Idaho Cobalt Project Plan of Operations, Salmon-Challis National Forest, Lemhi County, ID, 64237-64240 [E6-18362]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64237-64240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18362]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Idaho Cobalt Project Plan of Operations, Salmon-Challis National 
Forest, Lemhi County, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent to Prepare Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, as the lead Federal agency, previously 
published in the Federal Register (66 FR 46992-46994, September 10, 
2001) a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of the Idaho Cobalt 
Project. The Idaho Cobalt Project is a proposed plan of operations to 
develop an underground cobalt-copper-gold mine on the Salmon/Cobalt 
Ranger District of the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Lemhi County, 
Idaho. The Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Chapter 21.2, requires this 
revised notice in the Federal Register to inform the public of a major 
change to the applicant's plan and provide revised dates of when the 
draft and final EIS will be completed. The major plan change is 
described in the following paragraph. The revised dates of when the 
draft and final EIS will be available can be found in the DATES section 
of this notice.
    The project proponent, Formation Capital Corporation U.S. 
(Formation), submitted its proposed plan of operation (Plan) to the 
Forest Service in January 2001. That Plan described the major 
components of the project, including production adits and declines, 
waste rock disposal areas, processing plant, process water and tailings 
disposal methods, haul roads, and ancillary support facilities on 
National Forest System Lands. Since 2001, Formation has provided the 
Forest Service with a number of clarifications and minor revisions to 
their Plan, which, for the most part, did not alter the basic project 
description contained

[[Page 64238]]

in the initial Federal Register notice. However, one proposed revision 
to the Plan's handling of mine and process water constituted a major 
change, which necessitated publishing this revised notice. Instead of 
land-applying the water as originally proposed, Formation plans to 
install a water treatment system and discharge the mine/process water 
into Big Deer Creek under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 
System (NPDES) permit. This change would reduce the surface area 
affected by mining operations from 251 acres to 149 acres.
    Formation submitted an NPDES permit application to the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 25, 2006 to discharge 
treated water into Big Deer Creek. The permit is a new source subject 
to the requirements of 40 CFR Part 440. As described in 40 CFR Part 
122.29 and EPA's NEPA implementing regulations in 40 CFR Part 6, a new 
source is subject to compliance with NEPA prior to taking a final 
action on the NPDES permit.
    EPA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the 
Forest Service on August 8, 2006 as a cooperating agency in the EIS 
process. The MOU describes the roles, responsibilities, and NEPA 
coordination amongst the two agencies.
    Given the public scoping that has already been conducted for this 
project, the extensive list of significant issues generated as a result 
of that scoping, and the impending completion of the Draft EIS, the 
Forest Service will not initiate additional public scoping for this 
notice. Public comments will be accepted and considered following 
publication of the Draft EIS.

DATES: The Draft EIS is expected to be available for a 45-day public 
review and comment period the first quarter of 2007. EPA will inform 
the public of the start of the review and comment period by publishing 
a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. 
Completion of the Final EIS is anticipated by July 31, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray Henderson, Project Coordinator, 
Salmon-Challis National Forest, 1206 S. Challis Street, Salmon, Idaho 
83467, Phone (208) 756-5100. Questions on the NPDES permit should be 
directed to Rob Rau, EPA Region 10, 1200 6th Ave., Seattle, Washington 
98101, Phone (206) 553-6285.
    If you wish to be placed on the project mailing list or receive 
additional information, contact the Salmon-Challis National Forest 
Project Coordinator identified above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Project Description: Formation Capital Corporation U.S. (Formation) 
submitted a Plan of Operations for the proposed Idaho Cobalt Project to 
the Salmon-Challis National Forest in January 2001. The Plan, which has 
subsequently been modified by Formation on a number of occasions, most 
recently in a June 2006 revision, is summarized as follows:
    The proposed Idaho Cobalt Project would consist of developing an 
800-ton per day mine and mill complex. The project would involve mining 
cobalt-copper-gold reserves with an annual production rate of 280,000 
tons of ore at full production. Current reserves and resources would 
allow for a ten-year mine life. The ore would be mined from two 
deposits, the Ram and the Sunshine and conveyed to a mill situated on 
the nearby Big Flat plateau. Underground mining methods are proposed, 
and a flotation mill would be used to process ore from the mine. At 
full production, the mill would produce approximately 32 tons of 
concentrate and 768 tons of tailings per day. The concentrate would be 
shipped to an off-site hydrometallurgical facility for metal recovery.
    Ram and Sunshine ore would be hauled to the mill with trucks, where 
the ore would be stockpiled. The approximate haul distance to the 
proposed site of the mill from the Ram portal is 2.8 miles and 1.5 
miles from the Sunshine portal. In the latter years of the mine life an 
overhead tram from the Ram portal may be used to transport ore to the 
mill. The tram would consist of suspended car traveling on track 
cables, driven by a haul cable and suspended on towers. The tramcar 
would be loaded from a hopper at the Ram portal, and the car would 
discharge into a hopper at the mill crusher.
    The proposed tailings disposal facility and the water management 
reservoir are also located on the Big Flat, east of the mill. Disposal 
of tailings in this area via a dry stacking method was proposed by 
Formation to take advantage of relatively flat topography, avoidance of 
wetlands, suitable foundation soils, elimination of the need for a 
tailings dam, and distance from active drainages and streams. 
Approximately 60 percent of the tailings produced would be required 
underground as backfill. The backfill tailings would be dewatered to 
produce a paste and have cement added for strength. The paste would be 
pumped from the mill site to the Ram in a pipeline.
    Mine and mill process waters would be managed and recycled in the 
process circuit using a lined water management reservoir as storage. 
Excess precipitation and mine water would be treated and discharged in 
accordance with an NPDES permit. Treatment would consist of pH 
adjustment, precipitation and filtration for metals removal followed by 
reverse osmosis membrane separation as a polishing step and to remove 
nitrate, sulfate and other constituents. Treated water is projected to 
meet effluent limits at the end of the discharge pipe. The project as 
proposed by Formation would disturb 149 acres of National Forest Land.
    Power for the project would be secured from an existing power line 
delivering power to the nearby Blackbird Mine. Emergency power would be 
supplied with diesel generating equipment located at the main portals 
and at the mill.
    It is anticipated that most of the project employees would live in 
the Salmon area. Employees would be transported to the project site by 
buses or vans assigned to personnel. The proposed transportation route 
for the employees is via the Williams Creek Summit, along the Williams 
Creek road, the Deep Creek road, the Panther Creek road and the 
Blackbird Creek road. The transportation route for mine supplies and 
the concentrates would also be via Williams Creek Summit. The West 
Panther and South Panther Roadless Areas lie to the north, west and 
east of the ICP. Proposed activities in the company and agency 
alternatives would utilize upgraded existing and to a lesser degree new 
roads within the designated roadless area. Up to eight acres of 
disturbance within the designated roadless area would occur under the 
action alternatives.
    There would be three main phases in the life of the Idaho Cobalt 
Project: the construction phase, the production phase, and the 
reclamation phase. There would also be concurrent reclamation in the 
construction and production phases as existing disturbed areas or new 
disturbance is reclaimed post-use. The construction phase would include 
upgrading 23.2 miles of existing roads, and construction of 2.7 miles 
of new roads, construction of the portals and waste rock dumps, the 
mill site, power line and substation and the tailings disposal site. 
Soil stockpile areas, stormwater diversion ditches and borrow areas 
would also be included in the surface disturbance.
    The production phase would bring the mill on line at 400-tons per 
day increasing to 800-tons per day as the underground Ram mine expands. 
Each of the project components is integral to the whole operation and 
therefore there would be limited opportunities for concurrent 
reclamation. However, there

[[Page 64239]]

