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Show Federal coal leasing goal Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus last week announced the adoption of a leasing target of 322 million tons of in-place in-place federal coal for the Uinta-Southwestern Uinta-Southwestern Utah federal coal production produc-tion region, one of the three regions scheduled for competitive lease sales in 1981 under the department's federal coal management program which was adopted last June. ..."This target-will help the department direct its effort to satisfy coal demand in the region between 1985 and 1990 and will assure that federal coal plays a major ma-jor role in meeting our country's energy needs. President Carter has called for increased coal production and we in the department are using a sound program to be responsible to that call," said Andrus. An-drus. The target was established after analyzing potential production from coal mines in the region, extensive public hearings, and consultation with state and local officials and the Departments Depart-ments of Energy and Justice. The approval ap-proval of the Intermountain Power Project Pro-ject and the proposed exchange of coal preference right lease applications held by Utah Power and Light Company were key factors not counted in the tentative ten-tative target of 109 million tons announced an-nounced by Secretary Andrus last June, and which caused the department to reevaluate that tentative leasing target. The 322-million-ton target was recommended recom-mended by a regional coal team comprised com-prised of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) state directors who have jurisdiction in the region, affected state governors or their representatives, the team chairperson who is appointed by the BLM national director, and persons from other governmental agencies. The team conducted public hearings cn the tentative target and used that information informa-tion in formulating its recommendation which Secretary Andrus subsequently adopted. As part of the program, the team has been reviewing specific lease tracts that could be offered for sale. The possible possi-ble lease tracts and additional leasing levels will be the subject of analysis in a regional lease sale environmental impact im-pact statement (EIS). The Secretary of the Interior will use the regional EIS to make a decision on the tracts to be offered for sale and the schedule to be adopted for the conduct of possible sales starting in July, 1981, in the Uinta Region., , |