As the next step in the Department of the Interior’s review of the federal coal program, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced the dates and locations for a series of public meetings in May and June to solicit public input.  These meetings will provide the public with opportunities to help the BLM identify and evaluate potential reforms to the federal coal program. This recent announcement follows last month’s publication of a Notice of Intent to conduct a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that began a formal, comprehensive review of the federal coal program. ...

Each public scoping meeting is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. local time in the following six locations:                                        

May 17, 2016 - Casper Events Center, 1 Events Center Drive, Casper, WY 82601

May 19, 2016 - Salt Palace Convention Center, 100 West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

May 26, 2016 - Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St., Knoxville, TN 37902

June 16, 2016 - Pittsburgh Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15222

June, 2016 - Seattle, To be announced

June 23, 2016 - Two Rivers Convention Center, 159 Main St., Grand Junction, CO 81501

The meetings in Casper, Seattle and Pittsburgh will be live-streamed at www.blm.gov/live, and all six meetings will have a listen-only audio link via telephone.  Those who attend the meetings in person and who wish to speak will be asked to sign-in.  Speakers will be called upon on a first-come, first-served basis and will be accommodated to the fullest extent possible given the space and time available.  Those interested in attending should check the BLM Coal PEIS website prior to the meeting for additional information.

Written comments may be submitted until July 23, 2016, using one of the following methods:

Email: BLM_WO_Coal_Program_PEIS_Comments@blm.gov

Mail:

Coal Programmatic EIS Scoping

Bureau of Land Management

20 M St. SE, Room 2134 LM

Washington, D.C. 20003

The Interior Department will release an interim report on the PEIS by the end of 2016.  The interim report will contain a summary of substantive comments received during the public scoping period and conclusions from the scoping process about potential planning alternatives results. The comprehensive review is expected to take approximately three years to complete.

Additional information on the PEIS can be found here, and additional information on the federal coal program can be found here.