Review of Federal Coal program meeting locations

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Interior Department Takes Next Step in Comprehensive Review of Federal Coal Program
BLM To Gather Public Input at Scoping Meetings Across Nation*
As the next step in the Department of the Interior’s
comprehensive review of the federal coal program, the Bureau of Land Management 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.
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Today’s 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.
“As we begin this review, we are looking forward to hearing from the public
about a wide range of issues about the federal coal program,” said BLM
Director Neil Kornze. “The information we gather will help shape future
decisions about this public resource.”
The BLM is particularly interested in gathering public input on the issues and policies that should be outlined in the PEIS, including topics such as whether Americans are receiving a fair return for federal coal, how market
conditions affect coal, how federal coal affects the environment, and how these and other factors impact coal-dependent communities. Public feedback obtained during these meetings will help inform the size and scope of the review conducted in the PEIS.
In January, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced a comprehensive review that will examine a broad array of concerns about the
federal coal program following critical reports issued by the Government Accountability Office and Interior’s Office of the Inspector General; concerns raised by members of Congress and other interested stakeholders;
and feedback received from a series of public listening sessions last year
in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Washington, D.C.
Each public scoping meeting is scheduled from 10 a.m. ” 4 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’s Avalon Theatre
645 Main St.
Grand Junction, CO 81501