81 FR 86724 - Notice of Federal Competitive Coal Lease Sale, Greens Hollow Tract, Utah (Coal Lease Application UTU-84102)

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 231 (December 1, 2016)

Notice is hereby given that the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Office, will offer the Federal coal resources described below as the Greens Hollow Tract (UTU-84102) for competitive sale by sealed bid, in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and the applicable implementing regulations. The sale tract is located in Sanpete and Sevier Counties, Utah. The Greens Hollow coal lease sale was originally scheduled to be held on September 22, 2016. Due to a Notice of Appeal and Petition for Stay on the BLM's Record of Decision filed with the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) by four environmental groups, BLM was required to postpone the previous lease sale. Under the Department of the Interior's regulations, when a decision is appealed to the IBLA and a stay is requested, the BLM's decision is stayed while the Board considers the stay request. On October 26, 2016, the IBLA denied the request for a stay, holding that the environmental groups failed to show a likelihood of immediate and irreparable harm resulting from BLM's decision to hold a competitive coal lease sale for the Greens Hollow tract. This notice announces a new date for the previously postponed lease sale.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 231 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86724-86725]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28869]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[17XL1109AF-LLUT922300-L13200000-EL0000, UTU-84102 24-1A]


Notice of Federal Competitive Coal Lease Sale, Greens Hollow 
Tract, Utah (Coal Lease Application UTU-84102)

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the United States Department of 
the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Office, will 
offer the Federal coal resources described below as the Greens Hollow 
Tract (UTU-84102) for competitive sale by sealed bid, in accordance 
with the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and the applicable 
implementing regulations. The sale tract is located in Sanpete and 
Sevier Counties, Utah. The Greens Hollow coal lease sale was originally 
scheduled to be held on September 22, 2016. Due to a Notice of Appeal 
and Petition for Stay on the BLM's Record of Decision filed with the 
Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) by four environmental groups, BLM 
was required to postpone the previous lease sale. Under the Department 
of the Interior's regulations, when a decision is appealed to the IBLA 
and a stay is requested, the BLM's decision is stayed while the Board 
considers the stay request. On October 26, 2016, the IBLA denied the 
request for a stay, holding that the environmental groups failed to 
show a likelihood of immediate and irreparable harm resulting from 
BLM's decision to hold a competitive coal lease sale for the Greens 
Hollow tract. This notice announces a new date for the previously 
postponed lease sale.

DATES: The lease sale will be held at 1 p.m. Mountain Time, on January 
4, 2017. 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 BLM public room Contact Representatives, BLM Utah 
State Office, at the address indicated below, and must be received on 
or before 10 a.m. Mountain Time, on January 4, 2017. Any bid received 
after the time specified will not be considered and will be returned. 
The BLM Contact Representatives will issue a receipt for each hand-
delivered, sealed bid. The outside of the sealed envelope containing 
the bid must clearly state the envelope contains a bid for Coal Lease 
Sale UTU-84102, and is not to be opened before the date and hour of the 
sale.

ADDRESSES: Sealed bids must be mailed to the Collection Officer or 
hand-delivered to the BLM public room Contact Representative at BLM, 
Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah 
84101-1345. The opening of the sealed bids will take place at the Salt 
Lake City Public Library, 210 East 400 South, Salt Lake City, Utah at 1 
p.m. Mountain Time on January 4, 2017.

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 Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a 
message or question for the above individual. The FRS is available 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week. Replies are provided during scheduled 
business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Competitive Coal Lease Sale is being 
held in response to a lease by application submitted by Ark Land 
Company (Ark). That application was assigned by Ark to Canyon Fuel 
Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Bowie Resource Partners, LLC. The 
assignment was effective September 1, 2013, and was approved by the BLM 
on July 1, 2014. The coal resources to be offered consist of all 
recoverable reserves available in the lands identified below. These 
lands are located in Sanpete and Sevier Counties, Utah, approximately 
10.5 miles west of Emery, Utah, under surface lands managed by the 
Manti-La Sal and Fishlake National Forests. Those lands are described 
as follows:

Salt Lake Meridian, Sevier County, Utah

T. 20 S., R. 4 E.,
    Sec. 36, lot 4, E\1/2\NE\1/4\, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\.
T. 21 S., R. 4 E.,
    Sec. 1;
    Sec. 2, SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 11, E\1/2\, E\1/2\W\1/2\;
    Sec. 12, NE\1/4\, W\1/2\, W\1/2\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 13, W\1/2\NE\1/4\, NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 14, NE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\.
T. 21 S., R. 5 E.,
    Sec. 6.

