Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Reopening of an Idle Open Pit Taconite Mine and Construction and Operation of a Taconite Ore Concentration Plant Proposed by Mesabi Mining, LLC and Steel Dynamics, Inc. (Collectively, the Applicant) Near Aurora and Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County, MN, 48376-48377 [E8-19164]
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48376
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 19, 2008 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Reopening of an Idle Open Pit
Taconite Mine and Construction and
Operation of a Taconite Ore
Concentration Plant Proposed by
Mesabi Mining, LLC and Steel
Dynamics, Inc. (Collectively, the
Applicant) Near Aurora and Hoyt Lakes
in St. Louis County, MN
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
ebenthall on PRODPC60 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Mesabi Mining, LLC and Steel
Dynamics, Inc. have 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
reopening of an open pit taconite mine
and construction and operation of a
taconite ore concentration plant near
Aurora and Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis
County, MN. Tailings would be
discharged into an existing, idle open
pit mine. The proposed project is
known as the Mesabi Nugget Phase II
Project. The project would be located
entirely on portions of the site of the
former LTV Steel Mining Company
Facility (also known as Erie Mining
Company prior to 1986). Taconite
mining was conducted at the site from
the late 1950s until operations ceased in
early 2001. Prior to taconite mining, the
area was also mined for natural iron ore
in nearby pits as early as 1903. Mesabi
Mining now proposes to reopen and
mine taconite ore from two open pits,
haul the ore in trucks to a proposed new
processing plant where the ore would be
crushed, ground, magnetically
separated, and then passed through a
flotation circuit to produce a
concentrate. About one-third of the
concentrate (approximately 1.04 million
metric tonnes per year) would be used
as feed for Mesabi Nugget Delaware’s
on-site Large Scale Demonstration
Project (LSDP) iron nugget facility that
was permitted in 2005 and will be ready
for operation in the second quarter of
2009. The remainder of the concentrate
(approximately 2.09 million metric
tonnes per year) would be shipped by
rail for use in other facilities. The
mining process would require the
construction of overburden and waste
rock, and lean ore stockpiles adjacent to
the open pits. The project would operate
24 hours per day; 365 days per year
during its proposed 20-year life. The
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:12 Aug 18, 2008
Jkt 214001
project area would be approximately
4,760 acres, of which approximately
3,820 acres (80 percent) has previously
been disturbed by mining activities.
The project would require the
discharge of fill material into
approximately 235 acres of wetlands.
While some of the wetlands may be
isolated, the majority of the wetlands
are abutting Second Creek (a tributary to
the Partridge River) or an unnamed
tributary (Unnamed Creek) to the
Partridge River. The Partridge River is a
tributary to the St. Louis River, which
is navigable water of the United States
up to the mouth of the Embarrass River.
The Applicant proposes to develop a
detailed compensatory wetland
mitigation plan for inclusion in the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) to provide compensation for the
unavoidable wetland impacts planned
during at least the first five years of the
project. Conceptual wetland mitigation
plans will be developed for inclusion in
the DEIS to provide compensation for
the unavoidable wetland impacts
planned during the remainder of the
project (years six through twenty). 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
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 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
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
jointly conduct a public scoping
meeting. The meeting will be held on
Wednesday, September 3, 2008, from 6
p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Aurora Community
Center at 15 West 1st Avenue North,
Aurora, 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 Partridge River
watershed; loss of threatened and
endangered plant species; air quality in
federally-administered Class I areas; air
quality in Class II areas; water quality;
streamflow and lake level changes; and
socioeconomic impacts.
Additional issues of interest may be
identified through the public scoping
process. We anticipate that the DEIS
will be available to the public in March
of 2009.
Issuing a permit for the reopening of
an open pit taconite mine and the
construction and operation of a taconite
ore concentration 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
Environmental Quality Regulations,
E:\FR\FM\19AUN1.SGM
19AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 19, 2008 / Notices
Endangered Species Act of 1973,
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and
other applicable laws and regulations.
