11906 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 48 / Friday, March 12, 2010 / Notices 

Alternative 1, Doyon would receive title 

to about 26,500 acres of this land; under 

Alternative 2, these 26,500 acres would 

be excluded from the exchange. In 

Phase I of the exchange, Doyon would 

receive title to approximately 83,500 

acres of Refuge lands (surface and 

subsurface) and 105,000 acres of oil and 

gas interests. About 21,000 acres of the 

latter would be within the area 

proposed for Wilderness designation. 

However, only off-site drilling would be 

allowed; there would be no surface 

occupancy by Doyon. From Doyon, the 

U.S. would receive title to a minimum 

of 115,000 acres, but the actual amount 

could be adjusted upward to equalize 

values. The land consolidation 

exchange and 12(b) reallocation 

provisions of Phase I would proceed as 

detailed in the Agreement in Principle. 

Phase II of the exchange would proceed 

as detailed in the Agreement, however 

Doyon’s commitment to sell additional 

lands to the U.S. would be reduced from 

about 120,000 acres to about 81,000 

acres. Potential access rights-of-way 

would cross the proposed White-Crazy 

Mountains Wilderness Area. If Doyon 

were to produce oil or gas on the lands 

received in the exchange, the Service 

would receive a perpetual production 

payment equal to 1.25% of the value at 

the wellhead. 

Alternative 3: No action (no 

exchange). The U.S. would not enter 

into a land exchange with Doyon. This 

is the preferred alternative in the FEIS 

based on public comments received on 

the draft and our analysis. 

Public Availability of Comments 

All public comments we receive, 

including those from individuals, 

become part of the public record, and 

are available to the public upon request. 

Therefore, before including your name, 

address, phone number, e-mail 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. 

Dated: February 4, 2010. 

Geoffrey L. Haskett, 

Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Anchorage, Alaska. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3231 Filed 3–11–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLWYP00000–L51100000–GA0000– 

LVEMK09CK380, WYW172684] 

Notice of Availability and Notice of 

Hearing for the Buckskin Mine Hay 

Creek II Coal Lease by Application 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement, 

WY 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA) and the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976 

(FLPMA), the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Buckskin Mine Hay Creek II Coal 

Lease by Application (LBA) and by this 

Notice is announcing a public hearing 

requesting comments on the Draft EIS, 

the Maximum Economic Recovery 

(MER), and the Fair Market Value (FMV) 

of the Federal coal resources. 

DATES: To ensure comments will be 

considered, the BLM must receive 

written comments on the Hay Creek II 

Coal LBA Draft EIS, MER, and FMV 

within 60 days following the date that 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its Notice of Availability in 

the Federal Register. The public hearing 

will be held at 7 p.m. Mountain 

Standard Time, on April 22, 2010, at the 

Campbell County George Amos 

Memorial Building, 412 South Gillette 

Avenue, Gillette, Wyoming. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: 

Hay_Creek_II_WYMail@blm.gov. Please 

include ‘‘Hay Creek II Draft EIS—Teresa 

Johnson’’ in the subject line. 

• Fax: 307–261–7587, Attn: Teresa 

Johnson. 

• Mail: Wyoming High Plains District 

Office, Bureau of Land Management, 

Attn: Teresa Johnson, 2987 Prospector 

Drive, Casper, Wyoming 82604. 

• Written comments may also be 

hand-delivered to the BLM Wyoming 

High Plains District Office in Casper. 

Copies of the Draft EIS are available 

at the following BLM office locations: 

BLM Wyoming State Office, 5353 

Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 

82009; and BLM Wyoming High Plains 

District Office in Casper, 2987 

Prospector Lane, Casper, Wyoming 

82604. The Draft EIS is available 

electronically at the following Web site: 

http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/ 

NEPA/cfodocs/HayCreekII.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Teresa Johnson or Mike Karbs, BLM 

Wyoming High Plains District Office, 

2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, 

Wyoming 82604. Ms. Johnson or Mr. 

