80 FR 34931 - Notice of Availability for the Alton Coal Tract Coal Lease by Application Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Utah

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 117 (June 18, 2015)

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Alton Coal Tract Lease by Application (LBA) and by this notice is announcing its availability and the start of a comment period on the Supplemental Draft EIS.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34931-34932]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15006]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[15XL1109AF LLUTC04000 L13200000.EL0000, UTU 081895]


Notice of Availability for the Alton Coal Tract Coal Lease by 
Application Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 
the Alton Coal Tract Lease by Application (LBA) and by this notice is 
announcing its availability and the start of a comment period on the 
Supplemental Draft EIS.

DATES: To ensure comments on the Supplemental Draft EIS will be 
considered, the BLM must receive written comments on the Alton Coal 
Tract LBA Supplemental Draft EIS within 60 days following the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings and any 
other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance through 
public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Please include ``Alton 
Coal Lease SDEIS'' in the subject line.
     Fax: 435-644-1299, Attn: Keith Rigtrup.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Kanab Field Office, Attn: 
Keith Rigtrup, 669 South Highway 89 A, Kanab, Utah 84741.
     Written comments may also be hand-delivered to the BLM-
Utah Kanab Field Office in Kanab.
    Copies of the Supplemental Draft EIS are available at the following 
BLM office locations: BLM-Utah State Office Public Room, 440 West 200 
South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, and the BLM-Utah Kanab 
Field Office, 669 South Highway 89 A, Kanab, Utah 84741, during 
business hours (8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except 
holidays. The Supplemental Draft EIS is available electronically at the 
following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/kanab.html

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Rigtrup, BLM-Utah Color Country 
District Office, 176 East DL Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah 84721, or 
by telephone at 435-865-3000. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during 
normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days 
a week. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM made the initial Alton Coal Tract 
LBA Draft EIS available for public review from November 4, 2011 through 
January 27, 2012. The BLM received approximately 177,000 comments 
during that time expressing concerns with sensitive species (sage-
grouse), protection of wetlands and air quality, among others. Based on 
those comments and work with other Federal agencies, including the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and the 
National Park Service, the BLM determined that a Supplemental Draft EIS 
was needed to adequately address public concerns. Preparation of the 
Supplemental Draft EIS began in July 2012. As part of the Supplemental 
Draft EIS process, the BLM worked with Federal, State, and county 
partners to address public concerns and also collaborated to identify 
mitigation measures for impacts associated with the project. The 
Supplemental Draft EIS analyzes the potential impacts of issuing a 
lease for the Alton Coal Tract, serial number UTU 081895. The lease 
tract is located near the town of Alton, Utah, and immediately adjacent 
to the existing Coal Hollow Mine. The LBA for the Alton tract was filed 
by Alton Coal

[[Page 34932]]

Development, LLC, in accordance with 43 CFR 3425. The Alton Coal Tract 
contains 59.6 million tons of in-place bituminous coal. The coal 
quality in the Smirl coal zone on an ``as received basis'' is as 
follows: 10,019 Btu/lb (British Thermal Units per pound), 13 percent 
moisture, 10 percent ash, 39 percent volatile matter, 50 percent fixed 
carbon and 1.13 percent sulfur underlying the following lands in Kane 
County, Utah:

Salt Lake Meridian

T. 39 S., R. 5 W.,
    sec. 7, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\ and S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    sec. 18, lots 3 and 4 and E\1/2\, E\1/2\W\1/4\; and E\1/2\SW\1/
4\;
    sec. 19, lots 1 to 4 inclusive, NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, E\1/
2\SW\1/4\, N\1/2\SE\1/4\, and
SE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    sec. 20, lots 4 and 5, and N\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    sec. 30, lots 2 to 4 inclusive, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, 
E\1/2\SW\1/4\, and W\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    sec. 31, lots 1 to 3 inclusive, NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, NE\1/
4\SW\1/4\, and N\1/2\SE\1/4\;
T. 39 S., R. 6 W.,
    sec. 12, SW\1/4\ and W\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    sec. 13, NW\1/4\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, and 
SE\1/4\;
    sec. 24, NE\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, 
N\1/2\SE\1/4\, and SE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    sec. 25, E\1/2\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, and SE\1/4\.

    The area described includes both public and non-public lands and 
aggregates 3,581.27 acres.
    Consistent with Federal regulations under NEPA and the Mineral 
Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, the BLM must prepare an environmental 
analysis prior to holding a competitive Federal coal lease sale. The 
Supplemental Draft EIS analyzes and discloses to the public the direct, 
indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of issuing a Federal 
coal lease on the Alton Coal Tract, including mining and transportation 
of coal to a railhead near Cedar City, Utah. A copy of the Supplemental 
Draft EIS has been sent to affected Federal, State, tribal, and local 
government agencies; persons and entities identified as potentially 
being affected by a decision to lease the Alton Coal Tract; and, 
persons who indicated to the BLM that they wished to receive a copy of 
the Supplemental Draft EIS.
    The Supplemental Draft EIS analyzes three action alternatives 
(Alternatives B, C, and K1) and a No Action Alternative. Under the 
action alternatives, a competitive sale would be held and a lease 
issued for the Federal coal included in the specific tracts considered 
under those alternatives.
    In addition to its analysis of alternatives and consistent with the 
Kanab Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management 
Plan (2008), the Supplemental Draft EIS reflects the BLM's application 
of the unsuitability criteria (43 CFR 3461.5) to the Alton Coal Tract. 
Based on that review, the BLM has determined the Alton Coal Tract is 
unsuitable under Criterion 15 (43 CFR 3461.5) based on the presence of 
sage-grouse dancing and strutting grounds on and around the tract. The 
BLM will continue to consider the tract for leasing because under 
Criterion 15, ``A lease may be issued if, after consultation with the 
State, the BLM determines that all or certain stipulated methods of 
coal mining will not have a significant long-term impact on the species 
being protected.'' As part of that determination, the BLM will consider 
all available data related to the impacts of the project, including 
comments from cooperators and the public. All action alternatives in 
the Supplemental Draft EIS require implementation of a detailed Sage-
Grouse Mitigation Plan that imposes, among other things, a 4:1 offsite 
mitigation ratio. The Sage-Grouse Mitigation Plan also includes 
reclamation of surrounding sagebrush habitats to vegetation standards 
that would provide for sage-grouse habitat, as well as treating a 186-
acre area prior to ground disturbance on the leased tract.
    The alternatives being considered in the Supplemental Draft EIS are 
in conformance with the Kanab Field Office Record of Decision and 
Approved Resource Management Plan (2008). Requests to be included on 
the mailing list for this project may be sent by mail, facsimile, or 
electronically to the addresses listed in the ADDRESSES section above. 
For those submitting comments on the Supplemental Draft EIS, please 
make the comments as specific as possible with reference to page 
numbers and sections of the document. Comments that contain only 
opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response; however, 
they may be considered and included as part of the BLM decision-making 
process.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of persons who 
submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at 
the Kanab Field Office (address listed above) during regular business 
hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays.
    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 publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority: 43 CFR 3425.3.

Jenna Whitlock,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-15006 Filed 6-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P