Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Construction and Operation of an Open Pit Taconite Mine, an Ore Concentrator, a Pellet Plant, a Direct Reduced Iron Plant, a Steel Mill, and a Tailings Basin Proposed by Minnesota Steel Industries, LLC Near Nashwauk in Itasca County, MN, 47814-47815 [05-16109]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 156 / Monday, August 15, 2005 / Notices
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals
requesting a hearing should set forth the
specific reasons why a hearing on this
particular request would be appropriate.
Comments may also be submitted by
facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided
the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy
submitted by mail and postmarked no
later than the closing date of the
comment period.
Comments may also be submitted by
e-mail. The mailbox address for
providing email comments is
NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include
in the subject line of the e-mail
comment the following document
identifier: File No. 1540.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick Opay or Ruth Johnson,
(301)713–2289.
The
subject permit is requested under the
authority of the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and the regulations
governing the taking, importing, and
exporting of endangered and threatened
species (50 CFR 222–226).
The purpose of the proposed action is
a continuation of Permit No. 1245
documentation of in-water relative
abundances, size distributions, sex
ratios, genetic contributions, and the
health of sea turtles in coastal waters in
the southeastern U.S. Up to 350
loggerhead, 50 Kemp’s ridley, 10 green,
3 leatherback, and 5 hawksbill sea
turtles would be captured annually
using trawls. Turtles would be handled,
blood sampled, measured, flipper and
PIT tagged, photographed and
subsequently released. A subsample of
animals would have barnacles and
keratin removed from their shells, have
cloacal samples taken, be laproscopic
and ultrasound examined, and have
satellite transmitters attached to them.
Up to 4 loggerhead, 1 Kemp’s ridley, 1
green, 3 leatherback, and 5 hawksbill
sea turtles may be accidentally killed
during the research. The permit would
be issued for 5 years.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: August 5, 2005.
Jennifer Skidmore,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and
Education Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05–16059 Filed 8–12–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
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13:17 Aug 12, 2005
Jkt 205001
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[I.D. 072105B]
Endangered Species; File No. 1542
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; application for permit.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
SCANA Services, Inc. (Stephen E.
Summer, Principal Investigator), 6248
Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29212,
has applied in due form for a permit to
take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser
brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific
research.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail
comments must be received on or before
September 14, 2005.
ADDRESSES: The application and related
documents are available for review
upon written request or by appointment
in the following offices:
Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone
(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; and
Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th
Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701;
phone (727)824–5312; fax (727)824–
5309.
Written comments or requests for a
public hearing on this application
should be mailed to the Chief, Permits,
Conservation and Education Division,
F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources,
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room
13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those
individuals requesting a hearing should
set forth the specific reasons why a
hearing on this particular request would
be appropriate.
Comments may also be submitted by
facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided
the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy
submitted by mail and postmarked no
later than the closing date of the
comment period.
Comments may also be submitted by
e-mail. The mailbox address for
providing email comments is
NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include
in the subject line of the e-mail
comment the following document
identifier: File No. 1542.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shane Guan or Carrie Hubard, (301)713–
2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
subject permits are requested under the
authority of the Endangered Species Act
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and the regulations
governing the taking, importing, and
exporting of endangered and threatened
species (50 CFR 222–226).
SCANA Services, Inc., sister company
to South Carolina Electric & Gas
Company (SCE&G), proposes to conduct
a study of shortnose sturgeon in
portions of the Santee River Basin in
South Carolina (Saluda, Congaree,
Broad, Wateree, and Santee Rivers) in
support of SCE&G’s efforts to acquire a
new operating license from the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
for the Saluda Hydroelectric Project
(FERC No. 516). The purpose of the
proposed study is to document
shortnose sturgeon usage in areas
downstream of the Saluda Hydroelectric
Project which are within the historic
range of the species, but have not been
adequately sampled in recent history. A
maximum of 15 adult and juvenile
shortnose sturgeon would be captured
with gill nets, examined, measured,
weighed, PIT and dart tagged, a tissue
sample collected for genetic analysis,
and released annually. An estimated
100 shortnose sturgeon eggs and larvae
would be lethally taken by using Dshaped or rectangular drift nets
annually as part of the proposed study
to determine if spawning is taking place.
