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Peabody Powder River Mining, LLC, North Antelope Rochelle Mine, Permit No. 569-T9, Caller Box 3034, Gillette, Wyoming 82717-3034, has applied for an Area Bond Release and a Phase 1 Bond Release from the Land Quality Division of the Department of Environmental Quality for the State of Wyoming. This permit was originally approved on December 6, 1984. The coal mining permit area is located in all or portions of the following: Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 17 and 18 in T41N, R69W; Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34 in T41N, R70W; Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 23, 24, and 25 in T41N, R71W; Sections 17, 18, 19, 20, 29, 30, 31, and 32 in T42N, R69W; Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 in T42N, R70W; Sections 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 in T42N, R71W; Sections 31 and 32 in T43N, R70W; and Sections 35 and 36 in T43N, R71W, in Campbell and Converse Counties, Wyoming. The North Antelope Rochelle Mine is located approximately 65 miles south of Gillette, Wyoming. This area can be found on the following USGS quadrangle maps: Coal Bank Draw, Dugout Creek North, Piney Canyon SW, Teckla, Teckla SW, Piney Canyon NW, Reno Reservoir and Little Thunder Reservoir. The parcels to be released from bond are located in Sections 11, 21, 27, and 28 in T41N, R70W; Sections 19, 29, 30, 31, and 32 in T42N R69W; Sections 14, 24, 25, 30, 35, and 36 in T42N R70W; Section 25 in T41N, R71W; and Section 36 in T42N, R71W. This bond release request includes approximately 688.2 acres. The Area Bond Release is for the completion of backfill, rough grading and contouring which occurred from 2014 through 2020. The Phase 1 Bond Release is for the completion of final grading, topsoil replacement and drainage reconstruction which occurred from 2014 through 2021. The total amount of bond to be released is $735,888 which is 60% of the incremental bond for those 688.2 acres. Information regarding the mining operation, reclamation procedures and areas proposed for release may be reviewed in the offices of the Land Quality Division of the Department of Environmental Quality in Cheyenne and Sheridan, Wyoming. Written objections to the proposed bond release request must be received by the Administrator of the Land Quality Division, Department of Environmental Quality, 200 West 17th Street, Suite 10, Cheyenne, WY 82002, before the close of business July 17, 2023. Objections may also be submitted by the same deadline via the Land Quality Division?s electronic comment portal at http://lq.wyomingdeq.commentinput.com/. If written objections are filed, and a public hearing is requested, the Environmental Quality Council (Council) shall hold a public hearing within sixty (60) days after the final date for filing objections unless a different period is stipulated to by all parties. The Council shall publish notice of the time, date and location of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed operation once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks immediately prior to the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted as a contested case in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act (W.S. ?16-3-101 through ?16-3-115), with a right of judicial review as provided in that act. Without prejudice to the objector or applicant?s right to a hearing before the Council, the Administrator may hold an informal conference to resolve written objections after notification to all parties. The Administrator shall make a record of the conference unless waived by all parties, which shall be accessible to all parties. The Administrator shall furnish all parties of the conference with a written finding of the Division based on the conference, and the reasons for the finding.
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