Land Management Bureau February 22, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

An application has been filed by Dana L. Hofstetter, Attorney at Law on behalf of Ray and Dorolene Obendorf and prospective purchaser, Jim Scarrow, for a recordable disclaimer of interest from the United States.

Public Law 106-485 (November 9, 2000; 114 Stat. 2199) directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to convey all right, title, and interest (excluding mineral interest) in a parcel of public land in Big Horn County and Washakie County, Wyoming. The parcel of land to be conveyed comprises approximately 16,500 acres. Conveyance is to be made to the Westside Irrigation District at appraised value. The sale to the District is to take place after ``completion of an environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act'' (NEPA) by the BLM. Under the provisions of Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the BLM announces its intentions to prepare an EIS and to solicit public comments regarding issues and resource information.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(1), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease WYW155783 for lands in Carbon County, Wyoming. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Butte Field Office, and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the ``M'' Pit Mine Expansion at Montana Tunnels Mine. The BLM and DEQ will announce a public scoping meeting to identify relevant issues in advance through BLM's and DEQ's web sites and in local news media at least 15 days prior to the event.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a public hearing and requests written comments on the fair market value (FMV) and maximum economic recovery (MER) of certain coal resources it proposes to offer for competitive lease sale. The coal in the tracts would be mined by either surface, underground or auger mining methods. The Oklahoma Field Office, BLM has completed the Oklahoma Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Decision Record for competitive coal lease applications OKNM 104763, OKNM 107920 and OKNM 108097 in Haskell, Latimer and LeFlore Counties, Oklahoma. The Decision Record was signed by the New Mexico BLM State Director on September 29, 2004. The decision is to implement the BLM's preferred alternative, which will result in offering for lease, the three lease application areas with stipulations, and mitigations as described in the RMPA. The Liberty West tract, OKNM 104763 is located in Haskell County, Oklahoma, and encompasses 640 acres. Estimated recoverable Federal reserves of bituminous coal from the Stigler seam is 2.366 million tons; 2.322 million tons recoverable by surface mining methods, and 44,000 tons recoverable by auger mining. The proximate analysis of the coal on a received basis averages 14,087 BTU/lb., with 2.2% moisture, 1.4% sulfur, 6.7% ash, 64.2% fixed carbon, and 26.7% volatile matter. The Bull Hill tract, OKNM 107920 is located in Latimer and LeFlore Counties, Oklahoma, and encompasses 3,863.17 acres. Estimated recoverable Federal reserves of bituminous coal from two splits of the Lower Hartshorne seam is 8.993 million tons; 4.107 million tons recoverable by surface mining methods, 2.724 million tons recoverable by auger mining, and 2.162 million tons recoverable by underground mining methods. The proximate analysis of the coal on a received basis averages 13,450-14,000 BTU/lb., with 2.9-4.7% moisture, 0.8-1.4% sulfur, 5.6-7.1% ash, 53.5-72.3% fixed carbon, and 17.8-35.9% volatile matter. The McCurtain tract, OKNM 108097 is located in Haskell County, Oklahoma, and encompasses 2,380 acres. Estimated recoverable Federal reserves of bituminous coal from the Hartshorne seam is 6.538 million tons recoverable by underground mining methods. The proximate analysis of the coal on a received basis averages 13,960 BTU/lb., with 3.1% moisture, 0.9% sulfur, 6.7% ash, 68.2% fixed carbon, and 22.0% volatile matter. The public is invited to submit written comments on the FMV and MER of the tracts proposed to be offered for lease and on factors that may affect FMV and MER. A public hearing will be held to accept testimony on FMV and MER of the proposed lease tracts at 1 p.m., on Tuesday, March 1, 2005, at the BLM Oklahoma Field Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma.