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The Thunder Basin Coal Company, LLC, Coal Creek Mine of Wright, WY (Permit No. 483) has
applied for Area and 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 March
16, 1979. The coal mining permit area is 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 parcels to be released from bond are located in portions of Sections 16 to 19, 27 to 29, 33
and 34 in Township 46 North, Range 70 West in Campbell County. The area bond release request
includes 15.9 acres of rough backfill with no dollars associated with it. The phase 1 bond release
request includes 199.8 acres of scarification and topsoil redistribution in the amount of $175,883.
Reclamation activities were primarily completed in 2023 and 2024.
Information regarding the mining operation, reclamation procedures and areas proposed for
release may be reviewed in the Office 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 3 April 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/. 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 (WS §16-3-101
though §16-3-115), with the 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.
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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