High Plains District Office
| Contacts: | Lesley A. Collins | |||
| 307-261-7603 |
South Gillette Area Belle Ayr North Record of Decision
Available from Wyoming High Plains District Office
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the South Gillette Area Coal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Belle Ayr North coal lease by application (LBA) is available for review from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming, High Plains District.
RAG Wyoming Land Company applied for a maintenance coal lease on approximately 1,578.74 acres (approximately 208 million tons of mineable federal coal) in a maintenance tract of federal coal adjacent to the Belle Ayr Mine. RAG subsequently sold the Belle Ayr Mine and associated interests to Foundation Coal West,. In August 2009 Foundation Coal West merged with Alpha Natural Resources to become Alpha Coal West.
The South Gillette Area Coal EIS analyzes and discloses to the public direct, indirect and cumulative environmental impacts of issuing federal coal leases in a portion of the Wyoming Powder River Basin. The EIS also addresses three other lease applications in the South Gillette area, which will be addressed in separate records of decision.
The BLM has approved Alternative 2 for the Belle Ayr coal lease application area. Under Alternative 2, the lease tract as modified by the BLM would include the tract as applied for as well as unleased federal coal adjacent to the northern edge of the tract. The Belle Ayr North tract (WYW161248), as modified by the BLM, includes about 1,671.03 acres and contains 221.7 million tons of mineable coal as estimated by the BLM. A competitive coal lease sale will be announced in the Federal Register at a later date.
This decision is subject to appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) as provided in 43 CFR 4 within 30 days from the date of publication of the notice of availability in the Federal Register . The ROD contains instructions for filing an appeal with the IBLA.
Copies of the ROD are available for public inspection online at : http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/HighPlains/SouthGillette.html or at the following BLM offices:
| Bureau of Land Management Wyoming State Office 5353 Yellowstone Road Cheyenne, WY 82009 | Bureau of Land Management Wyoming High Plains District Office 2987 Prospector Drive Casper, WY 82604 |
For more information contact Teresa Johnson or Mike Karbs at 307-261-7600.
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 Office 2987 Prospector Drive Casper, WY 82604