392 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices 

Applicant’s Proposal 

Lavaca Pipeline Company has 

requested to purchase a 30-foot-wide 

pipeline easement across a 203-foot-long 

section of the San Bernard National 

Wildlife Refuge NWR in Brazoria 

County, Texas. The (ROW) permit 

would enable the applicant to install, 

own, and operate a 16-inch-diameter 

steel pipeline to transport ethane gas. 

The requested ROW overlies an existing 

ROW easement, and the pipeline would 

be laid parallel to an already existing 

pipeline. The applicant’s pipeline 

would be installed by means of a 

conventional bore technique under 

refuge land; therefore, the process 

would not require trenching on refuge 

lands. No additional easement 

boundaries beyond the existing ROW 

are required. The bore holes will be 

located 300 feet outside the refuge 

property line on adjacent private lands. 

Background 

Lavaca Pipeline Company is 

constructing a 16-inch-diameter 

pipeline for the transportation of ethane 

through Galveston, Brazoria, Matagorda, 

and Wharton Counties in Southeast 

Texas. Lavaca Pipeline is making efforts 

to co-locate the pipeline within existing 

pipeline ROW corridors. Lavaca 

Pipeline has requested to cross the San 

Bernard NWR along an existing ROW. 

Although a new ROW is being 

requested, an existing ROW and 

pipeline are already in place. The 

existing pipeline ROW is not an 

exclusive easement; therefore, 

additional ROWs and pipelines can be 

installed within the same cleared 

corridor. The requested permit would 

allow for the pipeline to cross a narrow 

(203-foot-wide) strip of refuge that 

connects two larger parcels and is 

commonly referred to as the Sulfur 

Ditch. 

Compatibility Determination 

In our compatibility determination, 

which was approved on July 26, 2017, 

we determined that placing the pipeline 

across this narrow (203-foot-wide) strip 

would minimize the impact to other 

refuge lands. Several options were 

evaluated, but it was determined that 

they would have resulted in greater 

impact than this proposal. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Written comments we receive become 

part of the public record associated with 

this action. Before including your 

address, phone number, email 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 may request in your comment that 

we withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. We will not consider anonymous 

comments. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under the 

Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 

U.S.C. 715d). 

Dated: November 6, 2017. 

Lueders, 

Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–28385 Filed 1–2–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLCAD08000.18XL1109AF. 

L12200000.EA0000.LXSSB0280000] 

Notice of Temporary Closure on Public 

Lands for the Annual King of the 

Hammers Race, San Bernardino 

County, CA 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of temporary closure. 

SUMMARY: As authorized under the 

provisions of the Federal Land Policy 

and Management Act of 1976, as 

amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) is giving notice that 

certain public lands located near 

Johnson Valley, California, within the 

Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle 

Recreation Area, will be temporarily 

closed to all public use to enhance 

public safety during Hammerking 

Productions’ annual King of the 

Hammers desert race authorized under 

a Special Recreation Permit (SRP). This 

action is in effect for King of the 

Hammers, which takes place annually, 

during a 9-day period. 

DATES: This Notice is effective from 

February 2, 2018, through February 10, 

2018. The Hammerking Productions 

SRP for this event is valid until 

February 22, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: The BLM will post the 

temporary closure notice and a map of 

the temporary closure area on the BLM 

website at: https://www.blm.gov/ 

california; and at the following BLM 

offices: California Desert District Office, 

22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, 

Moreno Valley, CA 92553; and Barstow 

Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road, 

Barstow, CA 92311. Notice of the 9-day 

temporary closure period for subsequent 

races will be published in annual news 

releases and posted on the BLM website 

at least 30-days in advance of the event. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth 

Ransel, District Manager, California 

Desert District, telephone: 951–697– 

5200, email: bransel@blm.gov; or 

Katrina Symons, Barstow Field 

Manager, telephone: 760–252–6004, 

email: ksymons@blm.gov. Persons who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service at 1–800–877–8339 to contact 

the above individuals during normal 

business hours. The Service is available 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave 

a message or question with the above 

individuals. You will receive a reply 

during normal hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The dates 

for King of the Hammers, the dates of 

the temporary closure, and a map of the 

closure area will be posted at the 

California Desert District Office, the 

Barstow Field Office, and on the BLM 

website at the addresses provided above 

every year at least 30 days prior to the 

event. The dates are also available upon 

request. 

This temporary closure applies to all 

public use, including pedestrian use 

and vehicles. The BLM will also post 

the temporary closure notice and map of 

the temporary closure area at the main 

entry points into the Johnson Valley OffHighway Vehicle Recreation Area. The 

annual temporary closure will comply 

with the management plan for the area, 

ensuring that when the annual 

temporary closure period includes a 

Saturday or Sunday, a minimum of 

three staging areas within the Johnson 

Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation 

Area will remain open to the public on 

those weekend days. 

Exclusive Use: The area will be for 

exclusive use of King of the Hammers 

participants, registered spectators for 

the King of the Hammers, and other 

authorized users with an authorized 

SRP valid for activities within the 

temporary closure area. For the 

temporary closure area, anyone without 

a SRP authorizing use within the 

temporary closure area during the 

temporary closure period is prohibited 

from using the area. 

Exceptions: Temporary closure 

restrictions do not apply to medical and 

rescue personnel in the performance of 

their official duties; official United 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2018 / Notices 393 

States military and Federal, State, and 

local law enforcement; Federal, State 

and local officers and employees in the 

performance of their official duties; 

King of the Hammers event officials and 

race participants; vendors with a valid 

BLM SRP; and registered event 

spectators. 

