[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33386-33387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16274]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[WY-060-1620-01; WYW141435]


Notice of Intent

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) on a lease application received from Antelope Coal Company for 
Federal coal in the decertified Powder River Federal Coal Production 
Region, Wyoming, and Notice of Scoping on a modification to the lease 
application.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a competitive 
coal lease application (WYW141435) from Antelope Coal Company (ACC) on 
February 14, 1997, for a tract containing approximately 177.5 million 
tons of Federal coal and including approximately 1,471 acres in an area 
adjacent to the company's Antelope Mine. ACC is a subsidiary of 
Kennecott Energy and Coal Company. The Antelope Mine is located in 
northern Converse County, Wyoming; the lease application area is 
located in Campbell and Converse Counties, Wyoming. The tract, which is 
referred to as the Horse Creek LBA Tract, was applied for as a 
maintenance tract lease-by-application (LBA) under the provisions of 43 
Code of Federal

[[Page 33387]]

Regulations (CFR) 3425.1. The Powder River Regional Coal Team (RCT) 
reviewed the competitive lease application at their meeting on April 
23, 1997, in Casper, Wyoming, and recommended that it be processed. On 
May 1, 1998, BLM received an application from ACC to modify the area 
included in the proposed Horse Creek LBA Tract. The modified tract 
includes approximately 2,838 acres and approximately 356.5 million tons 
of coal. The BLM is currently requesting comments from the public on 
specific concerns or issues that BLM should consider in processing the 
modified application for the Horse Creek LBA Tract.
    BLM conducted scoping on the original lease application in November 
1997, including a public scoping meeting held at the Tower West Lodge 
in Gillette, Wyoming, on November 13 at 7 p.m. As part of that scoping 
process, BLM requested comments on whether an EIS or an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) would best satisfy the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
    After consideration of the comments received during the scoping 
period and discussions with the applicant, the BLM determined that the 
requirements of NEPA would be best served by preparing an EIS for this 
lease application. The Office of Surface Mining will be a cooperating 
agency on the EIS.

DATES: As part of the public scoping process on the modified lease 
application area, the public has the opportunity to submit written 
comments on concerns or issues that the BLM should address in 
processing the modified lease application. BLM will accept comments on 
the modified lease application at the address given below. Comments 
should be submitted by July 24, 1998, in order to be considered in the 
draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: Please address questions, comments, or concerns to the 
Casper District Office, Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Nancy Doelger, 
1701 East E Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601, or fax them to 307-234-1525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Doelger or Mike Karbs at the 
above address, or phone: 307-261-7600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 14, 1997, ACC filed coal lease 
application WYW141435 for the following lands in Campbell and Converse 
Counties, Wyoming:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Section 22: Lots 2 and 3;
    Section 23: Lots 10 thru 16;
    Section 25: Lot 11;
    Section 26: Lots 1 thru 8, 12, and 13;
    Section 27: Lots 5, 6, 11 thru 14, and 16;
    Section 34: Lots 1, 7, 8 thru 10, and 16;
    Section 35: Lots 8 thru 10;

    Containing 1,470.570 acres more or less with an estimated 177.5 
million tons of coal.

    On May 1, 1998, ACC filed a modification to the Horse Creek LBA 
tract which added the following lands to the area applied for:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Section 14: Lots 5 thru 7, and 10 thru 15;
    Section 15: Lots 6 thru 11, and 14 thru 16;
    Section 22: Lots 1, 4 thru 6, and 9 thru 13;
    Section 23: Lots 2 thru 7;
    Section 25: Lot 12 (S 1/2);
    Section 27 Lots 1 thru 3;

    Containing 1,493.470 acres more or less.

    The Horse Creek LBA Tract application modification also removed the 
following lands from the area applied for:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Section 22: Lot 2;
    Section 27: Lots 6 and 11;

    Containing 126.130 acres more or less.

    The modified Horse Creek LBA tract includes the following lands:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming
    Section 14: Lots 5 thru 7, and 10 thru 15;
    Section 15: Lots 6 thru 11, and 14 thru 16;
    Section 22: Lots 1, 3 thru 6, and 9 thru 13;
    Section 23: Lots 2 thru 7, and 10 thru 16;
    Section 25: Lots 11 and 12(S 1/2);
    Section 26: Lots 1 thru 8, 12, and 13;
    Section 27: Lots 1 thru 3, 5, 12 thru 14, and 16;
    Section 34: Lots 1, 7, 8 thru 10, and 16;
    Section 35: Lots 8 thru 10;

    Containing 2,837.91 acres more or less with an estimated 356.5 
million tons of 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 LBA Tract, the maintenance tract would be mined to extend the 
life of the existing mine.
    Using the LBA process, ACC acquired maintenance coal lease 
WYW128322, containing approximately 617 acres and 60 million tons of 
minable coal adjacent to the Antelope Mine, effective February 1, 1997.
    The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) will 
be a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS. If the Horse 
Creek LBA tract is leased to the applicant, the new lease must be 
incorporated into the existing mining plans for the adjacent mine and 
the Secretary of the Interior must approve the revised mining plan 
before the Federal coal in the tract can be mined. OSM is the Federal 
agency that would be responsible for recommending approval, approval 
with conditions, or disapproval of the revised mining plan to the 
Secretary if the tract is leased.
    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 will not be a cooperating agency 
in the preparation of the EIS.
    There are six surface coal mines (Jacobs Ranch, Black Thunder, 
North Rochelle, Rochelle, North Antelope, and Antelope) located 
southeast of Wright, Wyoming, in southern Campbell County and northern 
Converse County. Since decertification of the Powder River Federal Coal 
Region in 1990, these mines have leased approximately 10,360 acres 
including approximately 1.2 billion tons of minable Federal coal, and 
have applied for approximately 8,900 additional acres of Federal coal.
    Several issues related to this lease application were identified 
during the initial scoping in November of 1997, including the potential 
impacts to wetlands, aquifers, agricultural producers, wildlife, 
wildlife habitat, wildlife-based recreation, cultural resources, and 
access to public lands 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 coalbed methane. If you have 
specific concerns about these issues, or have other concerns or issues 
that BLM should consider in processing this application, please address 
them in writing to the above address. Written comments should be 
received by July 24, 1998, in order to be fully considered in the draft 
EIS.

    Dated: June 15, 1998.
Alan L. Kesterke,
Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 98-16274 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P