[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-24840]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: October 7, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[MT-921-04-4121-14-P; MTM 80697]
Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement and Request
for Comments on the Fair Market Value and Maximum Economic Recovery;
Coal Lease Application MTM 80697--Western Energy Company
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management announces the availability of
the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Western Energy
Company's Federal Coal Lease Application MTM 80697 and requests public
comment on the fair market value (FMV) and maximum economic recovery
(MER) of certain coal resources it proposes to offer for competitive
lease sale.
The land included in Coal Lease Application MTM 80697 is located in
Rosebud County, Montana, and is described as follows:
T. 1 N., R. 39 W., P.M.M.
Sec. 2: S\1/2\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\
T. 1 N., R. 40 E., P.M.M.
Sec. 6: Lots 1,2,3,4,
S\1/2\N\1/2\, S\1/2\
Sec. 8: E\1/2\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\
Sec. 14: S\1/2\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\
T. 2 N., R. 40 E., P.M.M.
Sec. 32: All
2,061.00 acres
The Rosebud seam, averaging 22.3 feet thick, is the only
economically minable coal seam within the tract. The tract contains an
estimated 35.6 million tons of recoverable reserves. Coal quality, as
received, averages 8,360 BTU/lb, 25.52 percent moisture, 10.03 percent
ash and 0.97 percent sulfur. This coal bed is being mined in adjoining
tracts by Western Energy Company.
The FEIS addresses the cultural, socioeconomic and environmental
impacts that would likely result from leasing these federal coal lands,
the cumulative impacts of the coal lease application, and the
irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources involved with
this action.
Three alternatives are addressed in the FEIS:
Alternative 1--(Preferred)--Lease the 2,061.00 acres of federal
coal lands to Western Energy Company as applied for in the coal lease
application with two additional mitigation measures: (1) Establish a
160-foot buffer zone to protect cultural properties; and (2) Plant
trees in the buffer zone to screen the traditional cultural properties
from intrusions.
Alternative 2--(No Action)--Reject or deny the coal lease
application. The federal coal lands would not be offered for lease.
Alternative 3--(Cultural Resource Avoidance)--The coal lease
application would be partially approved. Two cultural properties with
values as traditional cultural properties and sites with intangible
spiritual attributes would be avoided by excluding federal coal lands
in and around these two sites from the coal lease application.
The public is invited to submit written comments on the FEIS, the
FMV and MER of the tract.
In addition, notice is also given that a public hearing will be
held on Wednesday, November 2, 1994, on the proposed lease sale, the
FMV and MER of the proposed lease tract.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before 1 p.m., November 2, 1994.
The public hearing will be held at 1 p.m. on the same date at the Miles
City District Office, Garryowen Road, Miles City, Montana.
ADDRESSES: For more complete data on this tract, please contact Donald
Gilchrist (telephone 406-255-2816), Bureau of Land Management, Montana
State Office, 222 North 32nd Street, P.O. Box 36800, Billings, Montana
59107 or Mary Alice Spencer (telephone 406-232-4331), Bureau of Land
Management, Miles City District Office, Garryowen Road, Miles City,
Montana 59301. Copies of the FEIS are available at both addresses.
Copies of the FEIS are also available at the Powder River Resource Area
Office, Miles City Plaza, Miles City, Montana 59301.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Federal Coal
Management regulations 43 CFR 3422 and 3425, not less than 30 days
prior to publication of a notice of sale, the Secretary shall solicit
public comments on the proposed sale, FMV, and MER of the proposed
lease tract. Proprietary data marked as confidential may be submitted
to the Bureau of Land Management in response to this solicitation of
public comments. Data so marked shall be treated in accordance with the
laws and regulations governing the confidentiality of such information.
A copy of the comments submitted by the public on FMV and MER, except
those portions identified as proprietary by the author and meeting
exemptions stated in the Freedom of Information Act, will be available
for public inspection at the Bureau of Land Management, 222 North 32nd
Street, Billings, Montana, during regular business hours (9 a.m. to 4
p.m.) Monday through Friday.
Comments should be sent to the Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box
36800, Billings, Montana 59107 and should include, but not necessarily
be limited to the following:
1. The quality and quantity of the coal resources;
2. The mining method or methods which would achieve MER of the coal
including specification of the seams to be mined, timing and rate of
production, restriction to mining and inclusion of the tract in an
existing mining operation;
3. The FMV appraisal including but not limited to the evaluation of
the tract as an incremental unit of an existing mine, selling price of
the coal, mining and reclamation costs, net present value discount
factors, depreciation and other tax accounting factors, value of the
surface estate and any comparable sales data of similar coal lands.
The values given above may or may not change as a result of
comments received from the public and changes in market conditions
between now and when final economic evaluations are completed.
Thomas P. Lonnie,
Acting Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 94-24840 Filed 10-6-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P
