Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Expansion of an Operating Open Pit Taconite Mine and Expansion of an Operating Taconite Ore Processing Facility Proposed by U.S. Steel-Minnesota Ore Operations Near Keewatin in Itasca County and St. Louis County, MN, 45750-45751 [E8-18019]
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45750
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 6, 2008 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Expansion of an Operating Open
Pit Taconite Mine and Expansion of an
Operating Taconite Ore Processing
Facility Proposed by U.S. Steel—
Minnesota Ore Operations Near
Keewatin in Itasca County and St.
Louis County, MN
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: U.S. Steel—Minnesota Ore
Operations (U.S. Steel) has applied to
the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers
(Corps) for a Clean Water Act Section
404 permit to discharge fill material into
jurisdictional wetlands to facilitate the
expansion of an operating open pit
taconite mine and expansion of an
operating taconite ore processing facility
near Keewatin in Itasca County and St.
Louis County, MN. Tailings would be
discharged into an existing, operating
tailings basin. The proposed project is
known as the Keetac Expansion Project.
Iron ore mining and taconite pellet
production have been on-going at the
Keetac site since 1967, when the
original Phase I taconite processing
plant began operation. In 1977, the
Phase II expansion added a second
grate-kiln pellet line. The Phase I
facility was idled in December 1980,
leaving the Phase II facility as the only
operating pellet production line. U.S.
Steel now proposes to increase the
capacity at the Keetac facility by
restarting the Phase I line and upgrading
the mining, concentrating, and
agglomerating processes. The restart
would involve the installation of
energy-efficient technologies in addition
to new emission controls. The
expansion would increase the project
impact area by approximately 1,272
acres to a total of approximately 12,864
acres. The project would continue to
operate 24 hours per day; 365 days per
year. Taconite pellet production output
would increase by 3.6 million tons to a
total output of 9.6 million tons per year.
The mining process would require the
construction of overburden, waste rock,
and lean ore stockpiles adjacent to the
open pit mine. There is currently
adequate ore crushing capacity for the
proposed expansion. The existing
tailings basin would be expanded
slightly in order to reinforce the dikes
so that the height of the tailings can be
increased. The currently permitted mine
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:46 Aug 05, 2008
Jkt 214001
could also be used to provide ore for the
proposed expanded operation, but this
would reduce the life of the mine and
therefore an expansion of the mine is
proposed to maintain twenty-five years
of permitted capacity.
The project would require the
discharge of fill material into
approximately 620 acres of wetlands.
While some of the wetlands may be
isolated, the majority of the wetlands
are abutting or adjacent to an unnamed
tributary to Welcome Creek, which is a
tributary to O’Brien Creek, which is a
tributary to the Swan River, which is a
tributary to the Mississippi River, which
is a navigable water of the United States.
U.S. Steel proposes to utilize
approximately 395 acres of wetlands
that have been restored and are being
monitored adjacent to the existing
tailings basin to compensate for the first
five years of lost wetland functions and
values that would be caused by the
proposed project. Those restored
wetlands have been identified as being
suitable for wetland banking. In
addition, U.S. Steel will submit a
compensatory wetland mitigation plan
to identify compensation for the
remainder of the proposed wetland
impacts. 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 (FEIS) will be used as a basis
for the permit decision and to ensure
compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
ADDRESSES: 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, Suite 401, St. Paul, MN
55101–1638, by telephone or by e-mail
at jon.k.ahlness@usace.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Jon K. Ahlness, (651) 290–5381.
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. To
determine issues to be addressed in the
DEIS, a public scoping process will be
conducted. The MnDNR, with
assistance from the Corps, will prepare
and release to the public a Draft Scoping
Decision Document (Draft SDD) and a
Scoping Environmental Assessment
Worksheet (SEAW). Federal, state, and
local agencies; the general public;
interested private organizations and
parties; and affected Native American
tribes will have 30 days to provide
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
comments on those two documents.
During the 30-day public comment
period, the Corps and the MnDNR will
jointly conduct a public scoping
meeting. The meeting will be held on
Wednesday, October 1, 2008, from 6:30
p.m. to 9 p.m. at the NashwaukKeewatin High School gymnasium at
400 2nd Street, Nashwauk, MN. The
MnDNR, with assistance from the Corps,
will prepare and release to the public a
Final SDD based upon the comments
received during the scoping process.
Significant issues and resources
identified in the Final SDD will be
addressed in the DEIS.
The DEIS will assess impacts of the
proposed action and reasonable
alternatives, identify and evaluate
mitigation alternatives, and discuss
potential environmental monitoring.
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
proposed project on:
1. Fish, wildlife, and ecologically
sensitive resources.
2. Water resources, including: surface
and groundwater resources; waters of
the U.S., including wetlands; and
receiving stream geomorphology.
3. Water quality, including: surface
water runoff; and storm water
management.
4. Air quality.
5. Cumulative impacts, including:
Wildlife habitat loss/fragmentation and
habitat corridor obstruction/landscape
barriers; wetlands in the Swan River
watershed; air quality in federallyadministered Class I areas; and water
quality and flow in Swan Lake and the
Swan River.
Additional issues of interest may be
identified through the public scoping
process. We anticipate that the DEIS
will be available to the public in April
of 2009.
Issuing a permit for the expansion of
an open pit taconite mine and
expansion of a taconite ore processing
facility is considered to be a major
Federal action that may have 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 water quality,
groundwater, air quality, fish, and
wildlife. Our environmental review will
be conducted to meet the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, Council of
E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM
06AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 6, 2008 / Notices
Environmental Quality Regulations,
Endangered Species Act of 1973,
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and
other applicable laws and regulations.
Dated: July 30, 2008.
Jon L. Christensen,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. E8–18019 Filed 8–5–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710–CY–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Agency Information Collection
Extension
Department of Energy.
Submission for Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) review;
comment request.
AGENCY:
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy
(DOE) has submitted an information
collection package to OMB for extension
under the provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq. The information collection
package requests a three-year extension
of, OMB Control Number 1910–0600,
entitled ‘‘Industrial Relations.’’ This
information collection package covers
information necessary for collection of
Human Resource information from
major Department contractors for
contract management, administration,
and cost control.
DATES: Comments regarding this
collection must be received on or before
September 5, 2008. If you anticipate that
you will be submitting comments, but
find it difficult to do so within the
period of time allowed by this notice,
please advise the OMB Desk Officer of
your intention to make a submission as
soon as possible. The Desk Officer may
be telephoned at 202–395–4650.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be sent to the
DOE Desk Officer, Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, New
Executive Office Building, Room
10102, 735 17th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20503; and to
Robert M. Myers, US Department of
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20585–1615,
202–287–1584, or by fax at 202–287–
1656 or by e-mail at
robert.myers@hq.doe.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Robert Myers at the address
listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
information collection request contains:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:46 Aug 05, 2008
Jkt 214001
(1) OMB No. 1910–0600;
(2) Information Collection Request
Title: Industrial Relations;
(3) Purpose: This information is
required for management oversight for
the Department of Energy’s Facilities
Management Contractors and to ensure
that the programmatic and
administrative management
requirements of the contract are
managed efficiently and effectively;
(4) Estimated Number of
Respondents: 316;
(5) Estimated Total Burden Hours:
8,140;
(6) Number of Collections: The
information collection request contains
8 information and/or recordkeeping
requirements.
Statutory Authority: The basic authority
for collection of this data is the statute
establishing the Department of Energy
(‘‘Department of Energy Organization Act,’’
Public Law 95–91, of Aug 4, 1977, 42 U.S.C.
7101 et seq. ). It vests the Secretary of Energy
with the executive direction and
management function, authority, and
responsibilities for the Department, including
contract management. The provisions of 42
U.S.C. 7254 state that ‘‘The Secretary is
authorized to prescribe such procedural and
administrative rules and regulations as he
may deem necessary or appropriate to
administer and manage the functions now or
hereafter vested in him.’’
Issued in Washington, DC on July 30, 2008.
Edward R. Simpson,
Director, Office of Procurement and
Assistance Management.
[FR Doc. E8–18034 Filed 8–5–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Proposed Agency Information
Collection
U.S. Department of Energy.
Notice and request for Office of
Management and Budget review and
comment.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy
(DOE) has submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
clearance a proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The
proposed collection will be used to
assess the organizational climate and
Safety Conscious Work Environment as
part of the Office of Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management’s desire to
continuously improve performance and
comply with the employee protection
requirements of 10 CFR 63.9, Employee
protection, and Section 211 of the
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 5851).
PO 00000
Frm 00059
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
45751
Comments regarding this
collection must be received on or before
September 5, 2008. If you anticipate that
you will be submitting comments, but
find it difficult to do so within the
period of time allowed by this notice,
please advise the OMB Desk Officer of
your intention to make a submission as
soon as possible. The Desk Officer may
be telephoned at 202–395–4650.
DATES:
Written comments should
be sent to the DOE Desk Officer, Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget, New
Executive Office Building, Room 10102,
735 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC
20503; and to Mark Van Der Puy, U.S.
Department of Energy, Office of Civilian
Radioactive Waste Management, M/S
523 1551 Hillshire Drive, Suite A, Las
Vegas, NV 89134.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Mark Van Der Puy, U.S.
Department of Energy, Office of Civilian
Radioactive Waste Management, M/S
523 1551 Hillshire Drive, Suite A, Las
Vegas, NV 89134. Or telephone at: 1–
800–225–6972.
This
information collection request contains:
(1) OMB No. {‘‘New’’}; (2) Information
Collection Request Title: Organization
Climate and Safety Conscious Work
Environment; (3) Type of Request: New
collection; (4) Purpose: The proposed
collection will be used to assess the
organizational climate and Safety
Conscious Work Environment as part of
the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste
Management’s (OCRWM) desire to
continuously improve performance and
comply with the employee protection
requirements of 10 CFR 63.9, Employee
protection, and Section 211 of the
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 5851; (5) Type of
Respondents: Federal, national
laboratory, and other contractor
employees supporting the OCRWM
mission; (6) Estimated Number of
Respondents: 1,750; and (7) Estimated
Number of Burden Hours: 1,000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Statutory Authority: 10 CFR 63.9,
Employee protection, and Section 211 of the
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 5851).
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 31,
2008.
Alan B. Brownstein,
Chief Operating Officer, Office of Civilian
Radioactive Waste Management.
[FR Doc. E8–18037 Filed 8–5–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM
06AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 6, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45750-45751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18019]
[[Page 45750]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Expansion of an Operating Open Pit Taconite Mine and Expansion of an
Operating Taconite Ore Processing Facility Proposed by U.S. Steel--
Minnesota Ore Operations Near Keewatin in Itasca County and St. Louis
County, MN
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: U.S. Steel--Minnesota Ore Operations (U.S. Steel) has applied
to the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) for a Clean Water
Act Section 404 permit to discharge fill material into jurisdictional
wetlands to facilitate the expansion of an operating open pit taconite
mine and expansion of an operating taconite ore processing facility
near Keewatin in Itasca County and St. Louis County, MN. Tailings would
be discharged into an existing, operating tailings basin. The proposed
project is known as the Keetac Expansion Project. Iron ore mining and
taconite pellet production have been on-going at the Keetac site since
1967, when the original Phase I taconite processing plant began
operation. In 1977, the Phase II expansion added a second grate-kiln
pellet line. The Phase I facility was idled in December 1980, leaving
the Phase II facility as the only operating pellet production line.
U.S. Steel now proposes to increase the capacity at the Keetac facility
by restarting the Phase I line and upgrading the mining, concentrating,
and agglomerating processes. The restart would involve the installation
of energy-efficient technologies in addition to new emission controls.
The expansion would increase the project impact area by approximately
1,272 acres to a total of approximately 12,864 acres. The project would
continue to operate 24 hours per day; 365 days per year. Taconite
pellet production output would increase by 3.6 million tons to a total
output of 9.6 million tons per year. The mining process would require
the construction of overburden, waste rock, and lean ore stockpiles
adjacent to the open pit mine. There is currently adequate ore crushing
capacity for the proposed expansion. The existing tailings basin would
be expanded slightly in order to reinforce the dikes so that the height
of the tailings can be increased. The currently permitted mine could
also be used to provide ore for the proposed expanded operation, but
this would reduce the life of the mine and therefore an expansion of
the mine is proposed to maintain twenty-five years of permitted
capacity.
The project would require the discharge of fill material into
approximately 620 acres of wetlands. While some of the wetlands may be
isolated, the majority of the wetlands are abutting or adjacent to an
unnamed tributary to Welcome Creek, which is a tributary to O'Brien
Creek, which is a tributary to the Swan River, which is a tributary to
the Mississippi River, which is a navigable water of the United States.
U.S. Steel proposes to utilize approximately 395 acres of wetlands that
have been restored and are being monitored adjacent to the existing
tailings basin to compensate for the first five years of lost wetland
functions and values that would be caused by the proposed project.
Those restored wetlands have been identified as being suitable for
wetland banking. In addition, U.S. Steel will submit a compensatory
wetland mitigation plan to identify compensation for the remainder of
the proposed wetland impacts. 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 (FEIS) will be used as a basis for the permit decision
and to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA).
ADDRESSES: 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, Suite 401, St. Paul, MN 55101-1638, by telephone or by e-mail at
jon.k.ahlness@usace.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jon K. Ahlness, (651) 290-5381.
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. To determine issues to be addressed in the DEIS, a public
scoping process will be conducted. The MnDNR, with assistance from the
Corps, will prepare and release to the public a Draft Scoping Decision
Document (Draft SDD) and a Scoping Environmental Assessment Worksheet
(SEAW). Federal, state, and local agencies; the general public;
interested private organizations and parties; and affected Native
American tribes will have 30 days to provide comments on those two
documents. During the 30-day public comment period, the Corps and the
MnDNR will jointly conduct a public scoping meeting. The meeting will
be held on Wednesday, October 1, 2008, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the
Nashwauk-Keewatin High School gymnasium at 400 2nd Street, Nashwauk,
MN. The MnDNR, with assistance from the Corps, will prepare and release
to the public a Final SDD based upon the comments received during the
scoping process. Significant issues and resources identified in the
Final SDD will be addressed in the DEIS.
The DEIS will assess impacts of the proposed action and reasonable
alternatives, identify and evaluate mitigation alternatives, and
discuss potential environmental monitoring. 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 proposed project
on:
1. Fish, wildlife, and ecologically sensitive resources.
2. Water resources, including: surface and groundwater resources;
waters of the U.S., including wetlands; and receiving stream
geomorphology.
3. Water quality, including: surface water runoff; and storm water
management.
4. Air quality.
5. Cumulative impacts, including: Wildlife habitat loss/
fragmentation and habitat corridor obstruction/landscape barriers;
wetlands in the Swan River watershed; air quality in federally-
administered Class I areas; and water quality and flow in Swan Lake and
the Swan River.
Additional issues of interest may be identified through the public
scoping process. We anticipate that the DEIS will be available to the
public in April of 2009.
Issuing a permit for the expansion of an open pit taconite mine and
expansion of a taconite ore processing facility is considered to be a
major Federal action that may have 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 water quality, groundwater,
air quality, fish, and wildlife. Our environmental review will be
conducted to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, Council of
[[Page 45751]]
Environmental Quality Regulations, Endangered Species Act of 1973,
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and other applicable laws and
regulations.
Dated: July 30, 2008.
Jon L. Christensen,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. E8-18019 Filed 8-5-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-CY-P
