Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Revised Great Salt Lake Minerals Corporation's Solar Evaporation Pond Expansion Project Within the Great Salt Lake, Box Elder County, UT, 27507-27509 [E9-13437]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
• Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
• Engineers Corps
• Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27507-27509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13437]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for the Revised Great Salt Lake Minerals Corporation's Solar 
Evaporation Pond Expansion Project Within the Great Salt Lake, Box 
Elder County, UT

AGENCY: Department of the Army; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--Sacramento District (Corps) 
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Corps 
authorization actions for the proposed Revised Great Salt Lake Minerals 
Corporation Solar Evaporation Ponds Expansion project. The basic 
project purpose is potassium sulfate extraction/mining. The overall 
project purpose is to increase production/output of organically 
certified potassium sulfate to help meet the increasing demand for this 
type of fertilize. The applicant believes there is a need to increase 
production of potassium sulfate in order to maintain its market share 
over the next 50 years.
    The proposed expansion would add approximately 91,000 acres of 
solar evaporative ponds, impacting approximately 80,000 acres of waters 
of the United States, including wetlands, and reduce the need to import 
raw potassium from other sources. The EIS will address impacts such as 
wildlife habitat, water quality, Great Salt Lake water elevations, 
wetlands, hydrology, cultural resources, transportation, endangered 
species and industry. The projected date for public release of the 
Draft EIS is October 30, 2009.

DATES: Four public scoping meetings will be held. The first scoping 
meeting will be held on June 4, 2009 from 5-8

[[Page 27508]]

p.m. at the Davis County Library, 725 South Main Street, Bountiful, 
Utah. The second public meeting will be on June 9, 2009 from 5-8 p.m. 
at the Comfort Suites Hotel, 2250 South 1200 West, Ogden, Utah. The 
third meeting will be held on June 11, 2009, from 5-8 p.m. at West High 
School, 241 North 300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah. The fourth meeting 
will be held on June 24, 2009, from 5-8 p.m. also at West High School, 
241 North 300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah.

