South Gillette area coal lease applications : final environmental impact statement

2009·185 MB·English

by  United States. Bureau of Land Management. High Plains District Office

BLM LIBRARY
880677
rifMAL
Environmental Impact Statement for the
South Gillette Area Coal Lease Applications
WYW1 WYW1 WYW1 WYW161248
72585, 73360, 72657,
Volume
of 2
1
1-8
Chapters
Wyoming
Mule Deer on ReclaimedRangeland ReclaimedBelle Fourche River
State
Coal Creek Mine, Wyoming Cordero Rojo Mine, Wyoming
Office
-
High
Plains
District
Reclaimed Tisdale Creek American Avocet in a Reclaimed Wetland
Caballo Mine, Wyoming BelleAyr Mine, Wyoming
August 2009
MISSION STATEMENT
It is the mission ofthe Bureau ofLand Managmentto sustain the health, diversity,
and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and
future generations.
BLM/WY/PL-09/029+1320
United States Department ofthe Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Take Pride*
"America
WyomingStateOffice
P.O. Box 1828
In Reply Refer To: Cheyenne,Wyoming 82003-1828
3425 (LBA)
WY922
(Love)
WYW
172657 (Caballo West LBA)
WYW161248 (Belle Ayr North LBA)
WYW
173360 (MaysdorfII LBA)
WYW
172585 (West Coal Creek LBA)
South Gillette Area Coal EIS
AUG
0 5 2009
Dear Reader:
The Bureau ofLand Management (BLM) has prepared this final environmental impact
statement (FEIS) to document and disclose the results ofenvironmental analyses offour
BLM
applications received by the to lease tracts ofFederal coal. The tracts are located in
the South Gillette Area ofthe Wyoming Powder River Basin at the Caballo, Belle Ayr,
A
Cordero Rojo, and Coal Creek mines. copy ofthis document is provided for your
review and comments. The FEIS may also be reviewed at the following website:
http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/cfodocs/south gillette.html
BLM
Copies ofthe FEIS are also available for public inspection at the following offices:
Bureau ofLand Management Bureau ofLand Management
Wyoming State Office High Plains District Office
5353 Yellowstone Road 2987 Prospector Drive
WY
Cheyenne, 82009 Casper, Wyoming 82604
The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was published in October 2008 and the
60-day comment period on the DEIS ended on December 24, 2008. A formal public
hearing on these applications to lease Federal coal was held at 7:00 p.m. on
November 19, 2008, at the George Amos Memorial Building, 412 South Gillette Avenue,
Gillette, Wyoming. The purpose ofthe hearing was to receive comments on the DEIS,
on the fair market value, and on the maximum economic recovery ofthe Federal coal
resources included in the tracts.
BLM
The has prepared a separate document entitled Supplementary Information on the
AffectedEnvironment in the GeneralAnalysis Areafor the South Gillette Area Coal
Lease Application EIS in addition to this FEIS. This document, which is available on
2
request, includes more detailed site-specific information about the potentially affected
resources included in the study areas for the South Gillette Area tracts.
BLM
The will accept public comments on this FEIS for thirty (30) days commencing on
the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice ofAvailability in the
Federal Register Comments received after the end ofthe 30-day comment period will be
.
considered in preparation ofthe Record ofDecision (ROD) as time permits. The BLM is
also publishing a Notice ofAvailability in the Federal Register
.
Ifyou wish to comment on the FEIS, your comments should relate directly to the
document. Comments should be as specific as possible and the location or locations in
the document on which you are commenting should be cited. The agencies involved in
ROD
preparing this FEIS are required to respond in the to all substantive comments
submitted. Substantive comments should: (1) give any new information that could alter
conclusions; (2) show why or how analysis or assumptions in the FEIS are flawed;
(3) show errors in data, sources, or methods; or, (4) request clarifications that bear on
conclusions. Opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response, but they will be
BLM
considered and included as part ofthe decisionmaking process.
This FEIS was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and
applicable regulations, and other applicable statutes, to address possible environmental
and socioeconomic impacts that could result from this project. This FEIS is not a
decision document. Its purpose is to inform the public and the agency decisionmakers of
the impacts ofleasing some or all ofthe South Gillette Area tracts ofFederal coal to the
existing applicant mines in the Wyoming Powder River Basin and to evaluate alternatives
to leasing the Federal coal included in the tracts as applied for.
Comments, including names and addresses ofrespondents, will be available for public
review at the address listed below during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.),
Monday through Friday, except holidays, and will be published as part ofthe ROD.
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. Ifyou wish to withhold your name
or address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom ofInformation Act,
you must state this prominently at the beginning ofyour written comment. Such requests
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their entirety.
Please send written comments to: Bureau ofLand Management, Wyoming High Plains
WY
District Office, Attn: Teresa Johnson, 2987 Prospector Drive, Casper, 82604.
Written comments may also be e-mailed to the attention ofTeresa Johnson at
“[email protected]”. E-mail comments must include the name and mailing
address ofthe commentor to receive consideration. Written comments may also be faxed
to (307)-261-7587.
Ifyou have any questions or would like to obtain a copy ofthe supplementary
information document or additional copies ofthis FEIS in either hard copy or PDF,
please contact Teresa Johnson at [phone], or at the above address.
Sincerely,
Donald A. Simpson
State Director

FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
SOUTH GILLETTE AREA COAL LBA TRACTS
CAMPBELL COUNTY, WYOMING
Lead Agency USDI, Bureau of Land Management, Casper Field
:
WY
Office, Casper,
Cooperating Agencies USDI, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
:
Enforcement Western Region, Denver, CO
Wyoming Department of Transportation, Cheyenne,
WY
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality,
WY
Cheyenne,
WY
Wyoming State Planning Office, Cheyenne,
Abstract: This Final Environment Impact Statement (FEIS) assesses the
environmental consequences of decisions to hold competitive, sealed-bid sales and
issue leases for several tracts of federal coal located adjacent to existing surface coal
mines in Campbell County, Wyoming, subject to standard and special lease stipulations.
The South Gillette Area Coal Lease by Application (LBA) Tracts, as applied for by
Foundation Coal West, Ark Land Company, Caballo Coal Company, and Cordero
Mining Company, include approximately 8,161.025 acres containing approximately 827
million tons of in-place Federal coal. The four coal companies, operators of the
adjacent Belle Ayr Mine, the adjacent Coal Creek Mine, the adjacent Caballo Mine, and
the adjacent Cordero-Rojo Mine respectively, propose to mine the tracts as
maintenance leases for the existing mines, if lease sales are held and they acquire the
leases.
This final EIS describes the physical, biological, cultural, historic, and socioeconomic
resources in and around the existing mines and the LBA tracts. The alternatives in the
final EIS consider the impacts of leasing the tracts as they were applied for; leasing
reconfigured tracts in order to avoid bypassing Federal coal or to increase competitive
interest in a tract, and not leasing the tracts. The focus for the impact analysis was
based upon resource issues and concerns identified during previous coal leasing
analyses and public scoping conducted for these lease applications. Concerns related
to leasing coal and its subsequent development include impacts to groundwater, air
quality, wildlife, global climate change, impacts to human health, conflicts with oil and
gas development, impacts to cultural and paleontological resources, impacts to wetland
resources, nitrogen oxide emissions resulting from blasting of coal and overburden,
access to county roads, and impacts from coal transport. Cumulative impacts related to
ongoing surface coal mining and other proposed development in the Powder River
Basin of Wyoming, and coal combustion residues and other by-products from coal-fired
power plants, are also of concern.
This final EIS, in compliance with Section 7(c) of the Endangered Species Act (as
amended), identifies any endangered or threatened species which are likely to be
affected by the Proposed Action.
The final EIS is open for a 30-day review period beginning on the date that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency publishes the Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register. Comments that are postmarked or received on or before the end of the 30-day
review period will be considered in the preparation of the ROD.
For Further Information Contact:
Teresa Johnson
Bureau of Land Management
Casper Field Office
2987 Prospector Drive
WY
Casper, 82604
[phone]
Email: casper [email protected] (Teresa Johnson in the subject line)
SOUTH GILLETTE AREA COAL LEASE APPLICATIONS
FINAL ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Prepared by
WWC
Engineering
Sheridan, Wyoming
Under the Direction of
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
High Plains District Office
Casper, Wyoming
and
Cooperating Agencies
U.S. Department of Interior
Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement
Denver, Colorado
and
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
Cheyenne, Wyoming
and
Wyoming Department of Transportation
Sheridan, and Cheyenne, Wyoming
August 2009