The Bureau of Land Management and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement have released a draft Environmental Assessment for Coteau Properties Company's emergency federal coal lease-by-application (NDM-111186) and mining plan modifications for NDM-091535 and the proposed NDM-111186 at Freedom Mine in Mercer County, North Dakota. The proposed lease tracts cover approximately 1,350 acres containing roughly 24 million tons of minable coal that could be extracted through 2045. Four alternatives are analyzed. A public hearing is scheduled for April 24, 2025, and written comments are due by May 2, 2025.12