Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact

Statement

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

AGENCY: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact

statement and announcement of a period during which written comments

regarding the scope of the environmental impact statement (EIS)

analysis will be received.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the office of Surface Mining

Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) intends to prepare a supplemental EIS

to the 1990 Bureau of Land Management EIS that will update the

identified impacts and analyze and new probable impacts of mining at

the Proposed Fence Lake Mine, Cibola and Catron Counties, New Mexico

and Apache County, Arizona. As required by the New Mexico State

Program, Salt River Project (SRP) has submitted an administratively

complete permit application for the proposed surface coal mine. The

permit application contains life-of-mine information that the

Department of the Interior will use to evaluate alternative actions in

the EIS and will assist the Department in making decisions on the

surface coal mining operation northwest of Quemado, New Mexico and in

the State of Arizona. OSM requests that other agencies and the public

submit written comments or statements to it concerning the scope of the

EIS analysis.

DATES: Written comments or statements concerning the scope of the EIS

will be accepted through September 15, 1994, at the location given

under ADDRESSES.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or statements concerning the scope of the

EIS should be mailed or hand delivered to Russell F. Price, Acting

Assistant Director, Attn: Billie E. Clark, Jr., OSM, Western Support

Center, 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320, Denver, Colorado 80202-5733.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Billie E. Clark, Jr., Chief, Federal and Indian Permitting Branch, at

the Denver, Colorado, location giver under ADDRESSES (telephone: 303-

672-5604).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SRP's proposed Fence Lake Mine consists of

Federal, State and private coal leases situated on approximately 18,000

acres northwest of Quemado, New Mexico. The Federal Coal Leases Nos.

are NMNM 78371 and NMNM 86717. The proposed mine would remove

approximately 80 million tons of coal, by surface methods, over the 47

year life-of-mine. Approximately 1.8 million tons of coal would be

removed per year through year 28 with about 3 million tons of coal per

year being removed from year 29 through year 40. The project described

in the application also includes a proposed 45-mile railroad spur that

would be constructed west from the mine to supply coal to the existing

Coronado Generating Station, located approximately 6 miles from St.

Johns, Arizona.

OSM will prepare the supplemental EIS, which will evaluate

alternative actions that the Department could take on Federal decisions

related to this project. In accordance with the New Mexico State

Program the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Department must take

permitting actions on the proposed surface coal mining operation within

the State of New Mexico. The major alternative actions thus far

identified for consideration are approval of the mining plan and permit

application with such conditions, if any, as would be necessary to

assure it compliance with requirements of the Surface mining Control

and Reclamation Act of 1977, its implementing regulations, and other

Federal laws; disapproval of the mining plan and permit application;

and no action. Other alternative actions may be identified based on

comments received by OSM regarding the scope of the supplemental EIS

analysis.

OSM is requesting that any interested party submit written comments

or statements regarding the scope of the supplemental EIS. Comments/

statements regarding the scope of the supplemental EIS. Comments/

statements received by OSM will assist that agency in gathering

information and further defining existing issues or identifying new

issues or concerns that the supplemental EIS should address. Public

meetings will be held in the vicinity of the proposed Fence Lake

surface coal mining operation to allow presentation of oral comments

and statements prior to the closing of the scoping comment period.

Actual times and locations of these meetings will be announced in local

newspapers at a later date.

Dated: July 20, 1994.

Brent Wahlquist,

Assistant Director, Reclamation and Regulatory Policy.

[FR Doc. 94-18023 Filed 7-22-94; 8:45 am]

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