Notice2023-08960
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement To Analyze the Potential Environmental Effects From Maintaining Secretary Jewell's Coal Leasing Moratorium
Primary source
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Published
May 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and consistent with direction from the U.S. District Court of Montana, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to analyze the potential environmental effects from maintaining or revoking former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell's coal leasing moratorium. This notice begins the process of defining the scope of the EIS by providing background on the Federal coal program and the direction received from the United States District Court for the District of Montana in Citizens for Clean Energy, v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior. With this notice, the BLM also solicits public comments for consideration in establishing the scope and content of the EIS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 83 (Monday, May 1, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26588-26590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08960]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_HQ_FRN_MO4500170190]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement To
Analyze the Potential Environmental Effects From Maintaining Secretary
Jewell's Coal Leasing Moratorium
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and consistent with direction from the U.S.
District Court of Montana, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intends
to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to analyze the
potential environmental effects from maintaining or revoking former
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell's coal leasing moratorium. This
notice begins the process of defining the scope of the EIS by providing
background on the Federal coal program and the direction received from
the United States District Court for the District of Montana in
Citizens for Clean Energy, v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior. With this
notice, the BLM also solicits public comments for consideration in
establishing the scope and content of the EIS.
DATES: The BLM invites interested agencies, States, Tribes, local
governments, industry, organizations, and members of the public to
submit comments or suggestions to assist in identifying significant
issues that should be included in the scope of BLM's review of the
potential environmental impacts from maintaining or revoking former
Secretary Jewell's coal leasing moratorium.
The BLM will consider all written comments received or postmarked
during the public comment period, which will close on June 15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following methods:
<bullet> Website: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2024545/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2024545/510</a>. This is the preferred method of commenting.
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9edcd2d3c1d6cfc1adacaec1ddf1fff2ceecf1f9ecfff3ccfbe8f7fbe9defcf2f3b0f9f1e8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="76343a3b293e2729454446293519171a2604191104171b2413001f130136141a1b58111900">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> Mail, personal, or messenger delivery: National Coal
Program Review, 1849 C Street NW, Room 5622, Washington, DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Barnes, Acting Chief, Division
of Solid Minerals, telephone: 541-416-6858, email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#aadec8cbd8c4cfd9eac8c6c784cdc5dc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4c382e2d3e22293f0c2e2021622b233a">[email protected]</span></a>.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, blind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM will prepare an EIS to analyze the
potential environmental effects from maintaining or revoking former
Secretary Jewell's coal leasing moratorium, as ordered by the U.S.
District Court for the District of Montana in Citizens for Clean
Energy, v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior, 4:17-cv-00042-BMM (D. Mont.
2022).\1\ The court's decision is related to the environmental analysis
that the BLM previously prepared to assess lifting a Federal coal
leasing moratorium established on January 15, 2016, by then Secretary
of the Interior Sally Jewell. Secretary Jewell established the
moratorium through Secretary's Order No. 3338
[[Page 26589]]
(Jewell Order), which directed the BLM to conduct a programmatic review
of the Federal coal program through preparation of an EIS under NEPA.
On March 29, 2017, then former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke
issued Secretary's Order No. 3348 (Zinke Order), which revoked the
Jewell Order, halted preparation of the EIS, and lifted the moratorium
on Federal coal leasing.
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\1\ The Intervenor-Appellants, the National Mining Association,
State of Wyoming and State of Montana, appealed this decision on
October 7, 2022, and October 11, 2022, respectively. Citizens for
Clean Energy v. Dep't of the Interior, Civ. No. 22-35789 (9th Cir.).
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Background
Under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA), as amended, 30 U.S.C.
181 et seq., and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947
(MLAAL), as amended, 30 U.S.C. 351 et seq., the BLM is responsible for
leasing Federal coal and regulation of the development of that coal on
approximately 570 million acres of the 700 million acres of mineral
estate that is owned by the Federal Government. This responsibility
encompasses Federal mineral rights on Federal lands and Federal mineral
rights located under surface lands with non-Federal ownership. Under
the authority of the MLA and MLAAL, the BLM administers leasing and
monitors coal production. Other Departmental bureaus, in particular the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and the
Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), also take actions related
to coal mining on Federal lands. The OSMRE, and those States that have
regulatory primacy under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
of 1977, permit coal mining and reclamation activities, and monitor
reclamation and reclamation bonding actions. The ONRR collects and
audits all payments required under the lease, including bonus bids,
royalties, and rental payments, and distributes those funds between the
Federal Treasury and the States where coal resources are located.
