30428 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Notices

days following the meeting. Personal

copies may be purchased for the cost of

duplication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Laury Parramore, Council Coordinator,

at (703) 358–1711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Sport

Fishing and Boating Partnership

Council was formed in January 1993 to

advise the Secretary of the Interior

through the Fish and Wildlife Service

Director about sportfishing and boating

issues. The Council represents the

interests of the public and private

sectors of the sport fishing and boating

communities and is organized to

enhance partnerships among industry,

constituency groups, and government.

The 18-member Council includes the

director of the Service and the president

of the International Association of Fish

and Wildlife Agencies, who both serve

in ex officio capacities. Other Council

members are directors from state

agencies responsible for managing

recreational fish and wildlife resources

and individuals who represent the

interests of saltwater and freshwater

recreational fishing, recreational

boating, the recreational fishing and

boating industries, recreational fisheries

resources conservation, aquatic resource

outreach and education, and tourism.

On June 6, 20000, the Council will

convene to discuss: (1) Progress on a

report containing recommendations for

improving the National Fish Hatchery

System. The report was requested by the

Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service

and is being written by the Hatchery

Project Steering Committee, a subgroup

of the Council’s Technical Working

Group. (2) The Council’s work in its role

as a facilitator of discussions with

Federal and State agencies and other

sportfishing and boating interests

concerning a variety of national boating

and fisheries management issues. (3)

The Council’s role in providing the

Interior Secretary with information

about the implementation of the

Strategic Plan for the National Outreach

and Communications Program. The

Secretary approved the plan in February

1999, and the 5-year, $36 million

federally funded outreach campaign

authorized by the 1998 Sportfishing and

Boating Safety Act is now being

implemented by the Recreational

Boating and Fishing Foundation, a

private, nonprofit organization.

Dated: May 3, 2000.

John G. Rogers,

Deputy Director.

[FR Doc. 00–11517 Filed 5–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

(WY–060—1320–EL, WYW141435)

Availability of a Final Environmental

Impact Statement on the Horse Creek

Federal Coal Lease Application in the

Wyoming Powder River Basin

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Final

Environmental Impact Statement on the

Horse Creek Federal coal lease

application in the decertified Powder

River Federal Coal Production Region,

Wyoming.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and

implementing regulations, and other

applicable statutes, the Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) announces the

availability of the Final Environmental

Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Horse

Creek Federal coal lease application in

the Wyoming Powder River Basin

pursuant to 43 CFR 3425.3. This Federal

coal lease application has been assigned

case file number WYW141435. The FEIS

analyzes the impacts of issuing a

Federal coal lease for the proposed

Horse Creek Federal coal tract. The

Horse Creek tract is being considered for

sale as a result of a coal lease

application received from the Antelope

Coal Company (ACC) on February 14,

1997. The tract includes approximately

2,838 acres containing approximately

356.5 million tons of geologically inplace Federal coal reserves in Campbell

and Converse Counties, Wyoming. It

was applied for as a maintenance tract

for ACC’s adjacent Antelope Mine,

located in northern Converse County,

Wyoming. ACC is a subsidiary of

Kennecott Energy Company.

DATES: A 30-day availability period for

the FEIS will start on the date that the

Environmental Protection Agency

publishes a notice of availability of the

FEIS in the Federal Register. Following

the 30-day availability period, a Record

of Decision will be prepared and

distributed.

ADDRESSES: Please address questions,

comments, or requests for copies of the

FEIS to the Casper District Office,

Bureau of Land Management, Attn:

Nancy Doelger, 2987 Prospector Drive,

Casper, Wyoming 82604. Fax them to

(307) 261–7587 or e-mail them to

casperlwymail@blm.gov (Attn: Nancy

Doelger).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nancy Doelger or Mike Karbs at the

above address or phone: 307–261–7600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

application for the Horse Creek Federal

coal tract was filed as a maintenance

tract lease-by-application (LBA) under

the provisions of 43 Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR) 3425.1.