would be concurrent reclamation in some areas when active use stops. 
The reclamation phase would include final shaping of waste rock dumps, 
sealing mine portals, mill demolition, power line and substation 
dismantling, tailings disposal area shaping and revegetation, water 
management reservoir reclamation, and road reclamation.
    Cobalt is a strategic and industrial metal with a diverse range of 
uses. The largest single use is in alloys for air and land-based gas 
turbine engines. The fastest growing usage is in the battery industry 
for cell phones, pagers, portable computers and gasoline-electric 
hybrid power automobiles. Cobalt is used in computer hard disk drives, 
semiconductors, magnetic data storage and solar collectors. It is also 
used as a component in the effort to reduce air pollution, as it is a 
catalyst for removing sulfur from oil to provide for clean burning 
fuels and has important medical uses as well.
    Proposed Action and Regulatory Requirements: The Forest Service 
decision to be made in response to Formation's Plan is described by 
regulation at 36 CFR 228.5 and includes: (a) Approve the project as 
proposed, (b) Notify the operator of changes or additions to the plan 
of operations deemed necessary to meet the purpose of the regulations.
    These regulations also direct the Forest Service to comply with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 
connection with each Plan of Operation. In this regard, the Salmon-
Challis Forest Supervisor has determined that an EIS is required to 
support a decision on the Idaho Cobalt Project. The EIS will analyze 
the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of the 
proposed Plan of Operation and other reasonable alternatives including 
mitigation, monitoring and reclamation measures designed to minimize 
adverse effects.
    In order to implement the project, the proponent, Formation, must 
obtain approval or conduct consultation with several other federal, 
state, and local regulatory agencies. These agencies include: U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Idaho 
Department of Environmental Quality, Idaho Department of Water 
Resources, Idaho State Historic Preservation Officer and Lemhi County, 
Idaho.
    The Salmon Forest Plan provides guidance for management activities 
within the potentially affected area through its goals, objectives, 
standards and guidelines, and management area direction. The proposal 
would occur within Management Area 5B. Management emphasis in this area 
is on producing long-term timber outputs through a moderate level of 
investment in regeneration and thinning. It recognizes the potential 
for high-value locatable mineral occurrence and probable development. 
The Forest Plan directs that exploration, location, leasing and 
development of energy and non-energy minerals resources be coordinated 
with other resources.
    Under the United States Mining Laws of May 10, 1872, as amended (30 
U.S.C. 22), United States citizens and corporations have the right to 
search for and develop minerals upon public lands, including National 
Forest Systems lands, open to mineral entry. Forest Service regulations 
(36 CFR 228, Subpart A) require that the agency work with mineral 
operators to minimize or eliminate adverse environmental impacts from 
mineral activities on National Forest System lands.
    Public Participation: The Forest Service held an initial public 
meeting to provide information on the Idaho Cobalt Project on July 20, 
2001, at the City Center in Salmon, Idaho. The Forest issued a Notice 
of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS for the proposed mining project in 
the Federal Register on September 10, 2001. The NOI invited comments on 
FCC's proposed Plan of Operations and the Forest's environmental 
analysis process for the proposed Project. The Forest held public 
scoping meetings on October 10, 2001, in Challis, Idaho and October 11, 
2001 in Salmon, Idaho.
    The scoping process and subsequent environmental analysis, to date, 
have identified the following significant issues:
    1. Blackbird Mine CERCLA Remediation & Restoration--What is the 
relationship between the proposed Idaho Cobalt Project and the current 
program to remediate the environmental damage at the Blackbird Mine and 
to re-establish an anadromous fishery in Panther Creek?
    2. Surface Water Quality--What is the potential for adverse impacts 
to water quality downstream of project facilities from the proposed 
mining activities, including development of acid mine drainage and 
mobilization of heavy metals from geologic materials exposed by the 
proposed mining activities, and how would water quality be maintained 
and beneficial uses protected?
    3. Groundwater Quality--What is the relationship of the aquifer 
systems between the proposed project and surrounding areas, 
particularly the Blackbird Mine and receiving streams? What is the 
existing quality of groundwater in the project area and how would the 
project affect existing groundwater quality?
    4. Water Use, Management, Treatment and Disposal--How would surface 
water and groundwater quality monitoring be conducted to detect and 
allow for the correction of any water quality problems resulting from 
the proposed mining activities? What water management and treatment 
systems would be in place to assure no adverse impacts to water quality 
or quantity?
    5. Sediment Delivery (Storm Water Management)--What are the 
potential effects on water quality from accelerated erosion and 
sedimentation, in consideration of surface disturbance associated with 
the proposed mining operations and the existing effects of the Clear 
Creek wildfire of the summer of 2000?
    6. Roads and Access--Opportunities exist to improve the 
transportation system on the project site and the access roads 
including reclamation of existing roads not meeting Forest standards.
    7. Transportation of Product, Chemicals, and Fuel--What is the 
potential for adverse impacts to water quality from accidental spills 
of hazardous materials along the transportation route?
    8. Socio-Economics--What are the potential impacts to local 
communities, tax base and infrastructure from the proposed project?
    9. Vegetation/Reclamation--What effects would the Idaho Cobalt 
Project have on vegetation, particularly the natural recovery of the 
area following the 2000 Clear Creek fire?
    10. Wetlands and Other Waters of the U.S.--What are the impacts to 
wetlands from the Idaho Cobalt Project?
    11. Fish Populations and Habitat of Concern--Would special status 
fish species and their habitat (threatened, endangered, sensitive) or 
species whose populations or habitat are present be adversely affected 
by the proposed mining activities?
    12. Air Quality/Visual Resource/Wilderness Resources--Would there 
be impacts to air quality, visual resources or the nearby wilderness?
    13. Wildlife Populations and Habitat of Concern--
    14. Cultural Resources and Tribal Trust Responsibilities--Are there 
cultural, historical or heritage resources in project area and would 
they be affected by the proposed Plan.
    15. Planning and Land Use--How would the proposed mining activities 
affect other Forest activities and would any changes be required to the 
Forest Plan.

[[Page 64240]]

    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be 45-days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft environmental impact statements must structure their 
participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is 
meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and 
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 
553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the 
draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may 
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, 
it is very important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of comment period so that substantive comments 
and objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when 
it can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final 
environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
    Alternatives: The Forest Service will consider a range of 
alternatives in the EIS including a no action alternative and 
modifications to the proponent's Plan that would minimize risk of 
impacts to the environment, improve public safety and mitigate 
potential effects to water quality, wetlands, wildlife and other 
resources. Analysis of alternatives will evaluate alternative facility 
locations, facility design components, operational procedures and 
technologies. For example alternatives to the location for the tailings 
disposal facility, to operational and post closure water management and 
to water treatment technologies will be evaluated. Mitigation measures 
that would improve access road safety, increase monitoring requirements 
and modify reclamation methods will also be considered. The range of 
alternatives would result in surface disturbance of up to approximately 
328 acres.
    Responsible Official: I am the responsible official for this 
Environmental Impact Statement. My address is Salmon-Challis National 
Forest, 1206 S. Challis Street, Salmon, Idaho 83467.

    Dated: October 24, 2006.
William A. Wood,
Forest Supervisor, Salmon-Challis National.
[FR Doc. E6-18362 Filed 10-31-06; 8:45 am]
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