High Plains District Office
| Contacts: | Lesley A. Collins | |||
| 307-261-7603 |
Wright Area South Porcupine Record of Decision
Available from Wyoming High Plains District Office
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the South Porcupine Coal Lease Application, part of the Wright Area Coal Lease Applications Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), is now available for review from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming State Office in Cheyenne and the Wyoming High Plains District Office in Casper.
On September 29, 2006, BTU Western Resources, Inc. (BTU) applied for federal coal reserves in three maintenance tracts encompassing approximately 5,116.65 acres and 598 million tons of coal as estimated by the applicant. The tracts are adjacent to the North Antelope Rochelle Mine operated by Powder River Coal, LLC. On October 12, 2007, BTU filed a request with the BLM to modify its application and increase the lease area and coal volume to approximately 8,981.74 acres and 1,179.1 million tons of coal as estimated by the applicant. The BLM determined that the modified application would be processed as two separate maintenance tracts which are referred to as the North Porcupine tract and the South Porcupine tract.
Including the South Porcupine tract, the Wright Area Coal EIS analyzed the proposed leasing of six federal coal tracts located in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin. The EIS disclosed to the public the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of issuing a federal coal lease in the Wright area. A separate record of decision will be issued for each tract that was analyzed in the Wright Area Coal EIS.
The BLM has approved Alternative 2, which was the preferred alternative for the South Porcupine in the Wright Area Coal Final EIS. Under Alternative 2, the South Porcupine tract, as modified by BLM, will be offered for lease at a competitive sealed bid sale. Under the selected configuration, the tract includes 3,243.015 acres, more or less, and the BLM estimates that the tract contains approximately 401,830,508 tons of mineable federal coal resources in Campbell County, Wyoming. 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: www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/hpd/Wright-Coal.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 Sarah Bucklin 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 Dr. Casper, WY 82604