The Jewell Order imposed a moratorium on the issuance of new
Federal coal leases for thermal coal, with limited exceptions, until
completion of the EIS.
On March 29, 2017, the Zinke Order implemented Executive Order
(E.O.) 13783, which was entitled, ``Promoting Energy Independence and
Economic Security,'' by rescinding the Jewell Order. Immediately
thereafter, Citizens for Clean Energy, Ecocheyenne, Montana
Environmental Information Center, Center for Biological Diversity,
Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians, and the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for
the District of Montana asserting that the issuance of the Zinke Order
required an environmental analysis in compliance with NEPA.
Additionally, the States of California, New York, New Mexico, and
Washington also filed suit and the Court consolidated the cases. The
National Mining Association and the States of Wyoming and Montana
intervened.
On April 19, 2019, the Court held that the Zinke Order was a final
agency action that triggered the need to comply with NEPA, requiring
the Department to conduct an appropriate environmental review of that
action. To comply with the Court's Order, the BLM released an
environmental assessment (EA) for public comment on May 22, 2019, and
published the final EA and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
on its website on February 26, 2020. Shortly thereafter, the Plaintiffs
amended their complaints to challenge the scope and content of the EA.
On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued E.O. 13990, entitled,
``Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and
Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,'' revoking E.O. 13783.
On April 16, 2021, Secretary Haaland rescinded the Zinke Order through
Secretary's Order 3398, but did not reinstate the Federal coal leasing
moratorium.
On August 12, 2022, the Court vacated and remanded the EA and
associated FONSI and reinstated ``[t]he coal leasing program moratorium
established by the Jewell Order . . . until the completion of
sufficient NEPA review analyzing revocation of the moratorium.'' Order
at 19. The Court determined that the EA's analysis failed ``to consider
all direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of re-starting the Federal
coal-leasing program.'' Order at 13. Further, the Court held that the
BLM should have considered ``a potential alternative that provided a
baseline of an indefinite moratorium'' rather than limiting the EA's
analysis to those leases granted during the estimated Programmatic EIS
timeline providing that the ``BLM's analysis should have considered the
effect of restarting coal leasing from a forward-looking perspective,
including connected actions.'' Id. The Court directed the ``BLM [to]
perform NEPA analysis that considers the full scope of the Zinke
Order's effect on all then-pending lease applications, and other
connected, cumulative, or similar actions.'' Order at 17. In October
2022, Intervenor-Defendants appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Public Scoping Process
All public scoping comments must be submitted by email or by mail
to the addresses listed under ADDRESSES. Before including you address,
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment,
including your personal identifying information, may be made public at
any time. While you may request in your comment to have your personal
identifying information withheld from public review, the BLM cannot
guarantee that this will occur. The BLM will review and consider all
public scoping comments received and will prepare a Scoping Summary
Report. The Scoping Summary Report will be used by the BLM to identify
issues to be included in the environmental analysis in the EIS,
resources and issues that can be dismissed from detailed analysis
because they are not present or not affected, and potential
alternatives to be analyzed.
Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and
Analyses Relevant to the Scope of the Analysis of the Potential
Environmental Effects From Maintaining Secretary Jewell's Coal Leasing
Moratorium on Pending Federal Coal Lease Applications
In addition to comments concerning the scope of the environmental
analysis, commenters are encouraged to identify relevant information,
studies, and analyses that would assist the BLM in taking further
action on the moratorium instituted by the Jewell Order and identifying
potential alternatives.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The BLM is the lead agency for this EIS. Other Federal agencies,
State, Tribal, and local governments with special expertise that are
interested in participating in the preparation of this EIS should
contact the previously mentioned Acting Chief of the Division of Solid
Minerals.
Decision Maker
Director, Bureau of Land Management.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
Informed by the environmental analysis, the BLM will consider
whether and to what extent to continue the coal leasing moratorium
imposed by the Jewell Order on January 15, 2016, lifted by the Zinke
Order on March 29, 2017, and reinstated by the U.S. District Court of
Montana on August 12, 2022.
[[Page 26590]]
(Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., 30 U.S.C. 118 et seq., 30 U.S.C.
351 et seq.)
Benjamin E. Gruber,
Acting Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals and Realty Management,
Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2023-08960 Filed 4-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-29-P
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