80 FR 28002 - Notice of Federal Competitive Coal Lease Sale, Utah

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 94 (May 15, 2015)

Notice is hereby given that the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Office will offer certain coal resources described below as the Flat Canyon Tract (UTU-77114) in Sanpete County, Utah, for competitive sale by sealed bid, in accordance with the Federal regulations for competitive lease sale notices and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended and supplemented.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 94 (Friday, May 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28002-28003]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11845]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[15X L1109AF LLUT920000 L13200000.EL0000, UTU-77114]


Notice of Federal Competitive Coal Lease Sale, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the United States Department of 
the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Office will 
offer certain coal resources described below as the Flat Canyon Tract 
(UTU-77114) in Sanpete County, Utah, for competitive sale by sealed 
bid, in accordance with the Federal regulations for competitive lease 
sale notices and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended and 
supplemented.

DATES: The lease sale will be held at 1:00 p.m. on June 17, 2015. 
Sealed bids must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, 
to the Collections Officer, BLM Utah State Office or be hand delivered 
to the public room Contact Representatives, BLM Utah State Office at 
the address indicated below, and must be received on or before 10:00 
a.m. on June 17, 2015. Any bid received after the time specified will 
not be considered and will be returned.
    The BLM public room Contact Representative will issue a receipt for 
each hand-delivered sealed bid. The outside of the sealed envelope 
containing the bid must clearly state that the envelope contains a bid 
for Coal Lease Sale UTU-77114 and is not to be opened before the date 
and hour of the sale.

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held in the Monument Conference Room 
at the following address: BLM-Utah State Office, Suite 500, 440 West 
200 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. Sealed bids can be hand 
delivered to the BLM public room Contact Representative or mailed to 
the Collections Officer, BLM Utah State Office, at the address given 
above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Jeff McKenzie, 440 West 200 
South, Suite 500 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101-1345 or telephone 801-539-
4038. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
to leave a message or question for the above individual. The FIRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Replies are provided during 
normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This coal lease sale is being held in 
response to a lease by application (LBA) submitted by Canyon Fuel 
Company, LLC. to the BLM on March 18, 1998. The successful bidder must 
pay to the BLM the cost BLM incurs regarding the publishing of this 
sale notice. If there is no successful bidder, the applicant will be 
responsible for all publishing costs.
    The coal resources to be offered consist of all reserves 
recoverable by underground methods available in the following-described 
lands located in Sanpete County, Utah, approximately 10 miles southeast 
of Scofield, Utah, under both private and public surface.

Salt Lake Meridian

T. 13 S., R.6 E.,
    Sec. 21, lots 1 to 4, inclusive, E1/2NE1/4, and E1/2SE1/4;

[[Page 28003]]

    Sec. 28, lots 1 to 8, inclusive, S1/2NW1/4, and SW1/4;
    Sec. 33, NE1/4, E1/2NW1/4, NW1/4NW1/4, E1/2SW1/4, SW1/4SW1/4, 
and SE1/4.
T. 14 S., R. 6 E.,
    Sec. 4;
    Sec. 5.

    Containing approximately 2,692.16 acres.

    The tract is adjacent to the Skyline mine which contains other 
federal coal leases. The coal beds contained in this tract are under an 
average of 1,700 feet cover from the surface. The coal in the Flat 
Canyon tract has two economical coal beds; the Lower O'Conner B and the 
Flat Canyon beds. The minable portions of these coal beds are 
approximately 6 to 14 feet in thickness. The tract contains 
approximately 42 million tons of recoverable high-volatile B bituminous 
coal. The coal quality is based on an ``as received basis'' as follows: 
12,400 Btu/lb., 5.80 percent moisture, 7.1 percent ash, 42.8 percent 
volatile matter, 43.8 percent fixed carbon and 0.50 percent sulfur.
    The tract will be leased to the qualified bidder of the highest 
cash amount provided that the high bid meet or exceeds the BLM's 
estimate of the fair market value (FMV) of the tract. The minimum bid 
for the tract is $100 per acre or fraction thereof. No bid that is less 
than $100 per acre, or fraction thereof, will be considered. The 
minimum bid is not intended to represent FMV. The FMV of the tract will 
be determined by the Authorized Officer after the sale.
    The BLM held a public hearing and requested comments on the 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the FMV of the Dry Canyon 
Tract on June 21, 2001. The BLM/U.S. Forest Service (USFS) prepared a 
Final Environmental Impact Statement and a Record of Decision on 
January 3, 2002. No appeals of the BLM decision to lease were filed 
during the appeal period. The USFS issued consent to lease on February 
4, 2013. On December 24, 2014, the Governor of the State of Utah 
recommended proceeding with this lease sale.
    The lease that may be issued as a result of this offering will 
provide for payment of an annual rental of $3 per acre or fraction 
thereof, and a royalty of 8 percent of the value of the coal produced 
by underground mining methods. The value of the coal will be determined 
in accordance with 30 CFR 1206.250.
    The detailed statement for the offered tract, including bidding 
instructions and sales procedures under 43 CFR 3422.3-2, and the terms 
and conditions of the proposed coal lease, is available from the BLM-
Public Room, Utah State Office, Suite 500, 440 West 200 South, Salt 
Lake City, Utah 84101. Case file documents, UTU-77114, are available 
for inspection during normal business hours in the BLM-Public Room, 
Suite 500.

    Approved:
Jenna Whitlock,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-11845 Filed 5-14-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P