82 FR 35237 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Public Meeting on a Federal Coal Lease-by-Application in the Decertified Powder River Federal Coal Production Region, Wyoming

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 144 (July 28, 2017)

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), High Plains District Office announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the potential impacts of leasing a tract of Federal coal. The EIS will be called the West Antelope 3 Coal Lease by Application EIS. Antelope Coal, LLC (Antelope) applied for a coal lease for approximately 3,508.31 acres (containing approximately 441 million tons of in-place coal) in a maintenance tract of Federal coal adjacent to the Antelope Mine in Campbell and Converse Counties, Wyoming.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 144 (Friday, July 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35237-35238]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15856]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYP00000-L51100000-GA0000-LVEMK16CY810 17X; WYW184599]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Notice of Public Meeting on a Federal Coal Lease-by-Application in the 
Decertified Powder River Federal Coal Production Region, Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent and notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), High Plains 
District Office announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) on the potential impacts of leasing a tract of Federal 
coal. The EIS will be called the West Antelope 3 Coal Lease by 
Application EIS. Antelope Coal, LLC (Antelope) applied for a coal lease 
for approximately 3,508.31 acres (containing approximately 441 million 
tons of in-place coal) in a maintenance tract of Federal coal adjacent 
to the Antelope Mine in Campbell and Converse Counties, Wyoming.

DATES: Comments may be submitted in writing until September 26, 2017. 
The BLM will host a public scoping meeting on September 20, 2017, at 7 
p.m. to provide the public with an opportunity to review the proposal 
and gain an understanding of the coal leasing process.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments or concerns to the BLM High 
Plains District Office, Attn: Teresa Johnson, 2987 Prospector Drive, 
Casper, Wyoming 82604.
    Written comments or resource information may also be hand-delivered 
to the BLM High Plains District Office, or sent by facsimile to the 
attention of Teresa Johnson at (307) 261-7587. Comments may be sent 
electronically to [email protected]. Please put ``West 
Antelope 3 Coal EIS Scoping Comment'' in the subject line.
    The September 20 public scoping meeting will be held at the Wright 
Community Center, 201 Wright Blvd., Wright, Wyoming.
    The BLM will announce future public meetings and other 
opportunities to submit comments on this project at least 15 days prior 
to the event through local news media and the BLM Wyoming Coal 
ePlanning Public Interface Site at: http://bit.ly/PRBcoal. Project 
information is available at the West Antelope 3 Web site located at: 
http://bit.ly/WestAntelope3.
    Members of the public may examine documents pertinent to this 
proposal by visiting the BLM High Plains District Office during its 
business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Teresa Johnson or Steve Wright, BLM 
High Plains District Office, 2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, Wyoming 
82604. Ms. Johnson or Mr. Wright may also be reached at (307) 261-7600. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at (800) 877-8339 to contact Ms. 
Johnson or Mr. Wright during normal business hours. The FRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with the above individuals. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours. You may call either of these numbers to have your name 
added to the project mailing list.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Antelope Coal, LLC submitted an application 
on August 24, 2015, to lease a maintenance tract of Federal coal 
adjacent to the company's Antelope Mine in Campbell and Converse 
Counties, Wyoming. A maintenance tract is a parcel of land containing 
Federal coal reserves that can be leased to maintain production at an 
existing mine. The tract, referred to as the West Antelope 3 Tract, has 
been assigned case number WYW-184599.
    The West Antelope 3 Tract includes approximately 441 million tons 
of in-place Federal coal underlying the following lands in Campbell and 
Converse Counties, Wyoming:

Sixth Principal Meridian, Wyoming

T. 41 N., R. 71 W.,
    Sec. 8;
    Sec. 9, lots 1 thru 8;
    Sec. 10, lot 5;
    Secs. 17 and 19;
    Sec. 20, lots 1 thru 13;
    Sec. 29, lots 4, 5, 12, and 13;
    Sec. 30, lots 5 thru 16.
    Containing 3,508.31 acres.

    Antelope Coal proposes to mine the tract as a part of the Antelope 
Mine. At the 2015 mining rate of approximately 35.2 million tons per 
year, the coal included in the West Antelope 3 Tract would extend the 
life of the Antelope Mine by as many as 10 years. Lands in the West 
Antelope 3 Tract contain private surface estate overlying the Federal 
coal. The Antelope Mine is operating under approved mining permits from 
the Land Quality and Air Quality Divisions of the Wyoming Department of 
Environmental Quality.
    Consistent with Federal regulations under NEPA and the Mineral 
Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA), as amended, the BLM must prepare an 
environmental analysis prior to holding a competitive Federal coal 
lease sale. The Powder River Regional Coal Team recommended that the 
BLM process this coal lease application after they reviewed the West 
Antelope 3 Tract at a public meeting held on January 27, 2016, in 
Casper, Wyoming.
    The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) 
will be a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS. If the 
tract is leased to the applicant, the new lease must be incorporated 
into the existing mining and reclamation plans for the adjacent mine. 
Before the Federal coal in the tract can be mined, the Assistant 
Secretary for Land and Minerals Management must approve the revised 
mining plan for the mine in which the tract will be included. The OSMRE 
is the Federal agency that is responsible for recommending approval, 
approval with conditions, or disapproval of the revised mining plan to 
the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. Other 
cooperating agencies may be identified during the scoping process.
    The BLM will provide interested parties the opportunity to submit 
comments relating to the scope of the EIS or relevant information or 
both. This information will help the BLM identify issues to be 
considered in preparing the West Antelope 3 Coal Lease by Application 
EIS. Issues that have been identified in analyzing the impacts of

[[Page 35238]]

previous Federal coal leasing actions in the Wyoming Powder River Basin 
(PRB) include: The need for resolution of conflicts between existing 
and proposed oil and gas development and coal mining on the tracts 
proposed for coal leasing; potential impacts to big-game herds and 
hunting; potential impacts to sage grouse; potential impacts to listed 
threatened and endangered species; potential health impacts related to 
blasting operations conducted by the mines to remove overburden and 
coal; the need to consider the cumulative impacts of coal leasing 
decisions combined with other existing and proposed development in the 
Wyoming PRB; potential impacts to climate change through greenhouse gas 
emissions; and potential site-specific and cumulative impacts on air 
and water quality.
    Public response is important, and will be considered in the EIS 
process. At the scoping meeting, the public is invited to submit 
comments and resource information, and identify issues or concerns to 
be considered in the NEPA analysis for the coal leasing process.
    The BLM can best use public input if written comments and resource 
information are submitted by the end of the 60-day scoping period. 
Please note that comments and information submitted regarding this 
project, including names, electronic mail addresses and street 
addresses of the respondents, will be available for public review and 
disclosure at the BLM High Plains District Office, and may be published 
in the West Antelope 3 Coal Lease by Application EIS.
    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:  40 CFR 1501.7 and 1506.6, and 43 CFR 3425.3.

Mary Jo Rugwell,
Wyoming State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-15856 Filed 7-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-22-P