Meridian Minerals Company's proposed development of the Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 and associated support facilities, Musselshell and Yellowstone Counties, Montana : draft environmental impact statement

324 Pages·1992·21.1 MB·English

by  Montana. Department of State Lands

S Montana. Dept. of
622.33 State Lands
L3mracbm Meridian
1992 Minerals Company's
proposed
development of the
8u11 Mountains
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
COMPANY
MERIDIAN MINERALS
BULL MOUNTAINS MINE NO.
1
MUSSELLSHELL AND YELLOWSTONE
MONTANA
COUNTIES,
STATE DOCUMENTS CGLLKTiGH
CCTl:
1992
MONTANA STATE LIBRARY
1515 E. 6th AVE.
HELENA, MONTANA 59520
Prepared by
Montana Department of State Lands
August 1992
^
festal
MONTANASTATE LIBRARY
S622.33L3mmcbm1992c.1
MeridianMineralsCompany'sproposeddev
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3 0864 00079452 2
DEPARTMENT OF STATE LANDS
CAPITOLSTATION
STANSTEPHENS, GOVERNOR
OF MONTANA
CTATF
1625ELEVENTHAVENUE
[phone] HELENA, MONTANA59620
August 31, 1992
Dear Reader:
Enclosed for your review and comment is a copy ofthe draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for Meridian Minerals Company's Bull Mountains Mine No, 1.
Three formal public hearings will be held to receive and record oral comments on this draft
EIS. The first will be in Huntley, 7:30 pm, September 22, 1992 in the Hospitality Room of
. the YellZowTstZonne ^VallweUylEbleec7tr:i3c0Cpom-,opS.,ept1e13mbNeorrt23h,er1n9A92v,eniunet.he Lewis & Clark Room ofthe
I
Student Union Building, Eastern Montana College, Billings ,«.,« m
. The third will be 7:30 pm September 24, 1992 in the Central School cafet,eatr.i:Qa in
Roundup.
The comment period will end October 5, 1992. The purpose ofthe comment period is to
provide an opportunity for the public to provide substantiveoral and/or wr.tten oommermt on toe draft
EIS The Agency wants to be sure that all appropriate information has been mcluded the docu-
ment, all concerns raised during scoping have been adequately addressed and there are no errors in
assumptions and analysis.
If you have written comments please address them to:
Mike DaSilva
Environmental Specialist
MT Dept. of State Lands
Capitol Station
MT
Helena, 59620
Comments should be postmarked or hand delivered no later than 5 pm, October 5, 1992. Additional
copies of this EIS are available at the address listed above.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Lovelace, Chief
Coal and Uranium Bureau
Reclamation Division
/ns
"ANEQUALOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYER"
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Draft
Environmental Impact Statement
MERIDIAN MINERALS COMPANY'S
Proposed Development
of the
BULL MOUNTAINS MINE NO. 1
and
ASSOCIATED SUPPORT FACILITIES
MUSSELLSHELL AND YELLOWSTONE COUNTIES, MONTANA
August 31, 1992
^ THE
Dennis D. Casey, Commissioner
Department of State Lands

.
COVER SHEET
Proposed actions: Approval or disapproval of 1) a Montana 5-year
permit to mine coal, and 2) a Montana land use
agreement being requested by Meridian Minerals
Company for the construction and operation of
the Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 and its
associated support facilities.
In addition, approval or disapproval of
1)
successive amendments of the Montana permit to
mine coal, 2) a Montana coal lease, 3) a
Federal permit to mine coal, and 4) a Federal
surface use permit may be requested in the
future for life-of-mine development.
Type of statement: Draft environmental impact statement (EIS)
Lead agency: State of Montana,
Department of State Lands (Montana DSL)
For further
information: Bonnie Lovelace, Chief, Coal and Uranium
Bureau
Attn: Mike DaSilva
Montana Department of State Lands
Capitol Station
Helena, Montana 59620
[phone]
Abstract: Meridian Minerals Company proposes to
construct and operate the Bull Mountains Mine
No. 1, an underground coal mine located in
Musselshell and Yellowstone counties, about 35
miles northeast of Billings and 16 miles
southeast of Roundup, Montana. Support
facilities for the proposed mine would be
located throughout Musselshell and Yellowstone
counties
The proposed Project has five elements:
1)
the mine and its facilities; 2) a temporary
upgrade of the existing Montana Rail Link rail
loadout near Huntley; 3) a proposed 33-mile
rail spur from the Burlington Northern
mainline south of Broadview; 4) a 17-mile
upgrade and extension of the Fergus Electric
Cooperative power transmission line from the
city of Roundup; and 5) limited wetland
enhancement activities outside the life-of-
mine area.
The Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 and its support
facilities (the Project) would occupy about
,
12,115 acres, and could eventually disturb
about 8,250 of those acres. The proposed mine
would be in operation for about 44 years and
would eventually recover 100 million tons of
clean coal using both longwall and room-and-
pillar mining methods. During full
production, about 300 people would be employed
by Meridian.
The specific action requested is to approve a
5-year permit. MSURMA requires Montana DSL to
analyze the life-of-mine proposal, however,
permits are granted for 5-year periods.
Meridian's current permit application is only
for the area proposed to be reviewed in the
first 5 years of the mine life. The 5-year
permit would encompass 4,216.91 acres, of
which 4,022.95 are privately owned, 40 are
owned by the State of Montana, and 153.96 are
federally owned. Of the mineral ownership in
the 5-year permit area, 2,075.60 acres are
privately owned, 40 acres are owned by the
State of Montana, and 2,101.31 acres are
federally owned.
PREFACE
An EIS is not usually read like a book, from the first page to the
end. The best way to go about reading an EIS depends on your interests.
You may be more interested in impacts, while others might have more
interest in the details of the proposed plan or opportunities made
available for public involvement in the environmental assessment process.
Many readers probably just want to know what is being proposed and how it
will affect them.
The following paragraphs outline information contained in the chap-
ters and appendices so that readers may find the parts of interest without
having to read the entire document.
The Summary is a short, simple discussion to provide the reader and
the decision makers with a sketch of the more important aspects of
the EIS. The reader can obtain additional, more detailed inform-
ation from the actual text of the EIS.
Chapter I is the first section of the EIS. It introduces the reader
to the Project, the agencies involved, the major issues associated
with the Project, and the underlying purpose of, and need for the
EIS.
Chapter II identifies the pertinent components of the primary
alternatives analyzed in Chapter IV. All other alternatives,
considered but not analyzed, are identified along with the rationale
for not including them in the analysis. This chapter also provides
a comparative analysis of the environmental impacts of the primary
alternatives to provide a clear basis of choice among options for
the decision maker and the public.
Chapter III describes the current condition of resources that are
expected to be affected by the alternatives under analysis in
Chapter IV.
Chapter IV is the most important section of the EIS. Here you find
discussion of expected impacts to the human environment, both with
and without the Project.
Chapter V lists the agencies consulted during the preparation of
this EIS and describes opportunities made available for public
participation. It also discusses issues brought up by the public
and considered but not analyzed in Chapter IV, along with the reason
for not including them in the Chapter IV analysis.
Chapter VI lists interdisciplinary team members responsible for
preparation of the EIS.
Chapter VII lists references cited in the EIS.
Appendix A provides a complete, concise description of the Project
as proposed by the applicant.
Appendix B is a description of the various projects, in progress or
expected to occur in the reasonably foreseeable future, that were
considered in the cumulative analysis.
i
Appendix C explains the different aspects of room-and-pillar and
longwall mining.
Appendix D discusses the role various State and Federal agencies
have in evaluating the merits of, and in approving or regulating the
proposed Project. It also lists agencies having jurisdiction over
the Project along with the statutes that give them authority.
Appendix E is a compilation of technical material used in the
development of the EIS.
Appendix F is a glossary of technical or unusual terms or acronyms
used in the EIS.
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