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Coyote Creek Mining Company, LLC is seeking re-authorization of its mining operations at the Coyote Creek Mine in Mercer County, North Dakota. Current operations are covered under Regional General Permit 11-01, which expires on August 31, 2017. The mine is located south of Beulah in Townships 142 and 143 North and Ranges 88 and 89. The mine area is approximately 8,400 acres, much of which is outside of Corps jurisdiction and in uplands. Mine operations are covered under North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) Permit NACC-1302. Approximately 62 acres of wetlands and other waters have been identified in the mine area and will be filled as a result of mine operations. The PSC requires all wetlands impacted by mine operations be reconstructed. The mine plans are specifically designed to: insure no net loss of wetland acreage, minimize the farming hindrance wetlands create, and maximize the wetlands wildlife value. Currently Coyote Creek Mine is developing temporal mitigation sites.
Coyote Creek Mining Company, LLC is seeking re-authorization of its mining operations at the Coyote Creek Mine in Mercer County, North Dakota. Current operations are covered under Regional General Permit 11-01, which expires on August 31, 2017. The mine is located south of Beulah in Townships 142 and 143 North and Ranges 88 and 89. The mine area is approximately 8,400 acres, much of which is outside of Corps jurisdiction and in uplands. Mine operations are covered under North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) Permit NACC-1302. Approximately 62 acres of wetlands and other waters have been identified in the mine area and will be filled as a result of mine operations. The PSC requires all wetlands impacted by mine operations be reconstructed. The mine plans are specifically designed to: insure no net loss of wetland acreage, minimize the farming hindrance wetlands create, and maximize the wetlands' wildlife value. Currently Coyote Creek Mine is developing temporal mitigation sites.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Application No: NWO-2012-2475-BIS
Applicant:
Coyote Creek Mining Company, L.L.C.
US Army Corps
of Engineers
Omaha District
Waterway:
Unnamed Wetlands
Activity:
Coyote Creek Mine
Issue Date:
July 28, 2017
Expiration Date: August 12, 2017
North Dakota Regulatory Office
1513 South 12th Street
NOTICE OF
PENDING PERMIT EVALUATION
15 Day Notice
Bismarck ND 58504
Introduction. The District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District, Omaha, Nebraska,
is evaluating a Department of the Army (DA) permit application from the Coyote Creek Mining
Company for the proposed Coyote Creek Mine surface lignite mining operations. This is an
existing mining operation currently permitted under Regional General Permit 11-01,
which expires on August 31, 2017. Operations are anticipated to continue until the year 2040
and are located within Coyote Creek Mining Company, LLC's NACC-1302 mining permit
approved by the North Dakota Public Service Commission. The application is being evaluated
under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act [33 USC 1251, et seq.]. Section 404 regulates the
discharge of dredged or fill material in waters of the United States.
PUBLIC NOTICE. The purpose of this public notice is to inform the public; Indian Tribes;
Federal, state and local agencies/officials; and other interested parties of a 15-day comment
period in which written comments in conjunction with the applicant's project may be
submitted to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Solicitation of comments regarding
impacts to endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental
concerns and other public interest factors are discussed herein. Written comments must be
postmarked by August 12, 2017, prior to closure of the public notice administrative record.
PUBLIC HEARING. Before the expiration date of this notice, anyone may request, in
writing, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests shall specifically
state the reason(s) for holding a public hearing. The District Engineer shall determine
whether a hearing is necessary to obtain additional public interest information. If a public
hearing is warranted, interested parties will be notified of the time, date, and location.
Project Information.
The project site is located south of Beulah, North Dakota, on State Highway 49 for
approximately 6 miles; and then approximately 4 miles west on County Road 12; The Mine Area
is located in within townships 142 and 143 North, Ranges 88 and 89 West, of the 5th Principal
Meridian (P.M.), Mercer County, North Dakota.
Please Note, the Corps is neither funding nor constructing the proposed project and has
authority over only a very small percentage of the overall 8,400-acre project area. The majority
of the project will be outside of Corps jurisdictional lands and in uplands, which are not
regulated by Sections 404/10.
