Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 73 / Monday, April 16, 2012 / Notices 22607 

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS, RESPONSES AND TIME—Continued 

Activity 

Estimated 

number of 

respondents 

Estimated 

number of responses per 

respondent 

Completion 

time per 

response 

(minutes) 

Total burden 

hours 

Headwaters Mail-back survey .......................................................................... 420 1 30 210 

KRNCA Visitor Interview .................................................................................. 400 1 7 47 

KRNCA Mail-back survey ................................................................................ 280 1 30 140 

Totals ........................................................................................................ 1,700 ........................ ........................ 467 

Estimated Reporting and 

Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’ 

Burden: None. 

Jean Sonneman, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

Bureau of Land Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8969 Filed 4–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLWY922000–L57000000–BX0000; 

WYW176095] 

Notice of Competitive Coal Lease Sale, 

Wyoming 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

certain coal resources in the South 

Porcupine Coal Tract described below 

in Campbell County, Wyoming, will be 

reoffered for competitive lease by sealed 

bid in accordance with the provisions of 

the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as 

amended. 

DATES: The lease sale will be held at 10 

a.m. on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Sealed 

bids must be submitted on or before 4 

p.m. on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The lease sale will be held 

in the First Floor Conference Room 

(Room 107), of the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) Wyoming State 

Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, P.O. 

Box 1828, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003. 

Sealed bids must be submitted to the 

Cashier, BLM Wyoming State Office, at 

the address given above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mavis Love, Land Law Examiner, or 

Kathy Muller Ogle, Coal Coordinator, at 

307–775–6258, and 307–775–6206, 

respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This coal 

lease sale is being held in response to 

a lease by application (LBA) filed by 

BTU Western Resources, Inc., Gillette, 

Wyoming. The South Porcupine Tract 

was previously offered for sale on 

February 29, 2012, and the one bid 

received at that sale was rejected 

because it did not meet the BLM’s 

estimate of fair market value. The coal 

resource to be reoffered consists of all 

reserves recoverable by surface mining 

methods in the following-described 

lands located approximately 1 to 4 miles 

north of the Campbell/Converse county 

line, adjacent and up to 2 miles east of 

the main line railroad, and adjacent to 

the western and northern lease 

boundary of the North Antelope 

Rochelle Mine. 

T. 41 N., R. 70 W., 6th Principal Meridian 

Sec. 7, lots 7 through 10 inclusive and lots 

15 through 18 inclusive; 

Sec. 18, lots 6 through 11 inclusive and lots 

14 through 19 inclusive; 

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th Principal Meridian 

Sec. 1, lots 5 through 20 inclusive; 

Sec. 12, lots 1 through 16 inclusive; 

Sec. 13, lots 1 through 16 inclusive; 

Sec. 14, lots 1, 2, 8, 9, 16, and 18; 

Sec. 23, lots 1 and 17; and 

Sec. 24, lots 2 through 4 inclusive and lots 

17, 19, and 21. 

Containing 3,243.03 acres, more or less, in 

Campbell County, Wyoming. 

The LBA tract is adjacent to Federal 

leases to the east and south as well as 

a State of Wyoming lease to the north, 

all controlled by the North Antelope 

Rochelle Mine. It is also adjacent to 

Federal leases to the west across the 

mainline railroad, which is part of 

Cloud Peak Energy Resources, LLC’s 

Antelope Mine. It is adjacent to 

additional unleased Federal coal to the 

west. 

Most of the acreage offered has been 

determined to be suitable for mining 

except for the mainline railroad right-ofway along the western boundary of the 

LBA. Features such as roads, utilities, 

and pipelines can be moved to permit 

coal recovery. In addition, a producing 

gas well is located on the LBA as well 

as several coal bed natural gas wells. 

The estimate of the bonus value of the 

coal lease will include consideration of 

the future production from these wells. 

An economic analysis of this future 

income stream will consider reasonable 

compensation to the gas lessee for lost 

production of the natural gas when the 

wells are bought out by the coal lessee. 

