Notice2025-14322
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Skyline Mine Little Eccles Lease by Application in Emery County and Flat Canyon Lease Modification in Sanpete County, Utah; Revised
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Published
July 29, 2025
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentForest Service
Abstract
On April 15, 2024, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA), and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (MLA), the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price Field Office, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (Forest Service) Manti-La Sal National Forest, published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register, 73 FR 26184 (BLM_FRN_MO4500176455) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in response to a Lease by Application (LBA) for the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract (UTU-92226) of 120 acres and a Lease Modification Application (LMA) to add 640 acres to the Flat Canyon Lease Tract (UTU-77114). This notice is revising the previous Notice of Intent with respect to the USDA to announce that the USDA Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), Acting Under Secretary intends to prepare the EIS in response to the LBA for the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract (UTU-92226) and LMA to the Flat Canyon Lease Tract (UTU-77114). The USDA, Acting Under Secretary for NRE proposes to prepare an EIS in coordination with BLM and issue the project decision of the USDA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 143 (Tuesday, July 29, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 29, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35656-35658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14322]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Skyline Mine Little Eccles Lease by Application in Emery
County and Flat Canyon Lease Modification in Sanpete County, Utah;
Revised
AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice; revised.
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SUMMARY: On April 15, 2024, in compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the National
Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA), and the Mineral Leasing Act of
1920, as amended (MLA), the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI),
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Price Field Office, and U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (Forest Service) Manti-La Sal
National Forest, published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register,
73 FR 26184 (BLM_FRN_MO4500176455) to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) in response to a Lease by Application (LBA) for the
Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease Tract (UTU-92226) of 120 acres and a
Lease Modification Application (LMA) to add 640 acres to the Flat
Canyon Lease Tract (UTU-77114). This notice is revising the previous
Notice of Intent with respect to the USDA to announce that the USDA
Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), Acting Under Secretary intends
to prepare the EIS in response to the LBA for the Little Eccles Federal
Coal Lease Tract (UTU-92226) and LMA to the Flat Canyon Lease Tract
(UTU-77114). The USDA, Acting Under Secretary for NRE proposes to
prepare an EIS in coordination with BLM and issue the project decision
of the USDA.
DATES: The USDA plans that the EIS will publish before August 10, 2025,
and that the USDA, NRE, Acting Under Secretary will sign the USDA
Record of Decision by August 31, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Additional information about the proposal can be found on
the following website: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015277/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015277/510</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Van Alstine, Forest
Supervisor, Manti-La Sal National Forest, by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9dfffceffffceffcb3ebfcf3fcf1eee9f4f3f8dde8eef9fcb3faf2eb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="54363526363526357a22353a353827203d3a3114212730357a333b22">[email protected]</span></a>, by phone at 435-636-3536, 599 W Price
River Drive, Suite A, Price, UT 84501.
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the hearing-
impaired may call 711 to reach the Telecommunications Relay Service, 24
hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will evaluate potential impacts of
leasing and underground mining of Federal coal reserves contained in
both lease tracts in accordance with the USDA interim final rule
published at 7 CFR part 1b on July 3, 2025. A project decision by the
Acting Under Secretary constitutes a final administrative determination
of the USDA and this project shall not be subject to objections
pursuant to 36 CFR 218.13(b).
As described in the April 15, 2024 Notice of Intent to prepare an
EIS (73 FR 26184 [BLM_FRN_MO4500176455]), Canyon Fuel Company, LLC,
submitted two coal lease applications to the BLM Price Field Office on
June 10, 2019. One is an LBA for the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease
Tract of 120 acres in T. 14 S., R. 6 E., SLM, Emery County, Utah sec.
10: SE \1/4\. The other is an LMA for the existing Flat Canyon Lease
Tract to add 660 acres in T. 14 S., R. 5 E., SLM, Sanpete County, Utah
sec. 9. Both tracts are adjacent to the existing Skyline Mine which has
been in operation since 1981. The surface estate of the lease tracts is
administered by the USDA Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest.
The mineral estate (coal) is administered by the BLM Price Field
Office. The BLM and USDA Forest Service, as Federal defendants in
WildEarth Guardians v. Haaland (2:16-cv-00168) (D. Utah), have a
responsibility under the Settlement Agreement filed March 8, 2023, to
complete an EIS under NEPA analyzing whether to lease or to forgo
leasing of the coal reserves in the Little Eccles Federal Coal Lease
Tract and to modify or forgo lease modification of the Flat Canyon
Federal Coal Lease Tract.