PROJECT PURPOSE. The applicant's stated project purpose is "to mine coal reserves from the
Upper Beulah Lignite Coal Bed, to provide combustible fuel to the Coyote Creek Station to
produce electricity..." The Corps determined that the overall project purpose is to mine coal
reserves.
PUBLIC NOTICE NWO-2012-2475-BIS
[Coyote Creek Mining Company, Coyote Creek Mine]
PROJECT DESCRIPTION. The applicant proposes to mine coal reserves from the Upper
Beulah Lignite Bed. The Coyote Creek Mine surface lignite mining operations are anticipated to
continue until the year 2040 and are located within Coyote Creek Mining Company, LLC's
NACC-1302 mining permit approved by the North Dakota Public Service Commission.
Approximately 62 acres of wetlands and other waters have been identified within the mine area
and will be filled as a result of the project. Total acreage within the project area is approximately
8,400-acres. Corps jurisdiction on the 62-acres of wetlands/waters has yet to be determined.
Coyote Creek Mine will use standard surface mining techniques to extract coal from the
proposed project area. Mining operations will typically occur in a sequence of seven events:
suitable plant growth material (SPGM) removal, overburden removal, coal removal, overburden
replacement, final grading, SPGM replacement and re-vegetation. SPGM will generally be
removed by tractor-scrapers, track-dozers and front-end loaders loading trucks. The SPGM will
either be stockpiled in areas designated for topsoil/subsoil stockpiles, or will be directly
respreads onto regraded areas. The SPGM stripping operation is generally scheduled for two
shifts per day, four days per week. An annual soil handling plan presented to the North Dakota
Public Service Commission each spring details specific soil stripping locations. Overburden
removal includes the removal of any material between the SPGM and the mineable coal seam.
Overburden removal is accomplished with the use of draglines, track-dozers, tractor-scrapers,
front-end loaders and trucks or other auxiliary equipment. Once all overburden has been
removed, the coal surface is cleaned with a track-dozer and subsequently ripped with the
dozer's 10 foot shank to a size that can be most effectively loaded into the haul trucks. Coal will
be loaded by a front-end loader and hauled by trucks. After coal is removed, overburden from
the next pit is spoiled into the empty pit, and the mining operation evolves into a reclamation
operation. Spoils grading will occur so that no more than four spoil peaks are standing at any
one time, except in isolated instances.
CONSTRUCTION METHODS. Typical mining machinery and equipment will be used for the
project including, hydraulic shovels, front-end loaders, tractor-scrapers, truck dozers, draglines,
etc... Proposed work will typically occur in a sequence of seven events: suitable plant growth
material (SPGM) removal, overburden removal, coal removal, overburden replacement, final
grading, SPGM replacement and re-vegetation.
ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.
Wetlands and Other Waters of the United States. The worst case scenario would
place direct fill into approximately 62 acres of wetlands. Wetland processes and
functions will be affected by the surface lignite mining operations.
Woodlands. No woodlands would be impacted.
Grasslands. No grasslands would be impacted.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION. Coyote Creek Mine plans to reconstruct all wetlands
impacted by mining including both those determined to be jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional to
the Corps using wetland performance criteria in the latest version of the North Dakota Public
Service Commission Standards for Evaluation of Revegetation Success and Recommended
Procedures for Pre- and Post- Mining Vegetation Assessments. The plans are specifically
designed to: insure no net loss of wetland acreage, minimize the farming hindrance wetlands
create, and maximize the wetlands' wildlife value. Currently Coyote Creek Mine is developing
temporal mitigation sites.
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PUBLIC NOTICE NWO-2012-2475-BIS
[Coyote Creek Mining Company, Coyote Creek Mine]
ALTERNATIVES. Three alternatives were analyzed including two action and one no-action.
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ["NEPA"] (42 USC 4321 et seq.; Public Law 91190) NEPA Statement: NEPA is the Nation's basic charter for protection of the environment.
