[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 202 (Thursday, October 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64097-64099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25663]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to the 2011 Final EIS
for the Leasing and Underground Mining of the Greens Hollow Federal
Coal Lease Tract (UTU-84102)
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact
statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Manti-La Sal and Fishlake National Forests along with the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Price Field Office as joint lead
agencies announce their intent to prepare a supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision to the 2011 Final EIS For
the Leasing and Undeground Mining of the Greens Hollow Federal Coal
Lease Tract UTU-84102. Supplemental analyses are required to correct
deficiencies in the Final EIS.
DATES: Additional scoping will not be conducted in accordance with 40
CFR 1502.9(c)(4). The draft supplemental EIS is expected in late
December 2012 and the final supplemental EIS is expected in March 2013.
There will be a 45-day comment period after the draft supplemental EIS
is issued.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Allen Rowley, Forest Supervisor,
115 East 900 North, Richfield, Utah 84701. Comments may also be sent
via email to [email protected], or via facsimile to
435-896-9347. Please reference Greens Hollow Supplemental EIS in the
subject field.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marianne Orton, Forest Environmental
Coordinator, Fishlake National Forest, 115 East 900 North, Richfield,
Utah 84701 or phone 435-896-1090. Individuals who use telecommunication
devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed Greens Hollow Federal Coal
Lease Tract is located on the Manti-La Sal and Fishlake National
Forests in Sanpete and Sevier counties, Utah. The surface and coal
resources are both federally owned. The Forests administer the surface
resources, while the BLM administers the subsurface coal resources. The
tract is located on the Muddy Creek and North Fork Quitchupah Creek
drainages approximately 10 air miles west of the town of Emery, Utah.
The tract is estimated to contain about 56.6 million tons of
recoverable coal reserves. The
[[Page 64098]]
tract is being considered for competitive coal leasing under BLM
regulations at 43 CFR part 3400.
Coal in the tract would be accessed and recovered using underground
longwall mining methods, with foreseeable access from existing adjacent
leases. The Forest Service and BLM have determined that data are
available to meet the Data Adequacy Standards for Federal Coal Leasing,
Uinta-Southwestern Utah Coal Region.
The final coal lease tract, as amended by BLM's Tract Delineation
Team, encompasses 6,175 acres of Federal coal estate. The proposed
lease contains about 6,096 acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands
administered by the Manti-La Sal National Forest and about 79 acres of
NFS lands administered by the Fishlake National Forest.
A Final EIS for the Leasing and Underground Mining of the Greens
Hollow Federal Coal Lease Tract (UTU-84102) was released to the public
along with the Record of Decision in December 2011. Subsequently, the
decision was made to withdraw the Record of Decision and prepare a
Supplemental EIS.
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose for developing this Supplemental EIS is to clarify the
decisions to be made and agency decision authority, analyze the
environmental consequences of potential actions to be taken by each
agency, make technical corrections, and address agency compliance
actions and key resource concerns not previously analyzed in the
original 2011 Final EIS. The Supplemental EIS will replace the Final
EIS in its entirety. There is a need to comply with current direction
regarding management of Inventoried Roadless Areas and unroaded/
undeveloped areas, address key resource concerns, and update analysis
for aquatic management indicator species and sage-grouse.
The Forest Service and the BLM have identified a need to respond to
a federal coal lease-by-application, and assess whether or not to offer
certain NFS lands for lease by competitive bid. The purpose of the
federal agencies' actions is to facilitate continued development and
recovery of federally managed coal resources in an environmentally
sound manner. The Proposed Action responds to the federal government's
overall policy to foster and encourage private enterprise in the
development of economically sound and stable industries, and in the
orderly and economic development of domestic resources to help assure
satisfaction of industrial, security, and environmental needs.
The BLM is considering the Proposed Action because it would be an
integral part of the BLM's coal leasing program under authority of the
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as ammended by the Federal Coal Leasing
Amendments Act of 1976 and supplemented in 1978, and by implementing
regulations at 43 CFR 3425, Lease-On-Application. Coal developent is
recognized as an appropriate use of public lands within the Wasatch
Plateau Coal Field. The BLM will consider the approval of the Proposed
Action in a manner that minimizes impacts on or to other resource
values (including water and cultural resources), avoids or reduces
impact on resources and activities, and prevents unnecessary or undue
degradation of public lands.