Salt Lake Meridian, Sanpete and Sevier Counties, Utah

T. 20 S., R. 5 E.,
    Sec. 19, lots 5 thru 8, E\1/2\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 20, S\1/2\;
    Sec. 21, W\1/2\SW\1/4\;
    Sec. 28, W\1/2\;
    Sec. 29, 30, and 31;
    Sec. 32, N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\;
    Sec. 33, NW\1/4\NW\1/4\.

    The area described contains 6,175.39 acres.

    The coal in the Greens Hollow Tract has one minable coal bed, which 
is designated as either the Upper Hiawatha or the Lower Hiawatha seam. 
These seams are approximately 11 feet in thickness. The coal beds 
contain approximately 73.4 million in-place tons of coal. However, 
based on BLM's assessment and mitigation proposed by the Forest Service 
to address subsidence impacts, the tract being offered for sale is 
projected to contain approximately 55.7 million tons of technically 
recoverable high-volatile C bituminous coal. The ``as received basis'' 
coal quality in the Upper Hiawatha coal bed is: 11,565 Btu/lb., 7.46 
percent moisture, 9.81 percent ash, 36.55 percent volatile matter, 46.1 
percent fixed carbon, and 0.55 percent sulfur. The ``as received 
basis'' coal quality in the Lower Hiawatha coal bed is: 11,538 Btu/lb., 
7.21 percent moisture, 9.69 percent ash, 38.88 percent volatile matter, 
43.85 percent fixed carbon, and 1.26 percent sulfur.
    Pursuant to the applicable regulations, the Greens Hollow Tract may 
be leased to the qualified bidder (as established at 43 CFR subpart 
3472) that submits the highest cash bonus bid that is equal to or 
exceeds the Fair Market Value (FMV) for the tract as determined by the 
authorized officer after the sale. The BLM has prepared its fair market 
value estimate for the tract, which has been reviewed by the Department 
of the Interior's Office of Valuation Services.
    The Department of the Interior has established a general minimum 
bid of $100 per acre or fraction thereof for the tract. The minimum bid 
is not intended to represent the FMV, and a tract will not be sold 
unless the bid received

[[Page 86725]]

meets or exceeds BLM's FMV estimate. 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 for royalty purposes will be determined in accordance with 30 
CFR part 1206, subpart F.
    This coal lease application (UTU-84102) is not subject to case-by-
case processing fees pursuant to 43 CFR 3473.2(f). However, the 
successful bidder must pay to the BLM the cost BLM incurs for 
publishing this sale notice. If there is no successful bidder, the 
applicant will be responsible for all publishing costs.
    The required detailed statement under 43 CFR 3422.2 for the offered 
tract, including bidding instructions and sale procedures under 43 CFR 
3422.3-2, and the terms and conditions of the proposed coal lease, is 
available in the BLM Public Room (Suite 500), Utah State Office, 440 
West 200 South, 5th Floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101-1345. All case 
file documents and written comments submitted by the public on FMV, 
except those portions identified as proprietary by the author and 
meeting exemptions stated in the Freedom of Information Act, are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours in the BLM 
Public Room (Suite 500). The actions announced by this notice are 
consistent with the Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3338, 
which allows for the sale and issuance of a coal lease for a pending 
application where the environmental analysis under the National 
Environmental Policy Act had been completed and a Record of Decision or 
Decision Record had been issued by the BLM or the applicable surface 
management agency prior to the issuance of the Order. Here the BLM held 
a public hearing and requested comments on the Environmental Impact 
Statement, Maximum Economic Recovery, and the FMV of the Greens Hollow 
Tract on May 6, 2009. The Governor of the State of Utah recommended 
proceeding with this lease sale on May 26, 2011.
    The United States Forest Service prepared a Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement, and signed a Record of Decision 
consenting to the sale on October 5, 2015, prior to the issuance of 
Secretarial Order 3338.

    Authority: 43 CFR 3420.1

Edwin L. Roberson,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-28869 Filed 11-30-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-P