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Contura Coal West, LLC Belle Ayr Mine of Gillette, Wyoming has applied for a coal mining permit renewal from the Land Quality Division of the Department of Environmental Quality for the State of Wyoming. The coal mining permit area will be located in Campbell County, Wyoming in the following:
Sections 13, 24, 25 and 36, T. 48 N., R. 72 W.
Sections 1 and 12, T. 47 N., R. 72 W.
Sections 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36,
T. 48 N., R. 71 W.
Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, T. 47 N., R 71 W.
Belle Ayr Mine is approximately 16 miles southeast of Gillette, Wyoming adjacent to Campbell County Bishop Road. This area can be found on the Gap, The Gap SW, Saddle Horse Butte, USGS quadrangle map(s). The original permit to mine was granted on November 26, 1974 and is estimated to continue until 2035. The land, after mining, will be returned to fish and wildlife habitat, pastureland, and livestock grazingland.
Information regarding this application may be reviewed in the Office of the Land Quality Division of the Department of Environmental Quality in Cheyenne and Sheridan, Wyoming or the Campbell County Clerk's Office in Gillette Wyoming. Written objections to the proposed mining operation must be received by the Administrator of the Land Quality Division, Department of Environmental Quality, 200 W. 17th Street, Suite 10, Cheyenne, WY 82002 before the close of business December 4, 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/. The Director shall hold an informal conference if requested, hear the complaint and take action on the application in accordance with Wyoming Statute (W.S.) 35-11-406(p) and the Department's Rules of Practice and Procedure. The Director shall render a decision on the application within thirty (30) days after the deadline to file objections if no informal conference is requested. An informal conference shall be held within thirty (30) days after the final date for filing objections unless a different period is stipulated to by the parties. The Director shall publish notice of the time, date and location of the conference 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 conference. If the director holds an informal conference, all parties to the conference shall be furnished with a copy of the final written decision of the Director issuing or denying the permit within sixty (60) days of the conference. The applicant or objector may appeal the director?s written decision after an informal conference to the Council. If a hearing is held the hearing would 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 afforded as provided in that act and W.S 35-11-406(p)(iv). The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will be mailed a copy of the application mine plan map as given in W.S. ?35-11-406(j).
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