On February 14, 1997, ACC filed coal

lease application WYW141435 for the

Horse Creek Federal coal tract with the

BLM. On May 1, 1998, ACC modified

the Horse Creek application. The

modified Horse Creek Federal coal tract

includes the following lands:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM Wyoming

Sec. 14, lots 5 thru 7, and 10 thru 15;

Sec. 15, lots 6 thru 11, and 14 thru 16;

Sec. 22, lots 1, 3 thru 6, and 9 thru 13;

Sec. 23, lots 2 thru 7, and 10 thru 16;

Sec. 25, lots 11 and 12 (S 1⁄2);

Sec. 26, lots 1 thru 8, 12, and 13;

Sec. 27, lots 1 thru 3, 5, 12 thru 14, and

16;

Sec. 34, lots 1, 7, 8 thru 10, and 16;

Sec. 35, lots 8 thru 10.

The area described contains 2,837.91 acres

more or less with an estimated 356.5 million

tons of geologically in-place coal.

The Antelope Mine, which is adjacent

to the lease application area, has an

approved mining and reclamation plan

from the Land Quality Division of the

Wyoming Department of Environmental

Quality and an approved air quality

permit from the Air Quality Division of

the Wyoming Department of

Environmental Quality to mine up to 30

million tons of coal per year. According

to the application filed for the Horse

Creek Federal coal tract, the

maintenance tract would be mined to

extend the life of the existing mine.

The Powder River Regional Coal

Team (RCT) reviewed the Horse Creek

Federal coal lease application at their

meeting on April 23, 1997, in Casper,

Wyoming, and recommended that it be

processed. The RCT was notified in

writing of the modified tract

configuration.

A public hearing was held at 7:00

p.m. on Wednesday, December 8, 1999,

at the Holiday Inn, 2009 S. Douglas

Highway, Gillette, Wyoming. The

purpose of the hearing was to receive

comments on the FEIS, on the fair

market value, the maximum economic

recovery, and the proposed competitive

sale of the coal included in the

proposed Horse Creek Federal coal tract.

Comments on the DEIS were accepted

for 60 days following November 12,

1999, the date that the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) published

their notice of availability of the FEIS in

the Federal Register. The comment

period for the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (DEIS) ended on

January 12, 2000. Nine comments were

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Notices 30429

received on the DEIS and these are

included with responses in the FEIS.

The FEIS analyzes three alternatives.

The Proposed Action is to hold a

competitive sealed-bid sale and issue a

lease for the tract as applied for to the

successful qualified bidder, if the bid

meets or exceeds the fair market value

of the tract as determined by the BLM.

This is the preferred alternative of the

BLM. The second alternative,

Alternative 1, is the No Action

Alternative which assumes that the tract

will not be leased. The third alternative,

Alternative 2, is to hold a competitive

sealed-bid sale and issue a lease for the

tract as modified by BLM to the

successful qualified bidder, if the bid

meets or exceeds the fair market value

of the tract as determined by the BLM.

The Office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement is a

cooperating agency in the preparation of

the EIS because it is the Federal agency

that would review the mining plans for

the tract if it is leased, and recommend

approval or disapproval of the mining

plans to the Secretary of the Interior.

The lease application area is within

the boundaries of the Thunder Basin

National Grasslands. Some of the

surface lands in the area were formerly

under the jurisdiction of the United

States and were administered by the

U.S. Forest Service (USFS) as part of the

Thunder Basin National Grasslands. As

a result of recent land exchanges

between the USFS and local

landowners, however, there are no

longer any surface lands within the

lease application area that are under the

jurisdiction of the USFS, and as a result,

the USFS is not a cooperating agency in

the preparation of this EIS.

Issues of concern that were identified

related to this lease application include

the potential impacts to wetlands,

aquifers, agricultural producers,

wildlife, wildlife habitat, wildlife-based

recreation, cultural resources, public

land access, and regional visibility that

may occur if a lease is issued for this

tract, and the potential for conflict with

development of existing oil and gas

leases in this area including coal bed

methane. There are no producing oil or

gas wells on the lease application area.