The permit is requested for a duration
of 5 years, with work slated to begin in
January 2006.
Dated: August 4, 2005.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05–16061 Filed 8–12–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Construction and Operation of an
Open Pit Taconite Mine, an Ore
Concentrator, a Pellet Plant, a Direct
Reduced Iron Plant, a Steel Mill, and a
Tailings Basin Proposed by Minnesota
Steel Industries, LLC Near Nashwauk
in Itasca County, MN
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Minnesota Steel Industries,
LLC (Minnesota Steel) has applied to
the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers
(Corps) for a permit to discharge fill
E:\FR\FM\15AUN1.SGM
15AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 156 / Monday, August 15, 2005 / Notices
material into wetlands to facilitate the
construction and operation of an open
pit taconite mine at the former Butler
Taconite site near Nashwauk,
Minnesota, and the construction of new
facilities—a crusher, a concentrator, a
pellet plant, a plant for producing direct
reduced iron (DRI), and a steel mill
consisting of two electric arc furnaces,
two idle furnaces, two thin slab casters,
and a sheet rolling mill. the former
Butler Taconite Stage 1 tailings basin
would be reactivated for the disposal of
concentrator tailings. The mining
process would require the construction
of overburden, waste rock, and lean ore
stockpiles just north of the proposed
mine site. Ore would be hauled via
truck from the mine to the adjacent ore
concentrator. Concentrating the ore
would involve crushing, grinding,
magnetic separation, and flotation
processes. Concentrator tailings would
be pumped as slurry to the former
Butler Taconite Stage 1 tailings basin
approximately two miles southeast of
the proposed mine site. The concentrate
would be mixed with a binder and
limestone, and converted to unfired
pellets in balling drums or disks. The
unfired pellets would be hardened in an
indurating furnace. The DRI plant
would convert the iron oxide pellets to
nearly pure iron pellets (DRI pellets) in
a 300- to 425-foot-high vertical shaft
reactor. The DRI pellets would be fed to
steel mill, which would produce hot
rolled sheet steel. Project plans call for
the mining of approximately 12.8
million long tons of crude ore per year
at a stripping ratio of approximately
0.50:1. Approximately 2.4 million short
tons per year of hot rolled sheet steel
would be produced. The project would
employ approximately 700 people for
production, support, and
administration. Economic feasibility of
the project is based on a 20-year project
life. Minnesota Steel at this time cannot
predict whether investments for further
operations would be economically
desirable. Therefore, mine planning and
detailed design are being prepared for
20 years of operation and environmental
permits are being requested for a 20-year
project life. If the project is permitted,
and if Minnesota Steel proposes to
extend the project life beyond the 20year period, then modifications to the
Section 404 permit and supplemental
environmental review would be
required.
The project would require dredging or
discharging fill material into
approximately 1,014 acres of wetlands.
While some of the wetlands may be
isolated, the majority of the wetlands
are adjacent to Oxhide Creek, Snowball
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13:17 Aug 12, 2005
Jkt 205001
Creek, Pickerel Creek, or O’Brien Creek,
which are tributaries to the Swan River,
or they are adjacent to an unnamed
tributary to the Prairie River or to an
unnamed tributary to Sucker Brook,
which is a tributary to the Prairie River.
The Swan River and the Prairie River
are tributaries to the Mississippi River,
which is a navigable water of the United
States. A specific compensatory wetland
mitigation plan has not been developed
for the project. Minnesota Steel intends
to work with interested Federal and
state agencies to develop an acceptable
plan that would meet Federal and state
compensatory mitigation requirements.
The discharge of dredged or fill material
into waters of the United States requires
a permit issued by the Corps under
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The
final environmental impact statement
will be used as a basis for the permit
decision and to ensure compliance with
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions concerning the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
can be addressed to Mr. Jon K. Ahlness,
Regulatory Branch by letter at U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, 190 Fifth
Street East, St. Paul, MN 55101–1638,
by telephone at (651) 290–5381, or by email at
jon.k.ahlness@mvp02.usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Corps
and the State of Minnesota will jointly
prepare the DEIS. The Corps is the lead
federal agency and the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources
(MnDNR) is the lead state agency. The
Corps and the MnDNR will prepare and
release to the public a Scoping
Environmental Assessment Worksheet
(EAW) and a Draft Scoping Decision
Document. The public will have 30 days
to provide comments on those two
documents. The Corps and the MnDNR
will conduct a public scoping meeting
in Nashwauk, Minnesota during the 30day public comment period. A notice
will be published or aired in local
media once the meeting has been
scheduled. Additional meetings will be
conducted as needed. In accordance
with 40 CFR 1506.5(c) and Corps policy,
a third party contractor will be selected
to prepare the DEIS. We anticipate that
the DEIS will be available to the public
in late 2006.
The DEIS will assess impacts of the
proposed action and reasonable
alternatives, identify and evaluate
mitigation alternatives, and discuss
potential environmental monitoring.
Significant issues and resources to be
identified in the DEIS will be
determined through coordination with
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
47815
responsible Federal, state, and local
agencies; the general public; interested
private organizations and parties; and
affected Native American Tribes.
Anyone who has an interest in
participating in the development of the
DEIS is invited to contact the St. Paul
District, Corps of Engineers. Major
issues identified to date for discussion
in the DEIS are the impacts of the
projected project on:
1. Natural resources including:
fishery, wildlife, vegetation, riparian
areas, and waters of the U.S., including
wetlands.
2. Water quality, water quantity,
groundwater, erosion, and
sedimentation.
3. Air quality.
4. Social and economic resources.
5. Downstream resources.
Additional issues of interest may be
identified through the public scoping
meeting and agency meetings.
Issuing a permit for the development
of an open pit taconite mine and
associated ore processing, steel making,
and tailings facilities is considered to be
a major Federal action having a
significant impact on the quality of the
human environment. The project: (1)
Would have a significant adverse effect
on wetlands (which are special aquatic
sites), and (2) has the potential to
significantly affect air quality, water
quality, groundwater, plankton, fish,
and wildlife. Our environmental review
will be conducted to the requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, National Historic Preservation
Act of 1966, Council of Environmental
Quality Regulations, Endangered
Species Act of 1973, Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act, and other applicable
laws and regulations.
Dated: August 5, 2005.
Michael F. Pfenning,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 05–16109 Filed 8–12–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710–CY–M
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Department of Education.
SUMMARY: The Leader, Information
Management Case Services Team,
Regulatory Information Management
Services, Office of the Chief Information
Officer invites comments on the
submission for OMB review as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
E:\FR\FM\15AUN1.SGM
15AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 156 (Monday, August 15, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47814-47815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16109]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Construction and Operation of an Open Pit Taconite Mine, an Ore
Concentrator, a Pellet Plant, a Direct Reduced Iron Plant, a Steel
Mill, and a Tailings Basin Proposed by Minnesota Steel Industries, LLC
Near Nashwauk in Itasca County, MN
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Minnesota Steel Industries, LLC (Minnesota Steel) has applied
to the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) for a permit to
discharge fill
[[Page 47815]]
material into wetlands to facilitate the construction and operation of
an open pit taconite mine at the former Butler Taconite site near
Nashwauk, Minnesota, and the construction of new facilities--a crusher,
a concentrator, a pellet plant, a plant for producing direct reduced
iron (DRI), and a steel mill consisting of two electric arc furnaces,
two idle furnaces, two thin slab casters, and a sheet rolling mill. the
former Butler Taconite Stage 1 tailings basin would be reactivated for
the disposal of concentrator tailings. The mining process would require
the construction of overburden, waste rock, and lean ore stockpiles
just north of the proposed mine site. Ore would be hauled via truck
from the mine to the adjacent ore concentrator. Concentrating the ore
would involve crushing, grinding, magnetic separation, and flotation
processes. Concentrator tailings would be pumped as slurry to the
former Butler Taconite Stage 1 tailings basin approximately two miles
southeast of the proposed mine site. The concentrate would be mixed
with a binder and limestone, and converted to unfired pellets in
balling drums or disks. The unfired pellets would be hardened in an
indurating furnace. The DRI plant would convert the iron oxide pellets
to nearly pure iron pellets (DRI pellets) in a 300- to 425-foot-high
vertical shaft reactor. The DRI pellets would be fed to steel mill,
which would produce hot rolled sheet steel. Project plans call for the
mining of approximately 12.8 million long tons of crude ore per year at
a stripping ratio of approximately 0.50:1. Approximately 2.4 million
short tons per year of hot rolled sheet steel would be produced. The
project would employ approximately 700 people for production, support,
and administration. Economic feasibility of the project is based on a
20-year project life. Minnesota Steel at this time cannot predict
whether investments for further operations would be economically
desirable. Therefore, mine planning and detailed design are being
prepared for 20 years of operation and environmental permits are being
requested for a 20-year project life. If the project is permitted, and
if Minnesota Steel proposes to extend the project life beyond the 20-
year period, then modifications to the Section 404 permit and
supplemental environmental review would be required.
