High Plains District
| Contacts: | Lesley A. Collins, | |||
| 307-261-7600 |
Wright Area Draft EIS Available
The Wright Area Coal Lease Applications Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is now available for review from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming High Plains District Office.
- Ark Land Company applied for a maintenance coal lease for 4,590.19 acres (approximately 588.2 million tons of coal) in two tracts of federal coal adjacent to the Black Thunder Mine. BLM determined that the application would be processed as two separate tracts and are referred to as the North Hilight Field and South Hilight Field tracts.
- Ark Land Company applied for a maintenance coal lease for 2,370.52 acres (approximately 428 million tons of coal) in a tract of federal coal adjacent to the Black Thunder Mine. It is referred to as the West Hilight Field tract.
- Jacobs Ranch Coal Company applied for a maintenance coal lease for 5,944.37 acres (approximately 956 million tons of coal) in a tract of federal coal adjacent to the Jacobs Ranch Mine. It is referred to as the West Jacobs Ranch tract.
- BTU Western Resources, Inc. applied for a maintenance coal lease for 5,116.65 acres (approximately 598 million tons of coal) in three tracts of federal coal adjacent to the North Antelope Rochelle Mine. The applicant subsequently filed a request with BLM to modify their application and increase the lease area and coal volume. BLM determined that the modified application would be processed as two separate maintenance tracts and are referred to as the North Porcupine and South Porcupine tracts.
The Draft EIS analyzes and discloses to the public direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts associated with leasing six federal coal tracts in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin (PRB). The Draft EIS is not a decision document. Its purpose is to inform the public of the impacts of issuing six federal coal leases in the Wyoming PRB.
The BLM will hold a formal public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on July 29, 2009, at the Clarion Inn, 2009 S. Douglas Hwy., Gillette, Wyoming. The purpose of the hearing is to receive comments on the proposed coal lease sales, on the fair market value, and on the maximum economic recovery of the federal coal resources.
BLM will accept public comments on the Draft EIS through August 25, 2009. Please submit written comments to the BLM Wyoming High Plains District Office, Attn: Sarah Bucklin, 2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, Wyoming, 82604; by fax to Attn: Sarah Bucklin at 307-261-7587; or email to the attention of Sarah Bucklin at casper_wymail@blm.gov. For more information, please contact Sarah Bucklin at (307) 261-7541.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
High Plains District 2987 Prospector Drive Casper, WY 82604