Thunder Basin Coal Company, LLC of Wright, 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 portions of Sections 3, 4, and 5 in Township 45N, Range 70W; Sections 4, 7-9, 15- 22, 27-29, and 32-34 in Township 46N, Range 70W; and Section 13 in Township 46N, Range 71W of Campbell County, Wyoming. The permit area is approximately 25 miles southeast of Gillette, Wyoming off of the Hoadley Campbell County Road. This area can be found on the Neil Butte USGS quadrangle map. The original permit was granted on March 16, 1979, and is estimated to continue until 2054. The land, after mining, will be returned to wildlife habitat and grazing lands.
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 at 500 S Gillette Ave #1600, Gillette, WY 82716. 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 February 10, 2025. Objections may also be submitted by the same deadline via the Land Quality Division’s electronic comment portal at https://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).
Para español, visite deq.wyoming.gov. Americans with Disabilities Act: special assistance or alternative formats will be made available upon request for individuals with disabilities. Please provide at least fourteen (14) days before the close of the public comment period for such requests.
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