[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 14, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74532-74533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27298]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ES-020-04-1320-EL]


Notice of the Solicitation of Public Comments on Fair Market 
Value and Maximum Economic Recovery; Coal Lease by Application KYES-
51002

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, 
Daniel Boone National Forest, has prepared an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to address coal lease application KYES-51002. The EIS 
has been prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management's 
(BLM) Eastern States, Jackson Field Office, the Office of Surface 
Mining and the Kentucky Department of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement. A public hearing, requesting input to the EIS, was held on 
November 24, 2003, at the Leslie County Extension Services office in 
Hyden, Kentucky.
    Public comments are requested on the fair market value (FMV) and 
maximum

[[Page 74533]]

economic recovery (MER) of the tracts included in the lease application 
to be offered for competitive lease sale. The coal in the tracts would 
be mined by conventional underground methods. The tracts, designated 
3094Az, 3094Bb, and 3094Be in the National Forest System, are located 
in southern Leslie County on the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky 
and encompass 1,210.4 acres. Estimated recoverable federal reserves of 
bituminous coal from the Hazard No. 4 and Hazard No. 4A seams are 2.832 
million tons. The proximate analysis of the coal on a received basis 
averages 12,757 BTU/lb. with 6.3% moisture, 1.1% sulfur, 9.4% ash, 
50.6% fixed carbon, and 32.6% volatile matter.
    The public is invited to comment on the FMV and MER of the tracts 
proposed to be offered for lease and on factors that may affect FMV and 
MER.

DATES: Written comments must be post-marked by January 13, 2005, and 
provided to the below address.

ADDRESSES: Written comments must be provided to the Bureau of Land 
Management, Jackson Field Office, 411 Briarwood, Suite 404; Jackson, MS 
39206.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stuart Grange, Bureau of Land 
Management, Jackson, Mississippi at (601) 977-5400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Procedures for leasing Federal coal are 
provided by 43 CFR parts 1600 and 3400. The revised notice of intent 
for coal leasing beneath the Daniel Boone National Forest in Leslie 
County, Kentucky was published in the Federal Register on September 18, 
2003 (Volume 68, Number 181; pages 54706-54707). This notice to solicit 
public comments on FMV and MER are required by 43 CFR 3422.1 and 43 CFR 
3425.3.
    As provided by 43 CFR 3422.1(a), proprietary data marked as 
confidential may be provided in response to this solicitation of public 
comments. Data so marked shall be treated in accordance with the laws 
and regulations governing the confidentiality of such information. A 
copy of the comments submitted by the public on FMV and MER, except 
those portions identified as proprietary and meeting exemptions stated 
in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), will be available for public 
inspection at the Bureau of Land Management office noted above.
    Comments on FMV and MER should address, but are not limited to the 
following factors:
    1. The method of mining to be employed in order to obtain MER;
    2. The method of determining FMV for the coal to be offered;
    3. The quality and quantity of the coal resource;
    4. If this resource is likely to be mined as part of an existing 
mine; and
    5. Restrictions to mining which may affect coal recovery; The 
values given above may or may not change as a result of comments 
received from the public and changes in market conditions between now 
and when final economic evaluations are completed.
    If you wish to withhold your name or address from public review or 
from disclosure under the FOIA, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your written comments. Such requests will be honored to 
the extent allowed by the FOIA. All submissions from organizations, 
businesses and individuals identifying themselves as representatives or 
officials of organizations or businesses will be available for public 
inspection in its entirety.

Bruce Dawson,
Field Manager, Jackson Field Office.
[FR Doc. 04-27298 Filed 12-13-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P