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Western Fuels-Wyoming, Inc. of Gillette, Wyoming Permit No. 599-T7 has applied for
Phase 1 bond release from the Land Quality Division of the Department of
Environmental Quality for the State of Wyoming. The permit was originally approved on
April 13, 1989. The coal mining permit area is located in parts of Sections 23, 24, 25, 26
and 36, T51N, R72W; parts of Sections 19, 29, 30, 31 and 32, T51N, R71W; part or all of
Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 17 and 18 T50N, R71W; and part or all of Sections 1, 2, 12, and 13
T50N, R72W, all in Campbell County, Wyoming. The mine is located approximately six
miles north of Gillette on Garner Lake Road. This area can be found on the Gillette East,
Wyo and Moyer Springs, Wyo USGS quadrangle maps. The parcels to be released from
bond are located within Sections 29, 30 of T51N, R71W and Sections 24, 25 and 36 of
T51N, R72W. This bond release request includes 76.9 acres of phase 1 partial bond
release, and the dollar amount to be released is $149,225.19. The reclamation work
(topsoil placement, seeding, etc.) varies by tract but was performed in years 2010, 2013,
2020, and 2021.
Information regarding the mining operation, reclamation procedures and areas proposed
for release may be reviewed in the Office of the Land Quality Division, Department of
Environmental Quality in Cheyenne, Lander, or Sheridan, Wyoming. Written objections
to the proposed bond release 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 27, 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 if stipulated to by the 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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