Approximately half of the surface estate 

of the tract is within the Thunder Basin 

National Grasslands and managed by 

the U.S. Forest Service. Most of the 

other half of the surface estate is owned 

by various private entities with a small 

amount owned by a Peabody Energy 

Corporation subsidiary. 

The tract contains surface mineable 

coal reserves in the Wyodak-Anderson 

coal zone currently being recovered in 

the adjacent, existing mines. On the 

LBA tract, there are two mineable 

seams, the Wyodak-Anderson 1 

(Anderson) and the Wyodak-Anderson 2 

(Canyon), located in the southern 

portion of the LBA that merge into a 

single seam in the northern portion. The 

total coal thickness averages about 77 

feet with the shallower Anderson seam 

slightly thicker than the deeper Canyon 

seam where two seams occur. 

The two seams can be separated by as 

much as 80 feet of interburden. 

Overburden depths to the Anderson 

range from about 160 to 460 feet thick. 

The tract contains an estimated 

401,830,508 tons of mineable coal. This 

estimate of mineable reserves includes 

the two seams mentioned above but 

does not include any tonnage from 

localized seams or splits containing less 

than 5 feet of coal. It does not include 

the adjacent State of Wyoming coal 

although these reserves are expected to 

be recovered in conjunction with the 

LBA tract. It also excludes coal within 

and along the railroad right of way as 

required by typical mining practices. 

The total mineable stripping ratio of the 

coal in bank cubic yards per ton is 

approximately 4.8:1. Potential bidders 

for the LBA tract should consider the 

recovery rate expected from thick and 

multiple seam mining. 

The South Porcupine LBA coal is 

ranked as subbituminous C. The overall 

average quality on an as-received basis 

is 8,905 British Thermal Units per 

pound containing about 0.20 percent 

sulfur. These quality averages place the 

coal reserves near the high end of the 

range of coal quality currently being 


emcdonald on DSK29S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
22608 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 73 / Monday, April 16, 2012 / Notices 

mined in the Wyoming portion of the 

Powder River Basin. 

The tract in this lease offering 

contains split estate lands. There are 

qualified surface owners as defined in 

the regulations at 43 CFR 3400.0–5(gg). 

Consent granted by the qualified surface 

owners has been filed with and verified 

by the BLM. The LBA tract lands 

included in the consent are: 

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th Principal Meridian 

Sec. 13, lots 12 through 14 inclusive; 

Sec. 14, lots 1, 2, 8, and 18; and 

Sec. 24, lots 3, 4, 17, 19, and 21. 

Containing 396.79 acres, more or less, in 

Campbell County, Wyoming. 

The purchase price of the consent as 

stated in the consent documents is 

‘‘* * * an overriding royalty of three 

percent (3%) of the gross realization of 

all coal mined and sold from the Subject 

Property.’’ 

The tract will be leased to the 

qualified bidder of the highest cash 

amount provided that the high bid 

meets or exceeds the BLM’s estimate of 

the fair market value (FMV) of the tract. 

The minimum bid for the tract is $100 

per acre or fraction thereof. No bid that 

is less than $100 per acre, or fraction 

thereof, will be considered. The bids 

should be sent by certified mail, return 

receipt requested, or be hand delivered. 

The BLM Wyoming State Office Cashier 

will issue a receipt for each handdelivered bid. Bids received after 4 p.m. 

local time on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 

will not be considered. The minimum 

bid is not intended to represent FMV. 

The FMV of the tract will be determined 

by the Authorized Officer after the sale. 