Dated: August 7, 2008.
Jon L. Christensen,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. E8–19164 Filed 8–18–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710–CY–P
Dated: August 13, 2008.
Angela C. Arrington,
IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of Management.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
SUMMARY:
ebenthall on PRODPC60 with NOTICES
Institute of Education Sciences
Department of Education.
The IC Clearance Official,
Regulatory Information Management
Services, Office of Management invites
comments on the submission for OMB
review as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before
September 18, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be addressed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attention: Education Desk Officer,
Office of Management and Budget, 725
17th Street, NW., Room 10222,
Washington, DC 20503. Commenters are
encouraged to submit responses
electronically by e-mail to
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or via fax
to (202) 395–6974. Commenters should
include the following subject line in
their response ‘‘Comment: [insert OMB
number], [insert abbreviated collection
name, e.g., ‘‘Upward Bound
Evaluation’’]. Persons submitting
comments electronically should not
submit paper copies.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires
that the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) provide interested
Federal agencies and the public an early
opportunity to comment on information
collection requests. OMB may amend or
waive the requirement for public
consultation to the extent that public
participation in the approval process
would defeat the purpose of the
information collection, violate State or
Federal law, or substantially interfere
with any agency’s ability to perform its
statutory obligations. The IC Clearance
Official, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of
Management, publishes that notice
containing proposed information
collection requests prior to submission
of these requests to OMB. Each
proposed information collection,
grouped by office, contains the
AGENCY:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:12 Aug 18, 2008
Jkt 214001
following: (1) Type of review requested,
e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or
reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of
the collection; (4) Description of the
need for, and proposed use of, the
information; (5) Respondents and
frequency of collection; and (6)
Reporting and/or Recordkeeping
burden. OMB invites public comment.
Type of Review: Extension.
Title: National Longitudinal
Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) Wave 5
Interviews and Questionnaires.
Frequency: Biennially.
Affected Public: Individuals or
household.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour
Burden:
Responses: 3,912.
Burden Hours: 1,423.
Abstract: This ICR is for Wave 5 data
collection for the National Longitudinal
Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). NLTS2
began in 2000 with a sample of
approximately 12,000 youth who were
13 through 16 years old and receiving
special education services. Wave 5 data
collection will take place in the 9th year
of the project and will consist of parent
and youth interviews conducted by
phone or mail. This will be the last
round of data collection for NLTS2 and
will focus primarily on early adulthood,
including postsecondary education,
employment, and community
adjustment.
Requests for copies of the information
collection submission for OMB review
may be accessed from https://
edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the
‘‘Browse Pending Collections’’ link and
by clicking on link number 3698. When
you access the information collection,
click on ‘‘Download Attachments ‘‘ to
view. Written requests for information
should be addressed to U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537.
Requests may also be electronically
mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed
to 202–401–0920. Please specify the
complete title of the information
collection when making your request.
Comments regarding burden and/or
the collection activity requirements
should be electronically mailed to
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
48377
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339.
[FR Doc. E8–19140 Filed 8–18–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Proposed Information
Collection Requests
AGENCY:
Department of Education.
The IC Clearance Official,
Regulatory Information Management
Services, Office of Management, invites
comments on the proposed information
collection requests as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
SUMMARY:
Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before October
20, 2008.
DATES:
Section
3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires
that the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) provide interested
Federal agencies and the public an early
opportunity to comment on information
collection requests. OMB may amend or
waive the requirement for public
consultation to the extent that public
participation in the approval process
would defeat the purpose of the
information collection, violate State or
Federal law, or substantially interfere
with any agency’s ability to perform its
statutory obligations. The IC Clearance
Official, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of
Management, publishes that notice
containing proposed information
collection requests prior to submission
of these requests to OMB. Each
proposed information collection,
grouped by office, contains the
following: (1) Type of review requested,
e.g., new, revision, extension, existing
or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary
of the collection; (4) Description of the
need for, and proposed use of, the
information; (5) Respondents and
frequency of collection; and (6)
Reporting and/or Recordkeeping
burden. OMB invites public comment.
