BLM to Begin Public Process on Coal Lease Application in Powder River Basin
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The Bureau of Land Management is issuing a Notice of Intent to initiate the public scoping process for a Lease by Application (LBA) for a coal lease in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.
This lease of 3,508 acres holds approximately 441 million tons of in place coal.
This notice initiates a 60-day public scoping period, which provides an opportunity for public input into the analysis, for the proposed lease. To provide the public with an opportunity to review the proposal and gain understanding of the competitive coal leasing process, the BLM will host a meeting on September 20, 2017 at 7 p.m. at the Wright Community Center, 201 Wright Blvd, Wright, Wyoming.
At the public scoping meeting and throughout the scoping period, the public is invited to submit comments and resource information and identify issues or concerns that BLM should address in evaluating this lease by application. The scoping period is from July 28, 2017 to September 29, 2017. All comments must be postmarked by September 29, 2017, to be evaluated in the West Antelope 3 Coal LBA Environmental Impact Statement.
Antelope Coal, LLC applied for a coal lease adjacent to the Antelope Mine south of Wright, WY on August 24, 2015. Preparatory work on already-pending applications may continue, including environmental analysis, but the BLM will not make final decisions on new leases, absent an applicable exemption.
For more information, contact Teresa Johnson at 307-261-7510 or blm_wy_west_antelope_3@blm.gov.
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.