Karbs may also be reached at (307) 261– 

7600 or by e-mail at 

casper_wymail@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft 

EIS analyzes the potential impacts of 

issuing a lease for the Hay Creek II 

Federal maintenance tract, serial 

number WYW172684. 

The BLM is considering issuing a coal 

lease as a result of a March 24, 2006, 

application made by Kiewit Mining 

Properties, Inc. to lease the Federal coal 

in the Hay Creek II Tract. The Hay Creek 

II LBA is located in Campbell County, 

Wyoming, northwest of the Buckskin 

Mine, approximately 12 miles north of 

Gillette, Wyoming. 

Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc. applied 

for the tract to extend the life of the 

existing Buckskin Mine in accordance 

with 43 CFR part 3425. On two 

occasions, May 19, 2008, and November 

28, 2008, Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc. 

modified the LBA. As a result of the 

second modification, the Hay Creek II 

Tract now contains 419.04 acres. The 

applicant estimates that the current tract 

includes approximately 54.1 million 

tons of recoverable coal underlying the 

following lands in Campbell County, 

Wyoming: 

T. 52 N., R. 72 W., 6th PM, Wyoming 

Section 19: Lots 5 (W 1⁄2), 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 

(W 1⁄2), 13(W 1⁄2), 14, 15, 18, 19, 20 (W 1⁄2). 

Containing 419.04 acres more or less. 

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 the 

Hay Creek II LBA after it reviewed the 

tract at a public meeting held on April 

19, 2006, in Casper, Wyoming. 

Lands in the Hay Creek II Tract 

contain all private surface estate which 

overlies the Federal coal. 

The Wyoming Department of 

Environmental Quality (WDEQ) and the 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement (OSM) are cooperating 

agencies in the preparation of the Draft 

EIS. 

The Buckskin Mine is adjacent to the 

LBA and is operating under an 

approved mining and reclamation plan 

from the WDEQ Land Quality Division 

and an approved air quality permit from 

the WDEQ Air Quality Division that 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 48 / Friday, March 12, 2010 / Notices 11907 

allows Kiewit Mining Properties, Inc., to 

mine up to 42 million tons of coal per 

year. 

If the tract is leased to the existing 

Buckskin Mine, the new lease must be 

incorporated into the existing mining 

and reclamation plan for the mine. 

Before the Federal coal in the tract can 

be mined, the Secretary of the Interior 

must approve the revised MLA mining 

plan for the Buckskin Mine. The OSM 

is the Federal agency that is responsible 

for recommending approval, approval 

with conditions, or disapproval of the 

revised MLA mining plan to the Office 

of the Secretary of the Interior. 

The Draft EIS analyzes and discloses 

to the public direct, indirect, and 

cumulative environmental impacts 

associated with issuing a Federal coal 

lease in the decertified Powder River 

Federal Coal Production Region, 

Wyoming. A copy of the Draft EIS has 

been sent to affected Federal, state, and 

local government agencies; persons and 

entities identified as potentially being 

affected by a decision to lease the 

Federal coal in this tract; and persons 

who indicated to the BLM that they 

wished to receive a copy of the Draft 

EIS. The purpose of the public hearing 

is to solicit comments on the Draft EIS, 

on the proposed competitive sale of the 

Federal coal lease maintenance tract, 

and on the FMV and MER of the Federal 

coal. 

The Draft EIS analyzes leasing the 

tract as the Proposed Action. Under the 

Proposed Action, a competitive sale 

would be held and a lease issued for 

Federal coal contained in the tract as 

applied for by Kiewit Mining Properties, 

Inc. As part of the coal leasing process, 

the BLM is evaluating adding Federal 

coal to the tract to avoid bypassing coal 

or to prompt competitive interest in 

unleased Federal coal in this area. An 

alternate tract configuration that BLM is 

evaluating is described and analyzed as 

a separate alternative in the Draft EIS. 

