AHJ_ah07211 Inventory of the William W. Lyons papers, 1950-1978 Lyons (William W.) Papers Processed by Ronda Frazier The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/
2006

University of Wyoming

 Finding aid encoded by Ann Mulfort March 2006 Finding aid is in English William W. Lyons papers, 1950-1978 Collection number: 07211 University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. Publication date: 2006 Contact Information American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/ March 2003

"©" 2006 University of Wyoming

 Collection Summary Lyons, William W. William W. Lyons papers 1950-1978 1972-1977 07211 6 cubic ft. (14 document boxes) University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English Correspondence, information on federal regulations, and legal case files of a deputy under secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior, concerning coal leases, mining plans, and environmental impact statements on federally owned land, primarily in the West. Biography of William W. Lyons

William W. Lyons became Deputy Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior in May 1973. His duties as a staff assistant to the Under Secretary were to carry out policy set by the Secretary or Under Secretary. Prior to that assignment, he worked in the Department of the Interior as the Special Assistant to the Secretary from January 1970 to August 1971 and as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Program Policy from August 1971 to May 1973.

 Scope and Content

The William W. Lyons papers document Lyons’s career in the U.S. Department of the Interior as Deputy Under Secretary. Subject files contain primarily correspondence on coal leases, mining plans, and environmental impact statements as well as federal regulations concerning the same. There is information on proposed coal mining and railroad development on federal land in the eastern Powder River Coal Basin of Wyoming; the Pacific Northwest’s short and long term power supply problems; and the controversy caused when the Federal Power Commission permitted an increase in rates charged by Pacific Gas and Electric Company for transmission service to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Also included are weekly status reports on the building of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. Chronological files contain copies of all out-going correspondence, memorandums, and notes sent by Lyons monthly.

Several legal cases requiring depositions and/or affidavits by Lyons during his tenure in the Department of the Interior are documented. Chevron Oil Company filed suit against Interior Secretary Hathaway in 1975 concerning the sale of oil and gas leases on Texas’s Outer Continental Shelf. In 1976, the Crow Tribe of Indians filed suit against the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs seeking to declare invalid certain prospecting permits and mining leases approved on Crow coal land on and near the Crow Reservation. Other cases include the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) v. Curtis J. Berklund, NRDC v. Hughes, Sierra Club v. Morton, and State of Florida v. Morton.

 Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

 Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

 Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by William W. Lyons at the date of processing.

 Acquisition Information

William W. Lyons donated his papers to the American Heritage Center in 1981.

 Processing Information

The collection was processed by Ronda Frazier in March 2003.

 Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, William W. Lyons papers, 1950-1978, Collection Number 07211, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

 Access Terms United States. Dept. of the Interior. Crow Tribe of Montana. United States. Bonneville Power Administration. Natural Resources Defense Council. Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Sierra Club. Coal leases. Mining leases. Environmental impact statements. Strip mining--Law and legislation. Public utilities--Northwest, Pacific. West (U.S.) Northwest, Pacific. United States--Officials and employees. <?xm-replace_text {Title as Subject}?> Agriculture and Natural Resources Mines and Mineral Resources People, Ethnicity, and Culture Native Americans Politics, Government, and Law Laws and Legislation Environment and Conservation Environmental Conditions Business, Industry, Labor, and Commerce Businesses and Corporations Container List Series I. Subject Files 1 1 Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System (ANGTS) 1976 1 2 ALUMAX Pacific Corporation 1975-1976 1 3 Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana 1972-1974 1 4-5 Belle Ayr North Mine, AMAX Coal Co. (Campbell County, Wyoming) 1974-1976 1 6-7 Bonneville Power Administration: General 1972-1976 1 8-9 Bonneville Power Administration: Long-Term Power Supply Planning 1973 1 10 Cady/Friends of the Earth v. Morton, Crow Tribe of Indians, et. al. June 1975

(Court of Appeals opinion on coal leases in Montana)

 1 11 Call for Nominations for/against Federal Coal Leasing 1976 2 1 Chevron Oil Company v. Hathaway 1974-1977

(Outer Continental Shelf [OCS] Lease Sale #37)

 2 2 Clean Air Act 1976 2 3 Coal Exploration Licenses 1976-1977 2 4 Coal Exploration Program 1976-1977 2 5 Coal Lease Modification, Billings, Montana (Western Energy Company) 1975 2 6 Coal Lease Modification, Utah (Swisher Coal Company) 1975 2 7-10 Coal Lease Policy: General 1973-1978 2 11 Coal Leasing Regulations, Miscellaneous Amendments to 1976 2 12 Coal Mining Operating Regulations 1976-1977 2 13 Colstrip Project, Montana Power Company 1974-1977 3 1-3 Commercial Quantities in Coal Leasing 1970-1976 3 4 Competitive Federal Coal Leasing 1976 3 5 Cordero Mining Plan (Sun Oil Company) 1975 3 6 Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Guidelines 1977 Crow Tribe of Indians v. Secretary of Interior & Commissioner of Bureau of Indian Affairs, et. al.:

(Validity of prospecting permits and mining leases issued on Crow coal lands)

 3 7 Complaints 1975-1976 3 8-9 Correspondence 1975-1976 3 10 Deposition of William W. Lyons 1976

(With exhibits)

 3 11 Douglas Hotel Company (Douglas, Wyoming) 1950 4 1 Eastern Powder River (Wyoming) Coal Basin 1973-1976 4 2 Energy Fuels, Inc. 1975-1976 4 3 Energy Minerals Activity Recommendation System (EMARS) Regulations 1976 4 4 Environmental Impact Statements: Status Reports 1975 Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1975: 4 5 Effect on Federal Coal Exploration Activities 1976 4 6 General 1976-1977 4 7 Federal Coal Leasing Program (Proposed) 1975-1976 4 8 Financial Management Practices 1974 4 9 Four Corners Power Plant: Environmental Impact Statement 1970-1975 4 10 Geothermal Resources 1971-1973 4 11 Information Concerning the Proposed Future Development of Existing Coal Mines in the Western United States September 26, 1975 4 12 Interior Coal Advisory Committee 1976 4 13 Interior Energy Functions Critical Issue Study September 1, 1976 5 1 Kaiparowits Power Plant Project (Utah) 1974, 1976 5 2 Kleppe v. Sierra Club 1976

(U.S. Court of Appeals concerning regional EISs for coal development in the Northern Great Plains)

 5 3 Kofa Game Range (Arizona) 1974 5 4 Lawsuits Filed Against the U.S. Department of the Interior (Miscellaneous) 1978 5 5 Medicine Bow Coal Company 1973-1974 5 6 Mineral Deposit Testing Permits May 1976 5 7 Mining Plan Approvals 1975-1977 5 8 Miscellaneous 1974-1977 5 9 Multi-Bed Leasing of Coal 1976 5 10 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) v. Berklund 1975-1977

(Violation of Mineral Leasing Act and NEPA)

 5 11 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) v. Hughes 1976-1978

(Folder 1 of 2) (Challenge to “Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement” for coal leasing program)

 6 1 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) v. Hughes 1976-1978

(Folder 2 of 2)

 6 2 Navajo Nation and Exxon Corporation Uranium Prospecting and Mining Proposal November 1974 6 3 Northern Great Plains Resource Program June 11, 1973 6 4 Oil and Gas: Oregon 1974 6 5 Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge and Long Island Sound Crossing 1966, 1968, 1973 6 6-8 Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E): Rate Controversy 1973-1977 7 1 Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E): Rate Controversy 1973-1977

(Folder 4 of 4)

 7 2-3 Part 211 and 3041 Coal Reclamation and Operations Regulations 1975-1977 7 4 Peabody Coal Company, Big Sky Mine, Montana 1972-1974 7 5 Pittsburgh and Midway Coal Mining Co., McKinley Mine, New Mexico 1975 7 6 Policy Statement (30 CFR Part 211, Reclamation Regulations) October 1976 7 7 Power Plant Siting Processes 1973-1974 7 8 Power Rate Increases May 1974 7 9 President’s Energy Program (Carter) April 20, 1977 7 10 President’s Environmental Message (Carter) May 23, 1977 7 11 President’s Message to Congress on Energy Policy (Ford) January 7, 1977 7 12 President’s Statement on Nuclear Policy (Ford) October 28, 1976 7 13 Proposal to Reform the Mining Law of 1872 and Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 1975 7 14 Proposed Regulations on “Chiefly Valuable” 1976 Regional Environmental Impact Statements: 7 15 Coal August 1977 7 16 General 1975-1977 8 1 Revised Alternative “O” Decision on EIS (Environmental Impact Statements) Procedures January 1976 8 2 Rosebud Coal Sales Company 1974-1976 8 3 Royalty Rates for Federal Coal Leases 1975-1976 8 4 Santa Ynez Unit (California) 1974-1976 8 5 Sierra Club v. Interstate Commerce Commission, Kerr-McGee Coal Corp. and Atlantic Richfield Co. 1978

(Concerning authorization granted to construct railroad line in coal-rich Powder River Basin of Wyoming)

 8 6-7 Sierra Club v. Morton 1973-1975

(Environmental Impact Statements for Northern Great Plains Region coal development)

 8 8 State of Florida v. Morton 1975

(Phosphate leases in the Osceola National Forest)

 8 9 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1975 1975 8 10 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1976 1976 9 1 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 1977 9 2 Surface Mining: General 1976-1977 9 3 Trans-Alaska Pipeline 1973-1977 9 4 “Unclaimed, Undeveloped” (Issuance of prospecting permits for phosphate and coal on unclaimed, undeveloped areas) 1976-1979 9 5 Wheeling Stipulation Regulations 1973 9 6 Wycoalgas Gasification Project (Wyoming) 1975 Series II. Chronological Files

(Copies of outgoing correspondence)

 9 7-16 January-October, 1972 10 1-7 January-June, 1973 11 1-5 August-December, 1973 11 6-13 January-August, 1974 12 1-4 September-December, 1974 12 5-8 January-April, 1975 13 1-8 May-December, 1975 14 1-12 January-December, 1976 14 13-14 January-February, 1977