The lease that may be issued as a result 

of this offering will provide for payment 

of an annual rental of $3 per acre, or 

fraction thereof, and a royalty payment 

to the United States of 12.5 percent of 

the value of coal produced by surface 

mining methods. The value of the coal 

will be determined in accordance with 

30 CFR 1206.250. 

Pursuant to the regulation at 43 CFR 

3473.2(f), the applicant for the South 

Porcupine Tract, BTU Western 

Resources, Inc., has paid a total case-bycase cost recovery processing fee in the 

amount of $83,694. The successful 

bidder for the South Porcupine Tract, if 

someone other than the applicant, must 

pay to the BLM the $83,694 previously 

paid by BTU Western Resources, Inc., 

and, in that circumstance, the BLM 

would then refund that amount to BTU 

Western Resources, Inc. Additionally, 

the successful bidder must pay all 

processing costs the BLM will incur 

after the date this sale notice is 

published in the Federal Register, 

which are estimated to be $10,000. 

Bidding instructions for the LBA tract 

offered and the terms and conditions of 

the proposed coal lease are available 

from the BLM Wyoming State Office at 

the address above. Case file documents, 

WYW176095, are available for 

inspection at the BLM Wyoming State 

Office. 

Donald A. Simpson, 

State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8973 Filed 4–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNVL01000. L5110. GN0000. 

LVEMF1201180; N82888, N90443; MO# 

4500031854; TAS: 14X5017] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Proposed Bald Mountain Mine 

North and South Operations Area 

Projects, White Pine County, NV 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, (NEPA) and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

Egan Field Office, Ely, Nevada intends 

to prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and by this notice is 

announcing the beginning of the 

scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify issues. The 

proposed project is located in White 

Pine County, about 70 miles northwest 

of Ely and 30 miles northeast of Eureka, 

Nevada. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the EIS. Comments 

on issues may be submitted in writing 

until 30 days after the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register. The 

date(s) and location(s) of any scoping 

meetings will be announced at least 15 

days in advance through local media, 

newspapers, and the BLM web site at: 

http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/ely_

field_office.html. In order to be included 

in the Draft EIS, all comments must be 

received prior to the close of the scoping 

period or 15 days after the last public 

meeting, whichever is later. We will 

provide additional opportunities for 

public participation upon publication of 

the Draft EIS. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

related to the Bald Mountain Mine 

North and South Operations Area 

Projects by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: BLM_NV_EYDO_Barrick

_Bald_EIS@blm.gov. 

• Fax: (775) 289–1910. 

• Mail: BLM Ely District, Egan Field 

Office, HC 33 Box 33500, Ely, NV, 

89301. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined at the Egan Field 

Office, 702 N. Industrial Way, Ely, 

Nevada. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information and/or to have your 

name added to our mailing list, contact 

Miles Kreidler, project lead, telephone: 

(775) 289–1893; email: 

mkreidler@blm.gov. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

to contact the above individual during 

normal business hours. The FIRS is 

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 

to leave a message or question with the 

above individual. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Bald 

Mountain Mine (BMM), owned by 

Barrick Gold US Inc., proposes to 

expand the existing approved mine 

facilities in the North Operations Project 

Area, and expand the existing Casino/ 

Winrock Plan of Operations and 

incorporate it into the North Operations 

Project Area. This expansion would add 

four new heap leach pads and increase 

the total surface disturbance from 9,124 

acres to 13,704 acres. Of the 13,704 total 

acres, 21.6 acres would be located on 

private land. In addition, BMM 

proposes an expansion of the South 

Operations Area Project which would 

encompass and expand the existing 

Yankee and Alligator Ridge mine sites, 

and would include an access road from 

the North Operations Area to the South 

Operations Area. The access road would 

provide a direct route for transportation 

of equipment and personnel between 

the two operational areas, and would 

also be used for a power line corridor. 

Establishing the South Operations Area 

Project would increase the total surface 

disturbance from 960 acres to 3,643 

acres, all of which is on public land. 

Mining has been ongoing in this area 

for over 20 years and a variety of 

different mining proposals have been 

analyzed under previous NEPA 

documents. Most recently, mine 

expansions were analyzed in the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Bald Mountain Mine North Operations 

Area Project (August 2009) and the 

Mooney Heap and Little Bald Mountain 

Mine Expansion Project Environmental 

Assessment (July 2006). 


emcdonald on DSK29S0YB1PROD with NOTICES