NEPA is to provide decision-makers and the public full disclosure of the environmental
consequences of taking an action so they can make informed decisions. NEPA itself does not
impose substantive duties mandating particular results, but prescribes the necessary process
for preventing uninformed agency action.
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act ["NHPA"] (54 USC 306108). Cultural
Resources Statement: The Omaha District will comply with the NHPA and amendments and
the procedures set forth in 33 CFR, Appendix C. We will evaluate input by Indian Tribes, the
North Dakota State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), and any interested parties in response
to this public notice. The Corps' initial review is that the project would not affect properties
listed, or eligible for listing, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines ["Guidelines"] (40 CFR 230 Subpart B): These Guidelines are
the substantive environmental criteria used in evaluating the discharges of dredged or fill
material in waters of the United States under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and are
applicable to all 404 permit decisions. The purpose of these Guidelines is to restore and
maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of United States waters through the
control of discharges of dredged or fill material. Fundamental to the Guidelines is an
understanding that dredge or fill material should not be discharged into such waters unless it is
demonstrated that such discharges would not have unacceptable adverse impacts either
individually or in combination with existing and/or probable impacts of other activities affecting
the environment.
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act ["Water Quality Certification"] (33 USC Section 1341)
Water Quality Certification Statement: The North Dakota Department of Health, Division of
Water Quality, 918 East Divide Avenue, Bismarck, North Dakota 58501-1947, will review the
proposed project for State certification in accordance with the provisions of Section 401 of the
Clean Water Act. The certification, if issued, will express the State's opinion that the project will
not result in a violation of applicable water quality standards. Although water quality certification
is a prerequisite for issuance of a DA permit, certification alone does not guarantee a DA permit
will be issued for the project.
Endangered Species Act of 1973 ["ESA"] (16 USC 1531, et seq.) Pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act, the proposed project is being reviewed for impacts to threatened
and/or endangered species and their critical habitat. This project is within the known range of
the Interior Least Tern (E), Whooping Crane (E), Black-Footed Ferret (E), Gray Wolf (E), Piping
Plover (T), Rufa Red Knot (T), Northern Long-Eared Bat (T) and the Sprague's Pipit (C). Critical
habitat also exists for the Piping Plover within Mercer County. During the review process a "No
Effect" determination has been made as there have been no listed species identified within the
Corps action area.
Public Interest Review [33 CFR 325.3(c)(1)]: The public interest review procedures call for
weighing the benefits that reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposed project.
These are balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments and results in reaching a
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PUBLIC NOTICE NWO-2012-2475-BIS
[Coyote Creek Mining Company, Coyote Creek Mine]
determination that expresses the public interest. Public interest factors include all factors
which may be, or may become, relevant to this project, such as conservation, economics,
aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historic properties, fish and wildlife
values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and
accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety,
food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership and, in
general, the needs and welfare of the people. The decision whether to issue a permit is
based on an evaluation of those factors and the probable impact, including cumulative
impacts, and reflects the national concern for both the protection and utilization of important
natural resources.
The 404(b)(1) Guidelines and the Public Interest Review are both administrative processes
required as part of the Regulatory Program, but they are independent of each other. A project
must be in compliance with the Guidelines and must not be contrary to the public interest in
order to be permitted by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Anyone whose interests may be affected by the applicant's proposal is invited to submit
favorable or unfavorable written comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [Omaha
District] North Dakota Regulatory Office, 1513 South 12th Street, Bismarck, North Dakota
58504. Comments must be submitted on or before the date on the front of this notice to be
considered in subsequent actions on this application. For additional information, you may
contact Mr. Benjamin Reile, Project Manager, by e-mail at Benjamin.D.Reile@usace.army.mil or
Patricia L. McQueary, Regulatory Program Manager, by e-mail at
Patricia.L.Mcqueary@usace.army.mil, at telephone number (701) 255-0015, extension 2001, or
by visiting the North Dakota Regulatory Office.
Request to Postmasters: Please post this notice in a conspicuous place until the expiration
date specified at the top of page one.
Notice to Editors: This notice is provided for your use in developing news stories only. No
payment for publication will be provided.
ATTACHMENTS (1 Total)
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