Additional Information
Since settlement was reached in WildEarth Guardians v. Haaland, the
legal framework for analyzing and reaching a decision on this project
has changed considerably. First, the One Big
[[Page 35657]]
Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB; Public Law 119-21, Section 50201) requires
accelerated processing of pending coal lease applications. Within 90
days (i.e., no later than October 2, 2025), the Bureau of Land
Management must publish any required environmental review, establish
the fair market value, hold a lease sale, and identify the highest
bidder for each currently pending lease application.
Next, Section 5 of E.O. 14261, Reinvigorating America's Beautiful
Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241, requires the
Secretary of Agriculture to prioritize coal leasing and related
activities, consistent with applicable law, as the primary land use for
the public lands with coal resources identified in a report (described
in section 4(a) of the E.O.) and expedite coal leasing in these areas,
including by utilizing such emergency authorities as are available to
them and identifying opportunities to provide for expedited
environmental reviews, consistent with applicable law. The Skyline
project is in the Uinta Region--Uinta Basin, Piceance Basin, as
identified in the Consolidated Interagency Report in Response to
Section 4(a) of Executive Order 14261, Reinvigorating America's
Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241. This
report, in Chapter 3, identifies statutory, regulatory, policy and
procedural barriers to coal leasing activities.
Third, on July 3, 2025, the Department of Agriculture issued an
interim final rule revising the departmental NEPA regulations at 7 CFR
part 1b to provide necessary direction on the implementation of the
NEPA in light of the NEPA amendments by the Fiscal Responsibility Act
of 2023 and the Council on Environmental Quality rescinding the 40 CFR
parts 1500-1508 regulations (effective April 11, 2025). The Acting
Under Secretary for NRE has identified processes outlined in the
rescinded Forest Service National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
regulations (36 CFR 220, see 90 FR 29632, 29635 (July 3, 2015)), and
the Forest Service pre-decisional objection process, 36 CFR 218, as
imposing undue burdens on the processing of coal leasing activities.
Particularly, the comment period required by Forest Service NEPA
regulations for a draft environmental impact statement, 45-day comment
period at the draft EIS stage required by 36 CFR 218, and the pre-
decisional objection process for an EIS (45-days to file objections and
up to 45 days to respond to objections, as specified by 36 CFR 218)
would preclude the Secretary of the Interior from complying with OBBB
requirements for coal leasing activities, as previously described.
With the changed statutory and regulatory environment, the Acting
Under Secretary for NRE is proposing preparation of an EIS for the
Skyline project and will be the responsible official for the Record of
Decision. The Acting Under Secretary for NRE intends to issue the
environmental impact statement and record of decision under the NEPA
regulations at 7 CFR 1b, Sections 1b.7 and 1b.8. This change will
expedite coal leasing in the Uinta Region--Uinta Basin, Piceance Basin,
in compliance with E.O. 14261, and accelerate the processing of pending
coal lease applications as required by OBBB. The process is further
expedited by eliminating the requirement for a pre-decisional objection
process in accordance with 36 CFR 218, Section 218.13.
Purpose and Need for Action; Proposed Action; Alternatives; Anticipated
Permits, Licenses, and Other Authorizations
See April 15, 2024 Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS (73 FR 26184
[BLM_FRN_MO4500176455]) for information on these actions.
List of Substantive Issues
The issues and a summary of expected impacts for the action
alternatives are as follows:
Air Quality: Maximum and average annual CAP and HAP emissions
remain the same as current annual emissions. No additional impacts on
air quality, cancer and non-cancer risks, or AQRVs are expected.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The life of the mine would extend by 19
to 11 months. Mining activities, coal transport, coal combustion, and
annual GHG emissions would continue to occur at the same rate as
current rates. However, the total recoverable coal would increase and
total GHG emissions from mining, downstream processing, and combustion
of the coal would increase.
Geology: There would be 19.3 to 15.9 million tons mined. Any
reactivation of faults within the Blackhawk Formation could fill with
clay or ground-up rock and limit the reopening or creation of new
hydrologic pathways intersecting the surface. Less than 0.5% of the
area that could experience subsidence would be subject to tensile
fractures. It is unlikely that appreciable surface cracking would
result from the subsidence predicted. No unacceptable seismic risk
would be created to the Electric Lake or Boulger dams.