Comments received on the FEIS

during the 30-day availability period,

including names and street addresses of

respondents, will be available for public

review at the Bureau of Land

Management, Casper Field Office, 2987

Prospector Drive, Casper, Wyoming,

during regular business hours (8 a.m. to

4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Individual respondents

may request confidentiality. If you wish

to withhold your name or street address

from public review or from disclosure

under the Freedom of Information Act,

you must state this prominently at the

beginning of your written comment.

Such requests will be honored to the

extent allowed by law. All submissions

from organizations or businesses, and

from individuals identifying themselves

as representatives of officials of

organizations or businesses, will be

made available for public inspection in

their entirety.

Dated: May 5, 2000.

Alan R. Pierson,

State Director.

[FR Doc. 00–11797 Filed 5–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV–930–1430–ET; Nev–059798]

Public Land Order No. 7443; Partial

Revocation of Public Land Order No.

3512; Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Public land order.

SUMMARY: This order partially revokes a

public land order insofar as it affects

700.12 acres of public land withdrawn

for use by the Bureau of Reclamation for

the Robert B. Griffith Water Project. The

land is no longer needed for the purpose

for which it was withdrawn and the

revocation is needed to facilitate a

pending land exchange. The land will

remain closed to location and entry

under the mining laws, and from

operation of the mineral leasing and

geothermal leasing laws in accordance

with Section 4(c) of the Southern

Nevada Public Land Management Act of

1998.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 12, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dennis J. Samuelson, BLM Nevada State

Office, P.O. Box 12000, Reno, Nevada

89520, 775–861–6532.

By virtue of the authority vested in

the Secretary of the Interior by Section

204 of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C.

1714 (1994), it is ordered as follows:

1. Public Land Order No. 3512, which

withdrew public land for the Bureau of

Reclamation’s Robert B. Griffith Project,

is hereby revoked insofar as it affects the

following described land:

Mount Diablo Meridian

T. 21 S., R. 63 E.,

Sec. 26, lots 1, 6 to 13, inclusive, 16, 18

to 21, inclusive, and 23;

Sec. 27, SE1⁄4;

Sec. 34, lots 8, 10 to 13, inclusive, 15, 17,

24, and 26.

Sec. 35, lot 11.

The area described contains 700.12 acres in

Clark County.

2. The land described in paragraph 1

is hereby made available for disposal in

accordance with Section 4 of the

Southern Nevada Public Land

Management Act of 1998, Public Law

105–263, 112 Stat. 2343, et seq.

Dated: April 28, 2000.

Sylvia V. Baca,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

[FR Doc. 00–11850 Filed 5–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR–958–1430-ET; GP0–0063; (OR–19008,

OR–19087)]

Public Land Order No. 7444;

Revocation of Executive Order Dated

January 19, 1917, and Partial

Revocation of Secretarial Order Dated

January 19, 1917; Oregon

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Public Land Order.

SUMMARY: This order revokes an

Executive order in its entirety and

partially revokes a Secretarial order as

to 3,690.67 acres of lands withdrawn for

Bureau of Land Management Powersite

Reserve No. 582 and Water Power

Designation No. 3. The lands are no

longer needed for the purpose for which

they were withdrawn. This action will

open approximately 3,690.67 acres to

surface entry, subject to other

segregations of record. All of the lands

have been and will remain open to

mining and mineral leasing subject to

other segregations of record.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 10, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Allison O’Brien, BLM Oregon/

Washington State Office, P.O. Box 2965,

Portland, Oregon 97208–2965, 503–952–

6171.

By virtue of the authority vested in

the Secretary of the Interior by Section

204 of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C.

1714 (1994), it is ordered as follows:

1. The Executive Order dated January

19, 1917 and the Secretarial Order dated

January 19, 1917, which established

Bureau of Land Management Power Site

Reserve No. 582 and Water Power

Designation No. 3 respectively, are

hereby revoked insofar as they affect the

following described lands: