[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49512-49513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19918]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCO-921000-L13200000-EL0000-LVELC10CC770; COC-74219]


Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Notice 
of Public Hearing for the Sage Creek Holdings, LLC, Federal Coal Lease 
Application, COC-74219

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal coal management regulations, 
the Sage Creek Holdings, LLC Federal Coal Lease-By-Application (LBA) 
Environmental Assessment (EA) is available for public review and 
comment. The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) Colorado State Office will hold a public hearing to receive 
comments on the EA, Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), Fair 
Market Value (FMV), and Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) of the coal 
resources for Sage Creek Holdings, LLC LBA COC-74219.

DATES: The public hearing will be held at 6 p.m., September 27, 2010. 
Written comments should be received no later than October 27, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the BLM Little Snake 
Field Office (BLM/LSFO) 455 Emerson St., Craig, Colorado 81625. Written 
comments should be sent to Jennifer Maiolo at the same address. You may 
also send Jennifer Maiolo a fax at 970-826-5002 or e-mail [email protected]. Copies of the EA, FONSI, and MER report are available 
at the field office address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kurt M. Barton at (303) 239-3714, 
[email protected], or Jennifer Maiolo at (970) 826-5077, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An LBA was filed by Sage Creek Holdings, 
LLC. The coal resource to be offered is limited to coal recoverable by 
underground mining methods. The Federal coal is in the lands outside 
established coal production regions and may supplement the reserves at 
the Sage Creek Mine. The Federal coal resources are located in Routt 
County, Colorado.

Sixth Principal Meridian

T. 5 N., R. 87 W.,
    Sec. 21, NE1/4NE1/4;
    Sec. 22, N1/2, NW1/4SW1/4.

    These lands contain 400 acres, more or less.

    The EA addresses the cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and 
cumulative impacts that would likely result from leasing these coal 
lands. Two alternatives are addressed in the EA:
    Alternative 1: (Proposed Action) The tracts would be leased as 
requested in the application; and
    Alternative 2: (No Action) The application would be rejected or 
denied. The Federal coal reserves would be bypassed.
    Proprietary data marked as confidential may be submitted to the BLM 
in response to this solicitation of public comments. Data so marked 
shall be treated in accordance with the laws and regulations governing 
the confidentiality of such information. A copy of the comments 
submitted by the public on the EA, FONSI, FMV, and MER, except those 
portions identified as proprietary by the author and meeting exemptions 
stated in the Freedom of Information Act, will be available for public 
inspection at the BLM Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield, Lakewood, 
Colorado, 80215, during regular business hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) 
Monday through Friday.
    Comments on the EA, FMV, and MER should address, but not 
necessarily be limited to, the following:
    1. The quality and quantity of the coal resources;
    2. The method of mining to be employed to obtain MER of the coal, 
including specifications of the seams to be mined, timing and rate of 
production, restriction to mining, and the inclusion of the tracts in 
an existing mining operation; and
    3. The FMV appraisal including, but not limited to, the evaluation 
of the tract as an incremental unit of an existing mine, quality and 
quantity of the coal resource, selling price of the coal, mining and 
reclamation costs, net present value discount factors, depreciation and 
other tax accounting factors, value of the surface estate, the mining 
method or methods, and any comparable sales data on similar coal lands. 
The values given above may or may not change as a result of comments 
received from the public and changes in market conditions between now 
and when final economic evaluations are completed.
    Written comments on the EA, MER, and FMV should be sent to Jennifer 
Maiolo at the above address prior to close of business October 27, 
2010. Substantive comments, whether written

[[Page 49513]]

or oral, will receive equal consideration prior to any lease offering. 
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 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 can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    The forgoing is published in the Federal Register pursuant to 43 
CFR 3422 and 3425.

Helen Hankins,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-19918 Filed 8-12-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P