BLM to open comment period on coal lease application
Organization
Media Contact:
DICKINSON, N.D. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) North Dakota Field Office is announcing the availability of an environmental assessment (EA) for a 30-day public comment period, ending on January 26, 2017.
The EA analyzes the potential impacts of Falkirk Mining Company’s (Falkirk) proposal to lease a 320-acre tract of Federal coal resources located in McLean County, N.D., that contains approximately 1.7 million tons of mineable Federal coal.
The BLM will also be holding a public hearing to take comment on the EA, Fair Market Value (FMV) for the lease tract, and Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) for the coal in the tract. The date and time of that meeting will be announced at least 10 days prior in local media outlets and on the BLM website.
Falkirk submitted its coal lease application as part of their ongoing coal mining operation in McLean County. If approved, the application states that the lease would extend the life of the mine and help maintain consistent production levels by enabling the development of approximately 1.7 million tons of mineable Federal coal that would otherwise be bypassed. The coal mineral interest in the 320-acre tract is an undivided interest whereby the Federal Government and private mineral owners each own a 50 percent interest in the coal estate over the entire tract. In total, the tract contains 3.4 million tons of mineable coal. Development of the private mineral ownership would be enabled, as well.
Approval of the application would not result in a new coal mine. Lands included in the LBA are located within and adjacent to the current Falkirk mine permit boundary which is located east of North Dakota Highway 83, about 1.2 miles east of Underwood, N.D. Approximately half of the proposed lease application tract is located within the Falkirk’s existing mine permit boundary.
Release of the EA and the scheduling of a public hearing to discuss the EA, FMV, and MER for the proposed lease tract is consistent with Secretarial Order (S.O.) 3338, which allows preparatory work, including NEPA and other related analyses, on already-pending applications to continue while the BLM’s programmatic review of the Federal coal program is pending.
Additionally, the BLM has also determined that the lease application is not subject to the S.O.’s leasing pause because it qualifies for an exclusion under Section 6(a) of the Order based on the emergency leasing provisions of 43 CFR 3425.1-4. Falkirk’s application satisfies the emergency leasing criteria because the lignite coal covered by the application: 1) is needed within three years, 2) constitutes less than 8 years of recoverable reserves, and 3) is needed for coal supply contracts that were signed prior to 1979. It should also be noted, that when the application was originally submitted in 2013, it was submitted as an emergency lease application. The determination that the application is eligible for an exclusion from the S.O., means that the lignite coal covered by the application can be offered for sale prior to the conclusion of the BLM’s programmatic review.
Additional information about the Secretarial Order can be found here – https://on.doi.gov/2hXjxPE.
As noted above, the BLM will be holding a public hearing to gather public comments on the EA, FMV, and MER of the coal resources contained in the proposed Falkirk LBA lease tract. The meeting will be held on January 10, 2017, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Underwood City Hall, 88 Lincoln Avenue, Underwood, N.D. The date and time of the meeting will be announced at least 10 days in advance through local media outlets and the BLM’s website. The EA will be posted to the web at http://bit.ly/2hz2FS9.
Comments may be mailed or hand-delivered to the BLM North Dakota Field Office, Falkirk LBA NDM-107039, Attention: Dorothy Van Oss, 99 23rd Avenue West, Suite A, Dickinson, ND 58601. Comments can be emailed to: BLM_MT_North_Dakota_Falkirk_
Those who provide comments are advised that before including their address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information, they should be aware that the entire comment – including the personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While those commenting can ask in their comments to withhold personal identifying information from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that they will be able to do so.
For more information, please call Dorothy Van Oss at 406- 233-3655.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.