Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Public Hearing, and Request for Comment on the Draft EIS, Maximum Economic Recovery, and Fair Market Value for the Warrior Met Coal Mines EIS Proposed Federal Coal Lease-by-Application for Mine No. 4 (ALES-055797) and Blue Creek Mine No. 1 (ALES-056519), Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
The Bureau of Land Management has released a Draft EIS for the Warrior Met Coal Mines project in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, evaluating two federal coal lease-by-applications submitted by Warrior Met Coal, Inc. The proposed action would offer approximately 14,050 acres of federal minerals for competitive lease sale, covering Mine No. 4 (ALES-055797, roughly 5,704 acres, 16.9 million short tons) and Blue Creek Mine No. 1 (ALES-056519, roughly 8,346 acres, 36.3 million short tons), for a combined 53.2 million tons of recoverable metallurgical coal via underground longwall mining. Two alternatives are analyzed: the proposed action and no action. Key resources evaluated include air quality, geology and subsidence, water resources, wildlife, and socioeconomics. Comments are due 45 days after EPA publishes its NOA; a public hearing is set for June 24, 2025 in Northport, Alabama.