Enforcement: Any person who 

violates the temporary closure order 

may be tried before a United States 

Magistrate and fined in accordance with 

18 U.S.C. 3571, imprisoned no more 

than 12 months under 43 U.S.C. 1733(a) 

and 43 CFR 8360.0–7, or both. In 

accordance with 43 CFR 8365.1–7, State 

or local officials may also impose 

penalties for violations of California 

law. 

Authority: 43 CFR 8360.0–7 and 8364.1 

Beth Ransel, 

California Desert District Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2017–28393 Filed 1–2–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 

189S180110; S2D2S SS08011000 

SX064A000 18XS501520] 

Notice of Availability of the Western 

Energy Company’s Rosebud Mine Area 

F Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, U.S. 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Office 

of Surface Mining Reclamation and 

Enforcement (OSMRE) has prepared a 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) for the Western Energy Company’s 

Rosebud Mine Area F (Project) in 

southeastern Montana and by this notice 

is announcing the opening of the 

comment period. The Montana 

Department of Environmental Quality 

(DEQ) is a co-lead on this EIS process. 

DATES: To ensure comments will be 

considered, OSMRE will accept 

electronic or written comments on or 

before 45 days from the date that the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the Notice of Availability for 

the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. 

OSMRE will publish in the Federal 

Register and/or local newspapers the 

date, time, and location of the public 

meeting on the Draft EIS. If you are a 

disabled individual who needs 

reasonable accommodation to attend the 

public meeting, please contact the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT after we publish 

the notice of the specific meeting 

location and date. 

ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS is available 

for review at: https://

www.wrcc.osmre.gov/initiatives/ 

westernEnergy/documentLibrary.shtm. 

Paper and computer compact disk (CD) 

copies of the Draft EIS are available for 

review at the OSMRE Western Region 

Office, 1999 Broadway Street, Suite 

3320, Denver, Colorado 80202. In 

addition, a paper and CD copy of the 

Draft EIS is available for review at each 

of the following locations: 

Rosebud County Library, 201 North 

9th Avenue, Forsyth, MT 59327. 

Between the hours of 11:00 a.m. 

and 7:00 p.m. Monday through 

Thursday; 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Friday; 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

Saturday (Closed Sunday) 

Montana DEQ Headquarters (Lee 

Metcalf Building), 1520 East 6th 

Avenue, Helena, MT 59620. 

Between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 

5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday 

(Closed Saturday and Sunday) 

BLM Miles City Field Office, 111 

Garryowen Road, Miles City, MT 

59301. Between the hours of 7:45 

a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through 

Friday (Closed Saturday and 

Sunday) 

BLM State Office, Billings, MT, 5001 

Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 

59101. Between the hours of 8:00 

a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through 

Friday (Closed Saturday and 

Sunday) 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Logan Sholar, OSMRE Project 

Coordinator; Telephone: 303–293–5036; 

Address: 1999 Broadway Street, Suite 

3320, Denver, Colorado 80202–3050; 

email: lsholar@osmre.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Project Purpose 

II. Background on the Rosebud Mine 

III. Background on the Project 

IV. Alternative 

I. Project Purpose 

The purpose of the Project is to 

consider continued operations at the 

Rosebud Mine by permitting and 

developing a new surface mine permit 

area, known as permit Area F. Western 

Energy submitted a permit application 

to DEQ for the proposed 6,746-acre 

permit Area F (also referred to as the 

project area) at the Rosebud Mine, 

which is an existing 25,455-acre surface 

coal mine annually producing 8.0 to 

10.25 million tons of low-sulfur 

subbituminous coal. If DEQ approves 

the permit and a Federal mining plan 

for the Project is approved as proposed, 

at the current rate of production, the 

operational life of the Rosebud Mine 

would be extended by 8 years. Mining 

operations in the project area, which 

would commence after all permits and 

approvals have been secured and a 

reclamation and performance bond has 

been posted, would last 19 years. 

Western Energy estimates that 70.8 

million tons of recoverable coal reserves 

exist in the project area and would be 

removed during the 19-year operations 

period. As with other permit areas of the 

Rosebud Mine, all coal would be 

combusted locally at the Colstrip and 

Rosebud Power Plants. 

Western Energy is required to obtain 

a surface coal mine operating permit 

(pursuant to the Montana Strip and 

Underground Mine Reclamation Act 

(MSUMRA), Section 82–4–221 et seq., 

Montana Code Annotated) and approval 

of a Federal surface mining plan (30 

CFR 746) for proposed permit Area F. 

OSMRE’s purpose for the Project is to 

review and make a recommendation to 

the Assistant Secretary for Land and 

Minerals Management (ASLM) in the 

form of a Mining Plan Decision 

Document to approve, disapprove, or 

approve with conditions, the proposed 

Federal surface mining plan for the 

Project. The ASLM will decide whether 

the mining plan is approved, 

disapproved, or approved with 

conditions. 

DEQ’s purpose for the Project is to 

review and make a decision on Western 

Energy’s surface mine operating permit 

application under MSUMRA and to 

review and make decisions on the 

following related permits: (1) An 

application for a new Montana Pollutant 

Discharge Elimination System (MPDES) 

permit, and (2) an application to modify 

Montana Air Quality Permit #1570*07 

to include the project area. The Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM) is a 

cooperating agency on the Draft EIS. 

The Draft EIS evaluates the direct, 

indirect, and cumulative effects of the 

Proposed Action and alternatives on the 

environment. 

OSMRE is complying with Section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA Section 106)(16 

U.S.C. 470f), as provided in 36 CFR 

800.2(d)(3), concurrently with the NEPA 

process, including public involvement 

requirements and consultation with the 

State Historic Preservation Officer and 

Historic Preservation Officers with 

Tribal nations. Native American Tribal 

consultations are ongoing and have been 

conducted in accordance with 


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