The Department of Education is
especially interested in public comment
addressing the following issues: (1) Is
this collection necessary to the proper
functions of the Department; (2) will
this information be processed and used
in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate
of burden accurate; (4) how might the
Department enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (5) how might the
Department minimize the burden of this
collection on the respondents, including
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\19AUN1.SGM
19AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48376-48377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19164]
[[Page 48376]]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Reopening of an Idle Open Pit Taconite Mine and Construction and
Operation of a Taconite Ore Concentration Plant Proposed by Mesabi
Mining, LLC and Steel Dynamics, Inc. (Collectively, the Applicant) Near
Aurora and Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County, MN
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Mesabi Mining, LLC and Steel Dynamics, Inc. have 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 reopening of an open pit taconite mine and
construction and operation of a taconite ore concentration plant near
Aurora and Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County, MN. Tailings would be
discharged into an existing, idle open pit mine. The proposed project
is known as the Mesabi Nugget Phase II Project. The project would be
located entirely on portions of the site of the former LTV Steel Mining
Company Facility (also known as Erie Mining Company prior to 1986).
Taconite mining was conducted at the site from the late 1950s until
operations ceased in early 2001. Prior to taconite mining, the area was
also mined for natural iron ore in nearby pits as early as 1903. Mesabi
Mining now proposes to reopen and mine taconite ore from two open pits,
haul the ore in trucks to a proposed new processing plant where the ore
would be crushed, ground, magnetically separated, and then passed
through a flotation circuit to produce a concentrate. About one-third
of the concentrate (approximately 1.04 million metric tonnes per year)
would be used as feed for Mesabi Nugget Delaware's on-site Large Scale
Demonstration Project (LSDP) iron nugget facility that was permitted in
2005 and will be ready for operation in the second quarter of 2009. The
remainder of the concentrate (approximately 2.09 million metric tonnes
per year) would be shipped by rail for use in other facilities. The
mining process would require the construction of overburden and waste
rock, and lean ore stockpiles adjacent to the open pits. The project
would operate 24 hours per day; 365 days per year during its proposed
20-year life. The project area would be approximately 4,760 acres, of
which approximately 3,820 acres (80 percent) has previously been
disturbed by mining activities.
The project would require the discharge of fill material into
approximately 235 acres of wetlands. While some of the wetlands may be
isolated, the majority of the wetlands are abutting Second Creek (a
tributary to the Partridge River) or an unnamed tributary (Unnamed
Creek) to the Partridge River. The Partridge River is a tributary to
the St. Louis River, which is navigable water of the United States up
to the mouth of the Embarrass River. The Applicant proposes to develop
a detailed compensatory wetland mitigation plan for inclusion in the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to provide compensation for
the unavoidable wetland impacts planned during at least the first five
years of the project. Conceptual wetland mitigation plans will be
developed for inclusion in the DEIS to provide compensation for the
unavoidable wetland impacts planned during the remainder of the project
(years six through twenty). 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 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 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, September 3, 2008, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the
Aurora Community Center at 15 West 1st Avenue North, Aurora, 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 Partridge River watershed; loss of threatened and
endangered plant species; air quality in federally-administered Class I
areas; air quality in Class II areas; water quality; streamflow and
lake level changes; and socioeconomic impacts.
Additional issues of interest may be identified through the public
scoping process. We anticipate that the DEIS will be available to the
public in March of 2009.
Issuing a permit for the reopening of an open pit taconite mine and
the construction and operation of a taconite ore concentration 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 Environmental Quality Regulations,
[[Page 48377]]
Endangered Species Act of 1973, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and
other applicable laws and regulations.
Dated: August 7, 2008.
Jon L. Christensen,
Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. E8-19164 Filed 8-18-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-CY-P