The project would require dredging or discharging fill material
into approximately 1,014 acres of wetlands. While some of the wetlands
may be isolated, the majority of the wetlands are adjacent to Oxhide
Creek, Snowball Creek, Pickerel Creek, or O'Brien Creek, which are
tributaries to the Swan River, or they are adjacent to an unnamed
tributary to the Prairie River or to an unnamed tributary to Sucker
Brook, which is a tributary to the Prairie River. The Swan River and
the Prairie River are tributaries to the Mississippi River, which is a
navigable water of the United States. A specific compensatory wetland
mitigation plan has not been developed for the project. Minnesota Steel
intends to work with interested Federal and state agencies to develop
an acceptable plan that would meet Federal and state compensatory
mitigation requirements. The discharge of dredged or fill material into
waters of the United States requires a permit issued by the Corps under
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The final environmental impact
statement will be used as a basis for the permit decision and to ensure
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) can be addressed to Mr. Jon K.
Ahlness, Regulatory Branch by letter at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
190 Fifth Street East, St. Paul, MN 55101-1638, by telephone at (651)
290-5381, or by e-mail at jon.k.ahlness@mvp02.usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Corps and the State of Minnesota will
jointly prepare the DEIS. The Corps is the lead federal agency and the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MnDNR) is the lead state
agency. The Corps and the MnDNR will prepare and release to the public
a Scoping Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) and a Draft Scoping
Decision Document. The public will have 30 days to provide comments on
those two documents. The Corps and the MnDNR will conduct a public
scoping meeting in Nashwauk, Minnesota during the 30-day public comment
period. A notice will be published or aired in local media once the
meeting has been scheduled. Additional meetings will be conducted as
needed. In accordance with 40 CFR 1506.5(c) and Corps policy, a third
party contractor will be selected to prepare the DEIS. We anticipate
that the DEIS will be available to the public in late 2006.
The DEIS will assess impacts of the proposed action and reasonable
alternatives, identify and evaluate mitigation alternatives, and
discuss potential environmental monitoring. Significant issues and
resources to be identified in the DEIS will be determined through
coordination with responsible Federal, state, and local agencies; the
general public; interested private organizations and parties; and
affected Native American Tribes. Anyone who has an interest in
participating in the development of the DEIS is invited to contact the
St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers. Major issues identified to date
for discussion in the DEIS are the impacts of the projected project on:
1. Natural resources including: fishery, wildlife, vegetation,
riparian areas, and waters of the U.S., including wetlands.
2. Water quality, water quantity, groundwater, erosion, and
sedimentation.
3. Air quality.
4. Social and economic resources.
5. Downstream resources.
Additional issues of interest may be identified through the public
scoping meeting and agency meetings.
Issuing a permit for the development of an open pit taconite mine
and associated ore processing, steel making, and tailings facilities is
considered to be a major Federal action having a significant impact on
the quality of the human environment. The project: (1) Would have a
significant adverse effect on wetlands (which are special aquatic
sites), and (2) has the potential to significantly affect air quality,
water quality, groundwater, plankton, fish, and wildlife. Our
environmental review will be conducted to the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, Council of Environmental Quality Regulations,
Endangered Species Act of 1973, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and
other applicable laws and regulations.
Dated: August 5, 2005.
Michael F. Pfenning,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 05-16109 Filed 8-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-CY-M