Under the BLM Preferred Alternative, a 

competitive sale would be held and a 

lease issued for Federal coal resources 

contained in a tract configured by the 

BLM from the lands included within the 

study area. The tract could be larger or 

smaller than the Proposed Action. The 

Draft EIS also analyzes the alternative of 

rejecting the application to lease Federal 

coal as the No Action Alternative. The 

Proposed Action and alternatives being 

considered in the Draft EIS are in 

conformance with the approved 

Resource Management Plan for Public 

Lands Administered by the BLM Buffalo 

Field Office (2001). 

Requests to be included on the 

mailing list for this project, for copies of 

the Draft EIS, or to be notified of the 

dates of the comment period and public 

hearing, may be sent in writing, by 

facsimile, or electronically to the 

addresses listed in the ADDRESSES

section above. For those submitting 

comments on the 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 will be 

considered and included as part of the 

BLM decision-making process. 

Please note that public comments and 

information submitted to the BLM 

—including the commenter’s name, 

street address, and e-mail address—will 

be available for public review and 

disclosure at the above address during 

regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m.), Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail 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. 

Ruth Welch, 

Associate State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5257 Filed 3–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLIDC02000–L16100000–DR0000– 

LXSS034D0000–4500006432] 

Notice of Availability of the Record of 

Decision for the Cottonwood Field 

Office Resource Management Plan/ 

Environmental Impact Statement, and 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Cottonwood Field 

Office Resource Management Plan 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and notice 

of intent. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision 

(ROD)/Approved Resource Management 

Plan (RMP) for the Cottonwood Field 

Office located in northern Idaho. The 

Idaho State Director signed the ROD on 

December 21, 2009, excluding decisions 

regarding domestic sheep and goat 

grazing to be addressed in a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS). The signed ROD 

constitutes the final decision of the BLM 

for all other management direction and 

makes the Approved RMP effective 

immediately. 

The BLM Cottonwood Field Office, 

Cottonwood, Idaho, intends to prepare a 

Supplemental EIS for the Cottonwood 

RMP to analyze the impacts of domestic 

sheep and goat grazing in four 

allotments that overlap or occur in the 

vicinity of bighorn sheep habitat. These 

four allotments are located along the 

Salmon River, east of Riggins, Idaho, in 

Idaho County. The BLM will provide 

opportunities for public participation 

upon publication of the Draft 

Supplemental EIS. 

DATES: The ROD includes several 

implementation-level decisions 

regarding motorized travel routes. The 

decisions identifying routes of travel 

within designated areas for motorized 

vehicles are implementation decisions 

and are appealable under 43 CFR Part 4. 

These decisions are contained in the 

Travel and Transportation section of the 

Approved RMP. Any party adversely 

affected by the proposed route 

identifications may appeal within 30 

days of publication of this Notice of 

Availability pursuant to 43 CFR, Part 4, 

Subpart E. The appeal should state the 

specific route(s), as identified in 

Appendix A of the Approved RMP, on 

which the decision is being appealed. 

The appeal must be filed with the 

Cottonwood Field Manager at the above 

listed address. Please consult the 

appropriate regulations (43 CFR, Part 4, 

Subpart E) for further appeal 

requirements. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD/ 

Approved RMP are available upon 

request from the Field Manager, 

Cottonwood Field Office, Bureau of 

Land Management, 1 Butte Drive, 

Cottonwood, Idaho 83522, or at the 

following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ 

id/st/en/fo/cottonwood/planning/ 

cottonwood_resource.html. Copies of 

the ROD/Approved RMP are available 

for public inspection at the Cottonwood 

Field Office, 1 Butte Drive, Cottonwood, 

Idaho. Interested persons may also 

review the ROD/Approved RMP at the 

following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ 

id/st/en/fo/cottonwood/planning/ 

cottonwood_resource.html. 

Appeals must be filed with the Field 

Manager of the Cottonwood Field Office 

at 1 Butte Drive, Cottonwood, Idaho 

83522. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES