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No Bidders for Coal Leases Inside Wayne National Forest

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NELSONVILLE, Ohio (AP) — The federal government says it received no bids during a competitive lease sale for coal underneath about 430 acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest.

The Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States released the results of last week’s offering on Tuesday. Leases involved seven tracts in Perry and Morgan counties that contain an estimated 1.4 million tons of sub-surface mineable federal coal.

The sale came in response to a lease application by CCU Coal and Construction, formerly Westmoreland Coal Co., which already operates an adjacent privately-owned underground coal mine.

But the bureau said no one bid on the leases. Officials said the public will be notified if an additional request is ever made to offer competitive leases for the tracts.