Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 230 / Wednesday, December 1, 2004 / Notices 69949

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

Black Mesa and Kayenta Mines, Lifeof-Mine Plans and Water Supply 

Project, Coconino, Navajo, and 

Mohave Counties, AZ, and Clark 

County, NV

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement and to 

hold public scoping meetings. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), the Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), as 

the lead Federal agency, plans to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) to analyze the effects of 

Peabody Western Coal Company’s 

proposed operation and reclamation 

plans for the Black Mesa and Kayenta 

coal mines; the Coal Slurry Preparation 

Plant at the Black Mesa Mine; the 

reconstruction of the 273-mile long Coal 

Slurry Pipeline across northern Arizona 

from the Coal Slurry Preparation Plant 

to the Mohave Generating Station 

(electrical) in Laughlin, Nevada; the 

construction and operation of water 

wells in the Coconino aquifer (Caquifer) northwest of Winslow, Arizona; 

and construction and operation of a 

water supply pipeline running about 

120 miles across the Navajo and Hopi 

Reservations from the wells to the Coal 

Slurry Preparation Plant. 

The Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of 

Reclamation (BOR), U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (USEPA); U.S. 

Department of Agriculture Forest 

Service (USFS), County of Mohave, 

Arizona; and City of Kingman, Arizona, 

will cooperate with OSM in the 

preparation of the EIS. 

OSM solicits public comments on the 

scope of the EIS and significant issues 

that should be addressed in the EIS. 

At http://www.wrcc.osmre.gov/bmkeis, interested persons may view 

information about the proposed 

projects; the comment period during 

which persons may submit comments; 

the locations, dates, and times of public 

scoping meetings; and the procedures 

that OSM will follow at the scoping 

meetings.

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by OSM by 4 p.m. on January 

21, 2005, to ensure consideration in the 

preparation of the draft EIS. 

Public scoping meetings will be held 

in: 

• Saint Michaels, Arizona, on 

Monday, January 3, 2005, from 6 p.m. to 

10 p.m. at the Saint Michaels Chapter 

House on Indian Route 12 about 2 miles 

south and west of Window Rock, 

Arizona. 

• Forest Lake, Arizona, on Tuesday, 

January 4, 2005, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

at the Forest Lake Chapter House on 

Navajo Route 41 about 20 miles north of 

Pinon, Arizona. 

• Kayenta, Arizona, on Tuesday, 

January 4, 2005, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

at the Kayenta Chapter House on 

Highway 163 at the intersection with 

Navajo Route 6485, Kayenta, Arizona. 

• Kykotsmovi, Arizona, on 

Wednesday, January 5, 2005, from 6 

p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Community 

Center, Kykotsmovi, Arizona. 

• Leupp, Arizona, on Thursday, 

January 6, 2005, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

at the Leupp Chapter House on Navajo 

Route 15, Leupp, Arizona. 

• Kingman, Arizona, Wednesday, 

January 12, 2005, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

at the Mohave County Board Room, 

Negus Building, 809 E. Beale Street, 

Kingman, Arizona. 

• Laughlin, Nevada, on Wednesday, 

January 12, 2005, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

at the Laughlin Town Hall, 101 Civic 

Way, Laughlin, Nevada. 

• Flagstaff, Arizona, on Thursday, 

January 13, 2005, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

at the Coconino County Board Room, 

219 E. Cherry, Flagstaff, Arizona.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted in writing or by e-mail. At the 

top of your letter or in the subject line 

of your e-mail message, please indicate 

that the comments are ‘‘BMK EIS 

Comments.’’

• E-mail comments should be sent to: 

BMK-EIS@osmre.gov.

• Written comments sent by firstclass or priority U.S. Postal Service 

should be mailed to: Richard Holbrook, 

Chief, Southwest Branch, OSM WRCC, 

P.O. Box 46667, Denver, Colorado 

80201–6667.

