Notice2025-10413
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for Bull Mountains Mine No. 1, Federal Mining Plan for Federal Lease MTM-97988Amendment 3
Primary source
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Published
June 9, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentSurface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office
Abstract
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is publishing this notice to announce that it has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) for Signal Peak Energy's (SPE) Federal Mining Plan Modification Amendment 3 for Federal Lease MTM-97988 (the Project). OSMRE prepared this FEIS to address the deficiencies identified in the October 14, 2022, order from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, regarding OSMRE's 2018 Environmental Assessment (EA).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 109 (Monday, June 9, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 109 (Monday, June 9, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24289-24291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10413]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
[S1D1S SS08011000 SX064A000 256S180110; S2D2S SS08011000
SX064A00025XS501520]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement and Record of Decision for Bull Mountains Mine No. 1, Federal
Mining Plan for Federal Lease MTM-97988 Amendment 3
AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the final environmental impact
statement and record of decision.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
(OSMRE) is publishing this notice to announce that it has prepared a
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision
(ROD) for Signal Peak Energy's (SPE) Federal Mining Plan Modification
Amendment 3 for Federal Lease MTM-97988 (the Project). OSMRE prepared
this FEIS to address the deficiencies identified in the October 14,
2022, order from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, regarding OSMRE's
2018 Environmental Assessment (EA).
DATES: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will also publish
a notice of availability in the Federal Register. OSMRE has issued a
single document that consists of a FEIS and ROD. OSMRE is not requiring
a 30-day waiting period before issuing the ROD for this project because
it is not required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) rescinded the NEPA implementing
regulations containing that requirement, and the Department of the
Interior's (Department's) NEPA implementing regulations do not contain
any independent requirement for a 30-day waiting period.
ADDRESSES: The FEIS and ROD and documents pertinent to this project are
available for review on OSMRE's website at: <a href="https://www.osmre.gov/laws-and-regulations/nepa/projects">https://www.osmre.gov/laws-and-regulations/nepa/projects</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marcelo Calle, Acting Regional
Director, OSMRE Western Regions 5, 7-11, P.O. Box 25065, Lakewood, CO
80225-0065; (303) 236-2929 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#82efe1e3eeeee7c2edf1eff0e7ace5edf4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0f626c6e63636a4f607c627d6a21686079">[email protected]</span></a>.
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Project Background
In 1992, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)
issued a mining permit pursuant to the Montana equivalent of the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) for the Bull
Mountains Mine. Over time, ownership changed, and in 2008, SPE applied
to lease the Federal coal from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. The BLM prepared an EA and
issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) in 2011 on the
decision to approve the lease. Montana has approved several amendments
to SPE's State surface mining permit, and most of the area covered by
Federal coal lease MTM-97988 is within what is known as Amendment (AM)
3. OSMRE first recommended, and the Assistant Secretary of Land and
Minerals Management (ASLM) first approved, a modification to the Bull
Mountains Mine's operation and reclamation (i.e., mining plan
modification) in 2015. After legal challenge, ASLM approved another
mining plan modification for the same lease in 2018. Additional legal
[[Page 24290]]
challenges led to the judicial vacatur of the 2018 mining plan
modification in 2023. SPE is now seeking a new mining plan modification
to allow it to continue mining leased Federal coal. Without a new
approved mining plan modification from the ASLM to mine the leased
Federal coal, SPE would be unable to access most of the remaining non-
Federal coal resources within AM 3 due to the checkerboard mineral
ownership pattern.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
This FEIS was prepared in response to the Ninth Circuit's opinion
that OSMRE violated NEPA when it failed to provide a convincing
statement of reasons in its 2018 EA and FONSI about why greenhouse gas
emissions from the mine were not significant, and the district court's
subsequent vacatur of the 2018 mining plan approval for AM 3. Before
SPE can continue to mine the leased Federal coal within AM 3, it must
obtain approval from the ASLM. To support the ASLM's decision, OSMRE
must prepare a mining plan decision document, which includes
environmental documents, such as those needed for compliance with NEPA,
and a recommendation to ASLM to either approve, disapprove, or approve
with conditions, the proposed mining plan modification. This NEPA
analysis informs OSMRE's recommendation.
SPE's need for this action is to exercise its rights under Federal
coal lease MTM-97988 granted by the BLM to access and mine the Federal
coal reserves, in accordance with the mining and reclamation plan
approved by MDEQ as AM 3 to the State surface mining permit. ASLM
approval of the Federal mining plan modification is required to mine
Federal coal reserves within the AM 3 mining area.
Proposed Action and Alternatives
Under the Proposed Action, OSMRE would recommend to the ASLM to
approve the mining plan modification as proposed by SPE. If approved by
the ASLM, the Proposed Action would allow the recovery of approximately
22.8 million tons (Mt) of saleable Federal coal and approximately 34.5
Mt of adjacent saleable non-Federal coal over a period of up to 9
years.
The FEIS analyzes three alternatives:
<bullet> No Action, in which OSMRE would recommend that the ASLM
disapprove the mining plan modification. If disapproved by the ASLM,
SPE would be unable to mine approximately 22.8 Mt of saleable Federal
coal and approximately 34.5 Mt of saleable non-Federal coal in AM 3.
