Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the GCC Dacotah Cement Dewey Conveyor Project, 56083-56084 [E7-19406]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management
• Land Management Bureau

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56083-56084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19406]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[MT-040-5101-ER-EO42]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the GCC Dacotah Cement Dewey Conveyor Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and Initiate Public Scoping for the GCC Dacotah Cement 
Dewey Conveyor Project.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4332, the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
will direct the preparation of an EIS on a project proposed by GCC 
Dacotah, Inc., and conduct public scoping meetings to analyze (1) The 
application for right-of-way (ROW) on lands administered in part by the 
South Dakota Field Office of the BLM, and (2) an application for a 
special use permit within the Black Hills National Forest of the U.S. 
Forest Service. The proposed action is to construct, operate, maintain, 
and terminate approximately 7 miles of an enclosed above-ground 
conveyor belt to transfer crushed limestone from a quarry site to a 
rail loading facility near the town of Dewey in Custer County, South 
Dakota. The proposed conveyor belt would cross about 1.5 miles of 
National Forest and about 1 mile of BLM-administered public lands. The 
BLM is the lead agency for this project, and the Forest Service is a 
cooperating agency with jurisdiction by law.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EIS. 
The public is invited to submit comments, resource information, and 
identify issues and concerns to be considered in the NEPA process. The 
BLM will accept written comments on the scope of the EIS within 60 days 
of the publication of this notice. Public scoping meetings to obtain 
comments on issues related to the EIS and the proposed action will be 
held in Custer and Edgemont, South Dakota, and Newcastle, Wyoming. 
Times and locations of the scoping meetings will be announced a minimum 
of 15 days prior to the meetings in the local news media.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified as ``GCC Dacotah Cement 
Dewey Conveyor Project'' by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: MT South Dakota FO@blm.gov--Include GCC Dacotah 
Cement Transportation Facility in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: 605-892-7015.
     Mail: South Dakota Field Office, 310 Roundup Street, Belle 
Fourche, SD 57717.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: South Dakota Field Office, 310 
Roundup Street, Belle Fourche, SD 57717.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the South 
Dakota Field Office in Belle Fourche during regular business hours from 
7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. 
Respondents' comments, including their names and street addresses, will 
also be available for public review, and may be published as part of 
the EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, including 
information on how to comment, you may contact Marian Atkins, BLM, at 
605-892-7001, or marian_atkins@blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will assess the effects of the 
proposed action to permit a transportation facility on federal lands 
consisting of construction, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of 
a covered, above ground conveyor belt up to approximately 7 miles in 
length for the purpose of transporting crushed limestone from a quarry 
to a proposed rail load-out facility at Dewey, South Dakota. The 
analysis area includes BLM-administered public lands, National Forest 
System lands administered by the Black Hills National Forest, and 
private lands along the proposed conveyor route in Custer County, South 
Dakota.

The EIS Process

    NEPA requires the BLM to take into account the environmental 
impacts of its actions.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with applicable Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, and 
applicable BLM and Forest Service regulations. The analysis will 
determine whether the proposed action is consistent with land use 
guidelines as set forth in the BLM RMP and the Forest Service's Revised 
Forest Plan for the Black Hills National Forest, as Amended, along with 
other state and federal laws and regulations.
    The analysis in the EIS will serve the following two purposes: (1) 
Analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of construction, 
operation, maintenance, and abandonment of the proposed covered 
conveyor belt transportation facility; and (2) Disclose the information 
used by the Responsible Officials in making their decisions on whether 
to approve or deny the application for a ROW grant.

Preliminary Issues and Alternatives

    The following preliminary issues have been identified:
     Native American Concerns.
     Cultural Resources.
     Noise.
     Visual Quality.
     Public Safety.
     Land Use.
     Fish and Wildlife.
     Air Quality.
     Geology, Soils, and Minerals.
     Water Quality and Quantity.
     Vegetation.
     Social and Economic Values.
    Alternatives will initially include the No Action Alternatives and 
the Proposed Action Alternative; however, other alternatives may be 
identified during the public scoping process.

Public Participation

    Comments are being solicited so as to identify and define: (1) The 
scope of this analysis, (2) significant issues or concerns related to 
the proposed action, (3) reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action, and (4) information having a bearing on the proposed action. 
Your response is important and will be considered in the EIS process.
    The BLM and Forest Service will provide further information at the 
public scoping meetings regarding the locations of, and the areas that 
may be

[[Page 56084]]

affected by, the transportation facility application. The purpose of 
the public scoping process is to provide the public an opportunity to 
present comments or issues that should be addressed in the 
environmental analysis, the scope of the analysis and reasonable 
alternatives to the proposed action. You may submit comments in writing 
at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit them using one of the 
methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and 
from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials 
of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection 
in their entirety.
    Responsible Officials: Marian Atkins, Field Manager, South Dakota 
Field Office, BLM, will be responsible for the analysis and 
documentation, and will decide whether to approve any actions on public 
lands administered by the BLM. Craig Bobzien, Forest Supervisor, Black 
Hills National Forest, representing the Forest Service as a cooperating 
agency, will decide whether to approve any actions on National Forest 
System lands in the project area.

    Dated: September 24, 2007.
Gene R. Terland,
State Director, Montana State Office.
 [FR Doc. E7-19406 Filed 10-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1430-$$-P