[Federal Register: May 3, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 86)]
[Notices]
[Page 22390-22391]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03my02-16]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Manti-La Sal National Forest Cottonwood Canyon Coal Tract; Emery
County, UT; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Forest Service (FS) will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) to document the analysis and disclose the environmental
and human effects of proposed coal mining within the Cottonwood Canyon
Coal Tract, and to ensure that the Mining and Reclamation Plan will be
in accordance with the Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource
Management Plan. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSM) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) will participate
as cooperating agencies.
A notice of intent to prepare an EIS for the Cottonwood Canyon Coal
Tract was published in the Federal Register on February 19, 1998. The
process suspended when the coal estate within the tract, along with
several other tracts, was conveyed to the State of Utah School and
Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), creating an
outstanding mineral right on those lands. This conveyance is temporary;
ownership of the coal estate will revert to the Federal government once
a specified royalty value is collected. As owner of an outstanding
mineral right, the State of Utah has sole authority to lease the coal
estate. Under the Utah Coal Rules and the Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) between SITLA, the United States Department of Agriculture, and
the United States Department of the Interior, dated January 5, 1999,
the Forest must consent to the Mining and Reclamation Plan prior to
mine development. Under the terms of the MOU, the FS will abide by the
standards and guidelines contained in the Manti-La Sal National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan in effect on May 8, 1998 (the date on
which the Utah Schools and Land Exchange Act of 1998 was ratified).
Subject to reasonable terms and conditions for the protection of the
surface estate consistent with the Forest Plan, any permit requirements
may not prohibit reasonable economic development of the conveyed coal
estates.
The coal tract to be considered for mining, as described in the
Utah Schools and Land Exchange Act of 1998, encompasses 9,243.87 acres
of Federal coal lands on the Manti-La Sal National Forest in T. 17 S.,
R. 6 E., SLM, in Emery County, Utah. The tract is located approximately
13 miles northwest of Castle Dale, Utah, immediately west and north of
the Trail Mountain Mine permit area.
SITLA has requested that the Forest Service conduct the
environmental analysis considering the most likely mining scenario and
reasonably foreseeable alternatives, and identified non-coal resources
needing protections/mitigation prior to competitive lease offering by
the State of Utah. This would allow accurate representation of
recoverable coal reserves in the tract for the bidding process while
considering required measures for minimizing effects to National Forest
System resources consistent with the Forest Plan.
The EIS process for this project will include preparation of a
reasonably foreseeable mining scenario for the tract that will be used
as the basis for determining effects. The most likely access to the
coal reserves would be through the existing Trail Mountain Mine, which
is currently idle. Mining would be entirely underground, using
predominantly longwall methods. Surface disturbance would probably
include one ventilation shaft and several exploration drill holes with
a total area of approximately 20 acres. The disturbed areas would be
reclaimed when no longer needed. Subsidence similar to that over other
mined areas on the Wasatch Plateau is expected.
The Forest Service has determined that the proposed lands are
available for further consideration for coal mining under the Land and
Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) Final EIS and Record of Decision
(ROD) for the Manti-La Sal National Forest, 1986. The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and FS have determined that coal and environmental
data are available to meet Uinta-Southwestern Utah Coal region Data
Adequacy Standards.
The purpose of this action is to respond to SITLA's request for the
FS to conduct an environmental analysis to evaluate the most likely
mining scenario and identify terms and conditions necessary for
protection of non-coal resources. The proposed action is to consent to
the Cottonwood Canyon Tract Mining and Reclamation Plan, including
terms and conditions for the protection of surface resources.
The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from
Federal, State, and local agencies as well as individuals and
organizations who may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed
action. The agency invites written comments and suggestions on the
issues related to the proposed action and the area being analyzed.
Information received will be used to prepare the Draft and Final EIS
and to make the agency decision. For most effective use, comments
should be submitted to the Forest Service within 30 days from the date
of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
[[Page 22391]]
Agency Decisions
Under the Utah Coal Rules, the Manti-La Sal National Forest must
consent to the Mining and Reclamation Plan prior to mine development.
The FS consent may be subject to reasonable terms and conditions for
the protection of the surface estate.
DATES: Written comments concerning issues to be considered and the
scope of the analysis described in this notice should be received on or
before May 24, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Forest Supervisor, Manti-La Sal
National Forest, 599 West Price River Drive, Price, Utah 84501, ATTN:
Dale Harber, Team Leader.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the proposed
action and EIS should be addressed to Dale Harber or Aaron Howe, Manti-
La Sale National Forest, phone (435) 637-2817.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS and Record of Decision (ROD) will
tier to the Final EIS and ROD for the Manti-La Sal National Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The Forest Plan provides
the overall guidance (Goals, Objectives, Standards, and Management Area
Direction) to achieve the Desired Future Condition for the area being
analyzed, and contains specific management area prescriptions for the
entire Forest.
Issues and alternatives to be evaluated in the analysis will be
determined through scoping. The primary issues are expected to include
the socioeconomic benefits of mining, the potential impacts of
underground mining and mining-induced subsidence and seismicity to
surface and ground water, vegetation, wildlife, cultural resources,
range improvements, recreation, man-made features, and other land uses.
Agency representatives and other interested people are invited to
visit with Forest Service and BLM officials at any time during the EIS
process. Two specific time periods are identified for the receipt of
formal comments on the analysis. The two comment period are, (1) during
the scoping process, the next 30 days following publication of this
Notice in the Federal Register, and (2) during the formal review period
of the Draft EIS.
The Draft EIS is estimated to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in August,
2002. At that time the EPA will publish an availability notice in the
Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days
from the date that EPA's notice of availability appears in the Federal
Register. The Final EIS is expected to be released in January, 2003.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
draft environmental impact statements must structure their
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is
meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435, U.S. 519,
533 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings,
it is very important that those interested in this proposed action
participate by the close of the 45-day comment period so that
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to
them in the final environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
Authority: (Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1920 [P.L. 66-
146, 41 Stat. 437, as amended; 30 U.S.C. 181-287])
Dated: February 27, 2002.
Elaine Zieroth,
Forest Supervisor, Manti-La Sal National Forest.
[FR Doc. 02-10980 Filed 5-2-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 2002/05/03 EST