OSMRE Seeks Input on Navajo Transitional Energy’s Spring Creek Mine Federal Mining Plan Modification
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The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is inviting public comment on the Spring Creek Mine federal mining plan modification draft environmental impact statement (EIS). The 45-day public comment period will open when the draft EIS is published in the Federal Register.
OSMRE prepared this EIS to further analyze the environmental impacts of a proposed mine plan modification at the Spring Creek Mine, operated by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company.
OSMRE had previously prepared an environmental assessment in 2016 for this mining plan modification, which the District Court of Montana found inadequate in 2021.
The mine is located in Big Horn County, Montana, about 32 miles north of Sheridan, Wyoming. The operator’s proposed mine plan modification would involve disturbance of an additional 162.5 acres to produce an additional 39.9 million tons of federal coal.
The draft EIS analyzes three alternatives in addition to the operator’s proposed action; the draft does not identify a preferred alternative.
In addition to the 45-day public comment period, OSMRE will hold a public meeting at the Big Horn County Courthouse, Hardin, Montana, from 5-8 p.m. MDT on Sept. 24 to receive comments on the draft EIS. Instructions and deadline to submit public comments will be available in the Federal Register notice.
Following the close of the 45-day comment period, OSMRE will prepare the final EIS.
Navajo Transitional Energy Company was created in a pioneering effort by the Navajo Nation to achieve greater sovereignty over its natural resources. NTEC was established under Navajo law and operates as an autonomous commercial entity with an independent board of directors. NTEC owns the Navajo Mine and currently holds a 7 percent interest in the Four Corners Power Plant. It also owns and operates mines in Montana and Wyoming.
OSMRE carries out the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 in cooperation with states and Tribes. OSMRE’s objectives are to ensure that coal mining activities are conducted in a manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining, to ensure that the land is restored to beneficial use after mining, and to mitigate the effects of past mining by aggressively pursuing reclamation of abandoned coal mines.
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