However, under this alternative, the mine would not be expected to
immediately shut down and go into reclamation because, within an
estimated 1-year period, SPE could recover approximately 10.0 Mt of
remaining saleable coal in the permit area without accessing Federal
coal.
<bullet> Proposed Action, in which OSMRE would recommend that the
ASLM approve the mining plan modification. If approved by the ASLM, the
Proposed Action would authorize SPE to continue coal mining on
approximately 1,239.6 acres of Federal coal lands and approximately
1,840.7 acres of adjacent non-Federal coal lands in AM3; and allow for
the recovery of approximately 22.8 Mt of saleable Federal coal and
approximately 34.5 Mt of adjacent saleable non-Federal coal over a
period of up to 9 years.
<bullet> Partial Mining Alternative, in which OSMRE would recommend
that the ASLM approve the mining plan modification with a condition to
limit the approval to approximately 5 years. If approved by the ASLM,
the Partial Mining Alternative would sunset the mining plan
modification approval for Federal coal within AM 3 after approximately
5 years, at which time no additional Federal coal would be mined unless
SPE applied for, and obtained, a separate mining plan modification
approval to mine the remaining Federal coal. During this 5-year
approval term, approximately 1,005.2 acres of Federal coal lands and
1,709.1 acres of non-Federal coal lands would be disturbed, and
approximately 18.7 Mt of Federal coal and 32.2 Mt of non-Federal coal
would be recovered.
Based on the analyses contained in the FEIS, OSMRE has selected the
Proposed Action as the preferred alternative.
Summary of Expected Impacts
Reasonably foreseeable effects of mining Federal coal have been
evaluated for the following resources in the FEIS and ROD:
<bullet> Transportation and Electrical Transmission
<bullet> Air Quality and Emissions
<bullet> Water Resources
<bullet> Land Use
<bullet> Topography and Physiography
<bullet> Geology, Minerals, and Paleontology
<bullet> Solid Waste and Hazardous Materials
<bullet> Human Health and Safety
<bullet> Soils
<bullet> Vegetation
<bullet> Wildlife
<bullet> Threatened, Endangered, and Special Status Species
<bullet> Cultural Resources
<bullet> Noise and Vibration
<bullet> Socioeconomics
<bullet> Visual Resources
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
None at this time.
Public Participation
OSMRE issued a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental
impact statement (EIS) in the Federal Register and announced the NOI
through a news release and on its website and hosted two 30-day public
scoping periods. OSMRE requested public scoping comments to identify
any additional relevant issues concerning the mine expansion that
should be evaluated in the EIS. The public was provided the opportunity
to comment on the Project via mail, email, and during the public
scoping meeting. OSMRE received a total of 311 comment submittals from
Federal and State agencies, non-governmental organizations, and members
of the public during the public scoping periods. Comment letters
received during the public scoping periods have been reviewed and a
description of issues analyzed are summarized in the FEIS. In addition,
OSMRE had solicited public comment on previous NEPA documents related
to this approval; those comments and the responses given at that time
helped inform this FEIS.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
OSMRE is the lead agency for this EIS. The BLM and EPA are
cooperating agencies on the EIS.
Decision Maker
Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management.
Alternative Arrangement Determination
On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued Executive
Order (E.O.) 14156--``Declaring a National Energy Emergency,'' which
declared a national energy emergency and directed Federal agencies to
expedite permits and approvals for energy projects, including those on
Federal lands, using emergency provisions. During an emergency, a
responsible official of the Department can adopt alternative
arrangements to comply with NEPA before taking ``urgently needed
actions.'' (43 CFR 46.150). On April 23, 2025, CEQ authorized the use
of alternative arrangements for projects that respond to the national
energy emergency and the Department subsequently adopted alternative
arrangements for qualifying projects to comply with NEPA.
[[Page 24291]]
After reviewing SPE's request that the Department apply its
alternative arrangements to its proposed mining plan modification, the
ASLM approved the alternative arrangement for NEPA compliance for this
energy-related project on May 12, 2025. In reaching this determination,
the ASLM relied on SPE's request for alternative arrangement, E.O.
14156, E.O. 14154 (``Unleashing American Energy''), E.O. 14261
(``Reinvigorating America's Beautiful Clean Coal Industry''),
Secretary's Order (S.O.) 3417, S.O. 3418, various documents related to
the ongoing NEPA analysis for this proposed mining plan modification,
and consultations with OSMRE. Importantly, the ASLM concluded that this
proposed project seeks to advance energy production and would export
nearly all its coal to Japan and South Korea, important defense allies
of the United States. Finally, the ASLM also determined that additional
public comment was unnecessary due to the prior robust opportunities
for public participation and the fact that another 10-day comment
period on another NOI was unlikely to yield substantive comments.
OSMRE Recommendation
Informed by, at a minimum, the material required at 30 CFR 746.13,
including information prepared in compliance with NEPA, OSMRE must make
a recommendation to the ASLM about the proposed Federal mining plan
modification associated with AM 3. The ASLM will use OSMRE's
recommendation to decide whether a new mining plan modification is
approved, disapproved, or approved with conditions.
As documented in the ROD, OSMRE is recommending that the ASLM
approve the proposed mining plan modification, including the entire
area covered by AM 3, as discussed in the EIS.
Thomas D. Shope,
Regional Director, Exercising the delegated authority of the Director,
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2025-10413 Filed 6-6-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-05-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 9, 2025.
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