• Comments delivered by U.S. Postal 

Service Express Mail or by courier 

service should be sent to: Richard 

Holbrook, Chief, Southwest Branch, 

OSM WRCC, 1999 Broadway, Suite 

3320, Denver, Colorado 80202–5733.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard Holbrook, Chief, Southwest 

Branch, Program Support Division, 

OSM Western Regional Coordinating 

Center, by telephone at (303) 844–1400, 

extension 1491, or by e-mail at BMK–

EIS@osmre.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background on the Black Mesa and 

Kayenta Mines 

II. Proposals for the Mines, Coal Slurry 

Pipeline, and C-Aquifer Water Supply 

System 

III. Decisions to Be Made by OSM and the 

Cooperating Agencies 

IV. Public Comment Procedures

I. Background on the Black Mesa and 

Kayenta Mines 

The contiguous Black Mesa and 

Kayenta surface coal mines have 

operated since 1970 and 1973, 

respectively. Peabody Western Coal 

Company operates the mines on three 

leaseholds comprising about 65,000 

acres within the boundaries of the 

Navajo and Hopi Reservations. The 

mines are located on the Black Mesa 

about 125 miles northeast of Flagstaff, 

Arizona, and 10 miles southwest of 

Kayenta, Arizona. The Kayenta Mine 

produces about 8.5 million tons of coal 

per year, all of which are delivered to 

the Navajo Generating Station near Page, 

Arizona, by electric railroad. Currently, 

the Kayenta Mine is to provide coal to 

the Navajo Generating Station through 

2011. The Black Mesa Mine produces 

about 4.8 million tons of coal annually, 

all of which are delivered to the Mohave 

Generating Station at Laughlin, Nevada, 

through the 273-mile long Coal Slurry 

Pipeline originating at the Black Mesa 

Coal Slurry Preparation Plant. 

Currently, the Black Mesa Mine is to 

provide coal to the Mohave Generating 

Station through 2005. 

Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc., operates 

the Coal Slurry Preparation Plant and 

the Coal Slurry Pipeline that transports 

coal from the Black Mesa Mine to the 

Mohave Generating Station. Currently, 

about 3,100 acre-feet of water from 

Peabody Western Coal Company’s wells 

in the Navajo aquifer (N-aquifer) are 

used annually to slurry the coal. 

II. Proposals for the Mines, Coal Slurry 

Pipeline, and C-Aquifer Water Supply 

System 

In the past, public concern about the 

mines and related projects has centered 

on use of the N-aquifer water. Under the 

proposals, most of the water used by the 

Black Mesa and Kayenta Mines and Coal 

Slurry Pipeline would come from the Caquifer rather than the N-aquifer. 

Peabody Western Coal Company would 

continue to pump some water from 

wells in the N-aquifer (about 500 acrefeet per year) for domestic uses at the 

mines, providing potable water for use 

by the local residents in the vicinity of 

the mines, and to ensure that the wells 

are functional in the event that they are 

needed for mining-related purposes or 

for the Coal Slurry Pipeline if there is 

a temporary or emergency disruption in 

69950 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 230 / Wednesday, December 1, 2004 / Notices 

water delivery from the C-aquifer Water 

Supply System. 

Peabody Western Coal Company’s 

life-of-mine revision proposes that the 

Black Mesa and Kayenta Mines would 

continue mining through at least 2026. 

Mining methods would not change at 

either mine. The annual coal production 

rate at the Black Mesa Mine would 

increase from 4.8 million tons to 6.2 

million tons and would remain 

unchanged at the Kayenta Mine. A coal 

wash plant would be constructed at the 

Black Mesa Mine to remove waste from 

the coal. The plant would extract about 

0.8 million tons of waste from the coal 

each year. About 500 acre-feet of water 

would be used each year for washing 

the coal. Waste would be dewatered and 

disposed in the mining pits. The 

wastewater would be recycled through 

the wash plant. About 5.4 million tons 

of washed coal produced each year 

would be crushed and slurried with Caquifer water at the Coal Slurry 

Preparation Plant and would be shipped 

to the Mohave Generating Station 

through the Coal Slurry Pipeline. 

