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Westmoreland Haystack Mining LLC of Billings, Montana 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 is located in: Sections 31 and 32, Township 17 North, Range 117 West and Section 36, Township 17 North, Range 118 West, Uinta County, Wyoming. The area is approximately 20 miles northeast of Evanston, Wyoming off Highway 189 near Cumberland Flats and approximately 2 miles west on Haystack Road – County Road 183. This area can be found on the Meadow Draw USGS quadrangle map. The original permit to mine was granted on August 2011 and is estimated to continue until 2034. The permit is in a Temporary Cessation of Operations and will remain so until further notice. The land, after mining, will be returned to a grazing and wildlife use.
Information regarding this application may be reviewed in the Office of the Land Quality Division of the Department of Environmental Quality in Cheyenne and Lander, Wyoming or the (Uinta) County Clerk's Office at 225 9th Street, Evanston, 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 October 17, 2026. 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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