ADDRESSES: Public comments will be accepted at the scoping meetings or 
may be mailed to Mr. Jason Gipson, Nevada-Utah Regulatory Branch, 533 
West 2600 South, Suite 150, Bountiful, Utah 84010, or e-mailed to: 
jason.a.gipson@usace.army.mil. All comments must be received on or 
before July 9, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and the DEIS should be directed to the Corps project manager, Mr. Jason 
Gipson at 801-295-8380 x14, or e-mail at jason.a.gipson@usace.army.mil. 
Please refer to identification number 200700121.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Great Salt Lake Minerals Corporation (GSL 
Minerals) currently operates approximately 47,000 acres of evaporative 
ponds located on the east and west shores of the Great Salt Lake. A 
25,000-acre evaporation facility is located on the west shore of the 
North Arm of the Great Salt Lake and a 22,000-acre evaporation facility 
is located on the east shore of the Bear River Bay. The existing solar 
evaporation pond facilities are located within the Great Salt Lake, 
i.e., the ponds are located below 4205 feet mean sea level, which is 
below the high water mark of the Great Salt Lake. The company draws 
naturally occurring brine from the lake into shallow ponds and allows 
solar evaporation to produce sulfate of potash, as well as salt and 
magnesium chloride minerals. Sulfate of potash is a specialty 
fertilizer that improves the yield and quality of high-value crops such 
as fruits, vegetables, tea, tree nuts and turf grasses. The GSL 
Minerals facility has operated on the lake for 40 years.
    The applicant originally proposed in late 2007 to construct three 
additional solar evaporation ponds totaling approximately 33,000 acres. 
The 2007 proposed project included adding two new solar ponds to the 
existing west side complex, an 18,000-acre Dolphin Island expansion 
pond and a 7,000-acre pond at the southern end of Clyman Bay between 
the Union Pacific Railway and several existing ponds. A new feed canal 
into the lake and a new pump station would be constructed on the north 
end of the proposed Dolphin Island pond. Diesel driven pumps, similar 
to those currently in use, would pump brine from the new feed canal to 
the new pond. Existing pumps would be used to pump brine from the new 
pond to an existing pond. The total 25,000-acre pond expansion on the 
west side would increase the concentration of brine transferred to an 
existing gravity-flow trench for transport to the east ponds in the 
Bear River Bay. Additionally under the 2007 proposal, an 8,000-acre 
pond would be constructed on the east side of the Great Salt Lake in 
the Bear River Bay. Brine would be pumped to and from the new pond with 
existing pump stations; however, the capacity of these pump stations 
would be increased proportional to the new pond acreage. Additional 
feed brine for this new pond would come from the North Arm of the Great 
Salt Lake (Gunnison Bay), flowing through existing east side ponds.
    Under the 2007 proposal, dikes would be built to accommodate the 
pond expansion and impound the waters of the respective areas. On the 
east side of the lake, approximately 540,000 cubic yards of fill would 
be discharged into Bear River Bay to create the dikes. On the west 
side, approximately 900,000 cubic yards of fill would be discharged 
into open water in the vicinity of Clyman Bay to create dikes.
    The 2009 revised project proposes to: (1) Retain the proposed 
construction of an 8,000-acre pond in Bear River Bay, (2) decrease the 
previously proposed 8,000 acre pond on the west shore of the lake along 
the north side of the railroad causeway to 6,000 acres, (3) increase 
the 18,000-acre pond to 23,000 acres, (4) add an additional 2,000-acre 
pond west of the above described 6,000-acre pond along the north side 
of the railroad causeway, (5) add a 14,000-acre pond on the south side 
of the railroad causeway, and (6) add an additional 38,000-acre pond in 
the Dolphin Island area of the lake. On the east side of the lake, 
approximately 540,000 cubic yards of fill would be discharged into Bear 
River Bay to create the dikes. On the west side, approximately 4.7 
million cubic yards of fill would be discharged into open water in the 
vicinity of Clyman Bay to create dikes.
    The total 83,000-acre West Pond Expansion (including Lakeside Lease 
areas) would increase the concentration of brine transferred to an 
existing gravity-flow trench (Behrens Trench) for transport to the GSL 
Minerals east solar evaporation ponds in the Bear River Bay (Figures 1, 
2 and 3). Ultimately as part of the proposed project the efficiency of 
the Behrens Trench would be improved to reduce mixing of concentrated 
brine with lake water surrounding the trench by either improving the 
existing open Behrens Trench by excavating the trench wider and deeper 
or by laying pipes in the existing trench.
    In addition the project includes the purchasing and transporting 
SOP from the U.S. Magnesium ponds located along the southwestern margin 
of the lake to the existing processing facility. GSL Minerals will also 
increase SOP production by constructing an SOP processing plant within 
the U.S. Magnesium pond area (Figure 4).
    The proposed project habitat areas include saline open water, 
sporadically inundated playa lakebed, seasonally flooded playa, saline 
wetlands, potential freshwater springs, rip-rapped dikes and sandy 
upland habitats. These areas are located adjacent and to the north of 
the existing evaporation pond facilities. The Corps verified a 
jurisdictional wetland delineation for the 2007 proposed project on 
October 10, 2007, which identified approximately 34,180.08 acres of 
waters of the U.S., including 21.4 acres of saline wet meadow wetlands, 
1,102.94 acres of seasonally inundated playa above the high water mark 
of the western side of the Great Salt Lake and 33,055.74 acres of 
seasonally or sporadically inundated playa lake bed below the high 
water mark of the Lake. A delineation of waters of the U.S. has not 
been completed or verified for the additional areas proposed under the 
2009 revised application. However, it is estimated the additional 
50,000 acres are all located within the ordinary high water mark of the 
Great Salt Lake, resulting in the same acreage of additional impacts to 
waters of the U.S. The proposed project would result in approximately 
80,000 acres of permanent adverse impacts to waters.
    The applicant has not proposed compensatory mitigation for project 
impacts. The determination of appropriate compensatory mitigation will 
be determined through public scoping and impact analysis of the EIS 
process.
    The proposed project will not affect any federally-listed 
threatened or endangered species, however, it may affect state-listed 
special status species. Once a habitat assessment of the areas has been 
completed, the Corps will consult with state and Federal wildlife 
agencies. The Corps will also consult with the State Historic 
Preservation Officer under Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act for properties listed or potentially eligible

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for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, as 
appropriate.
    A number of on-site and off-site alternatives, including the no 
action alternative, will be evaluated in the DEIS in accordance with 
NEPA and the Section 404(b)(1) guidelines.
    As part of the Corps 404 permitting process, pre-application 
interagency meetings have been held to provide information and identify 
issues and concerns. In addition, meetings have been held with local 
environmental organizations for the same purposes. Preliminary issues 
identified as part of this process include: Water quality, heavy 
metals, nutrient loading, fresh water exchange, changes in salinity, 
and brine shrimp habitat, economic issues and cultural resources. 
Additionally, potential avian impacts were identified to waterfowl, 
shorebirds, and raptors including the American white pelican, snowy 
plover, Canada goose, and others.
    The above determinations are based on information provided by the 
applicant and upon the Corps' preliminary review. The Corps is 
soliciting verbal and written comments from the public, Federal, state 
and local agencies and officials, Native American tribes, and other 
interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of 
this proposed activity. The Corps' public involvement program includes 
multiple opportunities for interested parties to provide written and 
oral comments. Affected Federal, state, local agencies, Indian tribes, 
and other interested private organizations and the general public are 
invited to participate.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-13437 Filed 6-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P