Hydrology: Minimal impacts to water quantity, water availability,
surface water, and to water balance and water quality of Electric Lake
and Scofield, Huntington, and Cleveland Reservoirs are expected. No
water balance or quality effects on water rights, users, or designated
uses are expected. Impacts on the shallow ground water systems that
support springs and seeps and provide baseflow to streams are not
anticipated. Detrimental impacts on water quality parameters such as
acidity, total suspended solids, and total dissolved solids in creeks
and springs are considered unlikely.
The reduction of water volume or water balance of water bodies from
interception of faults during mining is unlikely. The small volume of
dewatering discharge relative to the capacity of Electric Lake, as well
as the natural sources of volume changes in Electric Lake, would make
it unlikely that any increase in volume would be identifiable or
measurable.
Vegetation and Botany: No rare plant species would be affected.
Some individual plants in a less than 10-acre area may be affected by
tensile fissuring, but overall community composition would not be
appreciably altered. Water volume delivered to wetlands, riparian
areas, seeps and springs is not expected to change. Shifts in stream
morphology may occur due to subsidence, but overall acreages of
wetlands and riparian areas are not expected to change appreciably.
Fish and Wildlife (Aquatic and Terrestrial Species): There would be
no effect on endangered species. The alternatives are not likely to
jeopardize continued existence or adversely modify proposed critical
habitat. No impacts on Forest Service sensitive species. The
alternatives may impact individual American three-toed woodpecker and
American (northern) goshawk, but are not likely to cause a trend to
federal listing or loss of viability.
Approximately 9.6 to 7.5 acres of migratory bird habitat could
experience subsidence-related tensile fractures within the subsidence
area. A small number of individual plants along the fractures could
experience mortality or reduced growth. A small number of trees may be
become unstable and fall. No widespread reduction of foraging
resources, cover, or water resources would occur. Nests could be
destroyed if a tree falls that contains a nest, although the likelihood
of this happening is low given that surface fractures would be
localized and expected to affect a small portion (0.4 percent) of the
wildlife analysis area.
[[Page 35658]]
Approximately 9.6 to 7.5 acres of big game crucial summer range
could experience subsidence-related tensile fractures but no widespread
reduction of foraging resources, cover, or water resources or decrease
in habitat quality in the analysis area would occur. No reduction in
herd numbers is expected.
Socioeconomics: Employment would be extended 8 months to one year.
Economic output would total more than $1.5 to $1.3 billion over the
life of the mine generating additional tax revenues. Estimated coal
production would result in higher mineral lease distributions to the
State and affected counties.
Schedule for the Decision Making Process
The Forest Service, along with BLM, previously published a Notice
of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement for the
Skyline Mine Little Eccles Lease by Application project on April 15,
2024. The NOI outlined a schedule for the decision-making process;
however, this was prior to the issuance of E.O. 14261 in January 2025,
recission of the CEQ NEPA regulations in April 2025, and issuance of
the USDA NEPA regulations interim final rule in July 2025, and
enactment of new statutory authority in the OBBB in July 2025. To
comply with the OBBB, it is anticipated that both the DOI and USDA will
publish an EIS before August 10, 2025, and sign the Records of Decision
by August 31, 2025.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The USDA's Forest Service, at the direction of USDA, NRE is the co-
lead agency with the BLM. See April 15, 2024 Notice of Intent to
prepare an EIS (73 FR 26184 [BLM_FRN_MO4500176455]) for information on
other agencies.
Responsible Official
The responsible official for the Department of Agriculture is the
Acting Under Secretary for NRE. The scope of USDA's decision is limited
to consenting to lease. See April 15, 2024 Notice of Intent to prepare
an EIS (73 FR 26184 [BLM_FRN_MO4500176455]) for more information.
Previous Public Scoping Process
Under the Forest Service's previous NEPA regulations at 36 CFR 220,
a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was previously published in the
Federal Register on April 15, 2024, 73 FR 26184 [BLM_FRN_MO4500176455])
followed by a 45-day public scoping period ending on May 30, 2024. The
lead agencies considered the input received during public scoping. A
scoping report summarizing the pertinent comments within these
submissions and the public scoping process is available at <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015277/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015277/510</a>.
Public Comment
USDA is relying on the comments requested when the Forest Service
published the initial NOI in April 2024. A copy of the Skyline Mine
Little Eccles Lease and Flat Canyon Lease Modification Environmental
Impact Statement Scoping Report is located at: <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015277/570">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015277/570</a>.
Kristin Sleeper,
Acting Under Secretary, Natural Resources and Environment.
[FR Doc. 2025-14322 Filed 7-28-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
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