West Mine Area, Freedom Mine Coal Lease Application, North Dakota

Tue, Dec 27 2005 11:00:00 GMT

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the West Mine Area, Freedom Mine Coal Lease Application. The EIS analyzed the potential impacts of leasing and mining federal coal on lands in Mercer County, North Dakota. BLM's decision was to approve the implementation of Alternative C, which analyzed the impacts of offering for competitive lease sale approximately 5,334 acres containing approximately 89 million tons of recoverable lignite coal. Alternative C incorporates a preservation component for Native American cultural resources by bypassing approximately 237 acres and an estimated 4 million tons of federal coal which would have been leased under Alternative A (the Proposed Action Alternative). Alternative C also allows for the recovery of federal coal which would be bypassed if not leased under Alternative B (the No Action Alternative).

The BLM received 26 written comments on the draft EIS. These comment

The Federal Register

West Mine Area, Freedom Mine Coal Lease Application, North Dakota