Proposed Action
The action proposed to meet the purpose and need is for the Forest
Service to consent to the BLM offering the Greens Hollow Federal Coal
Lease Tract (UTU-84102) for competitive bid. The Forest Service consent
decision would include special coal lease stipulations for use and
protection of non-mineral interests, and the BLM decision would include
stipulations related to the mineral resource.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The Bureau of Land Management, Price Field Office, and the Forest
Service, Manti-La Sal and Fishlake National Forests, are joint lead
agencies for this project. The USDI Office of Surface Mining (OSM) will
participate as a cooperating agency.
Responsible Official
The Responsible Official for the Forest Service is Allen Rowley,
Manti-La Sal Acting Forest Supervisor and Fishlake Forest Supervisor,
115 East 900 North, Richfield, Utah 84701. The responsible official for
the BLM is William Stringer, Green River District Manager, 170 South
500 East, Vernal Utah 84078.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
In accordance with the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1975,
which amended the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, and enacting regulations
at 43 CFR 3400, the Forest Supervisor for the Manti-La Sal and Fishlake
National Forests, will decide whether or not to consent to BLM leasing
the subject federal coal lease tract. As part of its consent decision,
the Forest Service will identify special coal lease stipulations needed
to protect non-mineral resources.
In accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and
contingent on consent of the surface managing agency, the Green River
District Manager of the BLM will decide whether or not to offer the
tract for competitive leasing and under what terms, conditions, and
special stipulations.
Preliminary Issues
This Supplemental EIS will analyze issues relating to the potential
for underground mining and associated subsidence and foreseeable
surface uses to affect: Geologic resources (including mining-induced
subsidence and seismicity); existing and reasonably forseeable surface
structures and facilities; surface and ground water resources,
including water quantity and water quality; terrestrial and aquatic
wildlife resources (including Threatened, Endangered, and special
status species); vegetation resources (including Threatened,
Endangered, and special status species); heritage resources;
paleontological resources; socioeconomics; recreation; visual quality;
range; roadless characteristics; and air quality.
Permits or Licenses Required
Should a lease be issued and before any mining activity could
commence, the lessee must obtain a coal mining and reclamation permit
from the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining consistent with the
requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
(SMCRA) as codified in 30 CFR 700 to end, and the Utah Coal Rules.
Other Federal and State permits would also be required.
Scoping Process
Scoping for this Supplemental EIS was completed in preparation of
the previous EIS. The original Notice of Intent (NOI) for the Greens
Hollow Coal Lease Tract was printed in the Federal Register (Vol. 73,
No. 29, pp. 8060-8062) on February 12, 2008. The NOI designated a 45-
day comment period ending March 28, 2008, when comments would be most
useful. A public notice was also distributed to interested individuals
on the BLM, Price Field Office and Manti-La Sal and Fishlake National
Forests mailing lists. A legal notice was also sent to local newspapers
to notify the general public.
A content analysis of the comments received on the Draft EIS was
prepared. A summary of the issues and concerns, grouped by discipline
or resource, identified during the scoping process
[[Page 64099]]
were analyzed in the EIS, while a more detailed record of responses
received were compiled into a scoping report for the project.
Other Public Involvement
The Draft EIS for the Greens Hollow Coal Lease Tract was released
and distributed on March 26, 2009. The EPA Notice of Availability (NOA)
was published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2009, initiating the
formal 45-day coment period on the Draft EIS. The BLM NOA appeared in
the Federal Register on April 6, 2009. The Forest Service Legal Notice
of Proposed Action appeared in the local newsapers on April 14 and 15,
2009. The NOA was also posted on the BLM's Environmental Notification
Bulletin Board on April 3, 2009. An electronic copy of the Draft EIS
was also made available on the BLM's Web site and hard copies were
mailed to the project mailing list. Responses to comments on the Draft
EIS were included in the Final EIS, Appendix C.
The Final EIS was released to the public on December 14, 2011. The
EPA NOA was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2011. On
February 13, 2012, an appeal was filed with the Region 4, Regional
Forester. Following the appeal, the decision was made to withdraw the
Record of Decision and conduct additional analysis.
Dated: October 11, 2012.
Allen Rowley,
Forest Supervisor, Fishlake and Manti LaSal National Forests.
[FR Doc. 2012-25663 Filed 10-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P