Because of the increased coal 

production, the amount of water needed 

to slurry coal from the mine would 

increase from about 3,100 to 3,700 acrefeet per year. The Black Mesa Mine 

would use an additional 1,300 acre-feet 

of water for mine-related and domestic 

purposes (including coal washing). The 

Kayenta Mine would use an additional 

800 acre-feet of water for mine-related 

and domestic purposes. 

Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc., would 

replace about 95 percent of the 273-mile 

long Coal Slurry Pipeline because the 

existing pipeline is reaching its design 

life. The pipeline passes through the 

Navajo and Hopi Reservations; through 

Federal lands administered by the 

Bureau of Land Management and the 

U.S. Forest Service (Kaibab National 

Forest); through lands owned by the 

State of Arizona, the County of Mohave, 

Arizona, and the City of Kingman, 

Arizona; and through privately-owned 

lands. Pipeline reconstruction would 

involve decommissioning the existing 

buried pipeline (mostly leaving it in 

place) and burying a new coal slurry 

pipeline adjacent to the existing 

pipeline. Additional right-of-way width 

(about 15 feet) would be needed for 

construction activities along much of 

the 50-foot wide right-of-way. The new 

pipeline would pass under the Colorado 

River at Laughlin, Nevada and under the 

Little Colorado River east of Cameron, 

Arizona. The C-aquifer Water Supply 

System would provide an alternative 

water source to N-aquifer water 

currently used to slurry coal at the Black 

Mesa Preparation Plant and for minerelated uses at the Black Mesa Mine and 

Kayenta Mine. The system would be 

capable of providing 6,000 acre-feet per 

year for coal slurry and mine-related 

uses. Development of this water supply 

system would provide an opportunity to 

make water available to the Navajo 

Nation and Hopi Tribe for municipal 

and industrial uses by expanding the 

system. In anticipation of the potential 

future use of the system for tribal 

purposes, OSM anticipates that it would 

evaluate an alternative that provides an 

expanded delivery system and well 

configuration design for up to an 

additional 5,600 acre-feet per year (i.e.,

up to a total capacity of 11,600 acre-feet 

per year). The additional capacity 

would allow future spur pipelines to be 

constructed to Navajo and Hopi 

communities. 

Major components of the C-aquifer 

Water Supply System would include:

• A well field in the southwest part 

of the Navajo Reservation (southwest of 

Leupp, Arizona) and, possibly, a well 

field on Hopi-owned lands immediately 

south of the Navajo Reservation well 

field, consisting of approximately 20 

production wells (for the 11,600 acrefoot maximum capacity) and associated 

collector pipelines. 

• An approximately 120-mile long 

main pipeline from the well field(s) 

north-northeast to the Black Mesa Mine 

following, to the extent possible, 

existing roads. 

• Associated facilities (e.g., an 

estimated five pump stations, access 

roads and electrical transmission lines). 

III. Decisions To Be Made by OSM and 

the Cooperating Agencies 

Under applicable laws, OSM and the 

cooperators would need to make several 

decisions on whether to approve various 

aspects of the Black Mesa and Kayenta 

Mines life-of-mine revision, the Coal 

Slurry Preparation Plant, the Coal Slurry 

Pipeline, and the C-aquifer Water 

Supply System. OSM has approval 

authority for the permit revision 

application for the Kayenta and Black 

Mesa Mines and the permit application 

for the Coal Slurry Preparation Plant. 

