, electric transmission line, conveyers, coal stockpile and waste disposal areas, a coal preparation plant, the mine portal, other administrative and operations facilities, and a railroad spur line that will connect to the existing Union Pacific Railroad line near Mack, Colorado. The EIS also considers the effects of extracting coal from CAM's existing Federal coal leases, defined as logical mining unit COC-57198, and issuance of an adjoining Federal coal LBA COC-070538. This notice announces the opening of the public comment period for the DEIS.

The purpose of this notice is to inform the public and interested State and local government officials of the filing of Plats of Survey in Nevada.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) is preparing an environmental impact statement for a general management plan for Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas. The environmental impact statement will be approved by the Director, Intermountain Region. The general management plan will prescribe the resource conditions and visitor experiences that are to be achieved and maintained in the Preserve over the next 15 to 20 years. The clarification of what must be achieved according to law and policy will be based on review of the Preserve's purpose, significance, special mandates, and the body of laws and policies directing park management. Based on determinations of desired conditions, the general management plan will outline the kinds of resource management activities, visitor activities, and development that would be appropriate in the future. A range of reasonable management alternatives will be developed through this planning process and will include, at a minimum, a no-action and a preferred alternative. The NPS is required to prepare a GMP for all NPS units. A GNP was completed for Big Thicket National Preserve in 1980. The 1980 GMP does not address lands added to the Preserve since 1993 or current NPS park planning standards or NPS management policies. Issues to be addressed will include but are not limited to the following: The management of lands added to the Preserve since the original GMP in 1980; visitor use and resource management issues; access to and within the Preserve; and changes in land use patterns and their impact on natural and cultural resources in the Preserve. A scoping newsletter will be prepared that describes the issues identified to date. Copies of the newsletter may be obtained in June from Todd Brindle, Superintendent, Big Thicket National Preserve, 6044 FM 420, Kountze, Texas 77625, Phone: 409-951-6802, the park Web site https://www.nps.gov/bith, or on the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/bith.

The BLM solicits the nomination of parcels to be leased for R, D, and D of oil shale recovery technologies in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.