BLM has approval authority for the 

mining plan for the Kayenta and Black 

Mesa Mines. BIA, Navajo Nation, and 

Hopi Tribe would have various realty 

actions to undertake such as granting of 

rights-of-way, as well as approval 

authorities and responsibilities for 

several other components of the project, 

such as C-aquifer water usage. BLM, 

USFS, Mohave County, and City of 

Kingman also would have realty actions 

to undertake such as granting of rightsof-way. USEPA has a number of 

responsibilities under the Clean Water 

Act including section 401 certification 

authority, which is a prerequisite to 

section 404 permit authorization. Under 

section 402, USEPA issues and enforces 

National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) permits. 

USEPA also is responsible for 

implementing the Clean Air Act 

requirements on the Hopi reservation 

and for implementing most Clean Air 

Act requirements on the Navajo 

reservation. USEPA recently delegated 

to the Navajo Environmental Protection 

Agency the Clean Air Act Part 71 

Operating Permit Program for sources 

located on Navajo land. Some aspects of 

the proposed projects will require a 

Department of the Army permit from the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under 

section 404 of the Clean Water Act and 

section 10 of the River and Harbor Act 

of 1899. 

The EIS would evaluate the 

environmental effects of the proposed 

project and a variety of alternatives. 

Alternatives that may be evaluated 

include alternative alignments for the 

Coal Slurry Pipeline and the C-aquifer 

water supply pipeline, amounts of water 

to be withdrawn from the C-aquifer for 

tribal municipal and industrial uses as 

well as mine related and coal slurry 

uses, and a variety of approval and 

disapproval options related to the 

various components of the project. 

Other alternatives may be evaluated 

based on the comments received during 

the scoping comment period. 

IV. Public Comment Procedures 

In accordance with the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s regulations for 

implementing NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500 

through 1508, OSM solicits public 

comments on the scope of the EIS and 

significant issues that it should address 

in the EIS. 

Written comments, including email 

comments, should be sent to OSM at the 

addresses given in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. Comments should 

be specific and pertain only to the 

issues relating to the proposals. OSM 

will include all comments in the 

administrative record. 

If you would like to be placed on the 

mailing list to receive future 

information, please contact the person 

listed in the section, FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT, above. 

Availability of Comments 

OSM will make comments, including 

names and addresses of respondents, 

available for public review during 

normal business hours. OSM will not 

consider anonymous comments. If 

individual respondents request 

confidentiality, OSM will honor their 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 230 / Wednesday, December 1, 2004 / Notices 69951

requests to the extent allowable by law. 

Individual respondents who wish to 

withhold their name or address (except 

for the city or town) from public review 

must state this prominently at the 

beginning of their comments and must 

submit their comments by regular mail. 

All submissions from organizations or 

businesses and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses will be 

available for public review in their 

entirety. 

Scoping Meetings 

If you wish to speak at a scoping 

meeting, you should sign up to speak 

when you arrive at the meeting. OSM 

will call upon persons to speak in the 

order of the sign-in. If you are in the 

audience and have not signed up to 

speak, you will be allowed to speak after 

those who have signed up. For persons 

who wish not to speak, OSM also will 

accept written comments at the meeting. 

A transcriber will be present at the 

meetings to record comments. To assist 

the transcriber and ensure an accurate 

record, OSM requests that each speaker 

provide a written copy of his or her 

comments, if possible. OSM will end 

the meeting after everyone who wishes 

to speak has been heard. If a large 

number of people wish to speak at a 

meeting, OSM may limit the length of 

time each person has to speak in order 

to give everyone an opportunity to 

speak. 

Hopi and Navajo interpreters will be 

present at meetings on the Hopi and 

Navajo Reservations. 

If you are disabled or need special 

accommodations to attend one of the 

meetings, contact the person under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least 

one week before the meeting.

Dated: November 17, 2004. 

Allen D. Klein, 

Regional Director, Western Regional 

Coordinating Center.

[FR Doc. 04–26439 Filed 11–30–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

[Inv. No. 337–TA–508] 

Certain Absorbent Garments; Notice of 

a Commission Determination Not To 

Review an Initial Determination 

Terminating the Investigation With 

Respect to all Respondents on the 

Basis of a Consent Order; Issuance of 

Consent Order; Termination of 

Investigation

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade 

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the U.S. International Trade 

Commission has determined not to 

review an initial determination (‘‘ID’’) of 

the presiding administrative law judge 

(‘‘ALJ’’) granting the joint motion of the 

complainants and four respondents, 

Grupo ABS Internacional, S.A. de C.V., 

Absormex S.A. de C.V., and ABS Bienes 

de Capital S.A. de C.V. all of Mexico, 

and Absormex USA, Inc., of Laredo, 

Texas, to terminate the above-captioned 

investigation with respect to those 

respondents on the basis of a consent 

order. The investigation is terminated in 

its entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael K. Haldenstein, Esq., telephone 

202–205–3041, Office of the General 

Counsel, U.S. International Trade 

Commission, 500 E Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20436. Copies of all 

nonconfidential documents filed in 

connection with this investigation are or 

will be available for inspection during 

official business hours (8:45 a.m. to 5:15 

p.m.) in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. 

International Trade Commission, 500 E 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20436, 

telephone 202–205–2000. General 

information concerning the Commission 

may also be obtained by accessing its 

Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). 

The public record for this investigation 

may be viewed on the Commission’s 

electronic docket (EDIS–ON–LINE) at 

http://edis.usitc.gov. Hearing-impaired 

persons are advised that information on 

the matter can be obtained by contacting 

the Commission’s TDD terminal on 202–

205–1810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Commission instituted this investigation 

on May 2, 2004, based on a complaint 

filed by Tyco Healthcare Retail Group, 

Inc. and Paragon Trade Brands, Inc. A 

supplement to the complaint was filed 

on April 26, 2004. The complaint, as 

supplemented, alleges violations of 

section 337 in the importation into the 

United States, the sale for importation, 

and the sale within the United States 

after importation of certain absorbent 

garments by reason of infringement of 

claims 1, 9, 12–13 of U.S. Patent No. 

5,275,590, claims 1–2 of U.S. Patent No. 

5,403,301, and claims 8–9 of U.S. Patent 

No. 4,892,528. The complaint further 

alleges that there exists an industry in 

the United States as required by 

subsection (a)(2) of section 337. The 

complaint named three respondents: 

Grupo ABS Internacional, S.A. de C.V. 

and Absormex S.A. de C.V. of Mexico, 

and Absormex USA, Inc. of Laredo 

Texas. ABS Bienes de Capital S.A. de 

C.V. was added as a respondent on July 

15, 2004. 

On October 12, 2004, the two 

complainants and the four respondents 

filed a joint motion to terminate the 

investigation as to all four respondents. 

The joint motion was based on a 

proposed consent order, filed pursuant 

to a consent order stipulation and 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 

between the parties. The Commission 

Investigative Attorney (‘‘IA’’) filed a 

response in support of the motion on 

October 22, 2004. The ALJ denied the 

joint motion on October 27, 2004 

because it appeared to him that the 

parties may have intended to have the 

Commission enforce the MOU. The 

parties then moved for reconsideration 

of the denial of the joint motion on 

October 29, 2004. 

The ALJ issued the subject ID on 

November 2, 2004, granting the motion 

for reconsideration and terminating the 

investigation as to all four respondents 

on the basis of a consent order. The ALJ 

indicates in the ID that he is satisfied 

that the parties made clear in their 

motion for reconsideration that they do 

not intend for the Commission to 

enforce the MOU. The ID also indicates 

that the consent order stipulation 

satisfies the provisions of Commission 

rule 210.21(c)(3)(i). No petitions for 

review of the subject ID were filed. 

This action is taken under the 

authority of section 337 of the Tariff Act 

of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, 

and Commission rule 210.42, 19 CFR 

210.42.

Issued: November 24, 2004.

By order of the Commission. 

Marilyn R. Abbott, 

Secretary to the Commission.

[FR Doc. 04–26485 Filed 11–30–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P