Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Celatom Mine Expansion Project in Harney and Malheur Counties, OR, 19786-19787 [2011-8333]
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19786
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 68 / Friday, April 8, 2011 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[OR–65891, LLORB00000–L51010000–
GN0000–LVRWH09H0560; HAG–11–0038]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Celatom Mine Expansion Project in
Harney and Malheur Counties, OR
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) has prepared
a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the proposed Celatom Mine
Expansion Project and by this notice is
announcing the opening of the comment
period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft EIS
within 45 days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register. The BLM will
announce future meetings or hearings
and any other public involvement
activities at least 15 days in advance
through public notices, media releases,
and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the Celatom Mine Expansion
Project by any of the following methods:
• E-mail: OREPCME@blm.gov;
• Mail: Celatom Mine Expansion
Project Lead, BLM Burns District Office,
28910 Highway 20 West, Hines, Oregon
97738;
• Fax: (541) 573–4411, Attention
Celatom Mine Expansion Project Lead;
or
• Written comments may also be
hand-delivered to the BLM Burns
District Office at the address shown
above.
Copies of the Draft EIS are available
at the Burns District Office at the
address listed above and electronically
at the following Web site: https://
www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/plans/
index.php.
SUMMARY:
For
further information contact William
Dragt, Celatom Mine Expansion Project
Lead, telephone (541) 573–448–4400;
address 28910 Highway 20 West, Hines,
Oregon 97738; or e-mail
OREPCME@blm.gov. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339
to contact the above individual during
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:41 Apr 07, 2011
Jkt 223001
normal business hours. The FIRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question with the
above individual. You will receive a
reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EP
Minerals (EPM), formally known as
EaglePicher Minerals, operates a
diatomaceous earth mine complex
(Celatom Mine Complex),
approximately 50 miles east of Burns
and 60 miles west of Vale, Oregon. The
Celatom Mine Complex currently
consists of three open-pit mines: Kelley
Field (on BLM-administered land),
Section 36 (on State land), and Beede
Desert (on private land) in Harney and
Malheur Counties, Oregon.
Existing EPM mining operations on
BLM-administered land in the Project
Area were described in a Mine Plan of
Operations (MPO) submitted by EPM to
the BLM in 1984.
The total MPO area was 1,634 acres.
The BLM approved the MPO after
completion of an Environmental
Assessment in 1985 (BLM 1985).
Existing EPM stockpile operations on 35
acres of BLM-administered land at the
Vines Hill Stockpile Area (VHSA)
approximately 14 miles west of Vale,
Oregon, were described in an MPO
submitted by EPM and approved by the
Vale District BLM in 1986 (BLM 1986).
Existing EPM mining operations on
private and State land in the Project
Area and EPM mill operations on
private land approximately 7 miles west
of Vale operate under county and State
permits. During preparation of this EIS,
EPM is authorized to continue
operations within the Project Area on
BLM-administered land as approved by
BLM in 1985, at the VHSA as approved
by BLM in 1986, and on private and
State lands permitted by county and
State agencies.
In 2008, EPM submitted an MPO to
the BLM for 12,640 acres. The MPO area
includes expanded mining operations
on 1,131 acres of BLM administered
lands which would be disturbed for
decades plus exploration and sampling
on 250 acres which would be disturbed
for several years and then reclaimed.
The remaining 11,259 acres in the MPO
area lies between the mines. This area
will be largely undisturbed by mining
activities except for 5 acres for a new
connector road and 250 acres to be used
for exploration and sampling. Except for
safety considerations, this area also
remains open to BLM’s multiple uses.
Due to the size of the proposed
operations, the BLM determined
preparation of an EIS is necessary to
comply with the requirements of the
NEPA. The Draft EIS analyzes proposed
PO 00000
Frm 00047
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
activities on BLM-administered land
and cumulative effects from proposed
activities on State-administered and
private land, all within the project
boundary. This Draft EIS would analyze
EPM’s proposed MPO as well as
changes or conditions necessary to meet
the performance standards of 43 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) 3809.420 to
prevent unnecessary or undue
degradation. The proposed operations
associated with the project include:
(1) Expanding operations: At the Kelly
Field area, expand mining operations to
72.5 acres of BLM-administered land; in
Section 36, expand mining operations
on State-administered land; at Beede
Desert, construct two new roads to
connect Hidden Valley and Section 36
and establish access from Hidden Valley
north to Eagle; and, at Puma claims,
expand operations on private land to 5
acres.
(2) Developing new mining operations
on BLM-administered land on 225 acres
at Hidden Valley, 462.5 acres in North
Kelly Field, 50 acres in Section 25, and
286 acres in Eagle.
(3) Exploratory drilling on 200 acres
of BLM-administered land, as well as
development drilling, sampling,
trenching, and bulk sampling on 50
acres of BLM-administered land within
the project boundary. Exploration and
subsequent trenching and bulk sampling
would be conducted to delineate
boundaries of known ore reserves and to
explore for new deposits. These
activities could occur on BLMadministered lands anywhere within the
Project Area. Activities under the
Proposed Action, including final
reclamation, would be conducted over
the course of approximately 50 years.
EPM proposes no changes to the
permitted operations at VHSA.
The proposed types of expansion of
mining operations and development of
new mining operations in the Project
Area include open pit mines, roads
within the mine operations areas, and
other operations such as stock piling
and ancillary features such as service
areas.
A Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS
for the Celatom Mine Expansion Project
was published in the Federal Register
on September 15, 2008 (73 FR 53268).
Public participation was solicited
through the media, mailings, and the
BLM Web site. Public meetings were
held in Burns and Vale, Oregon, in
October 2008. Major issues brought
forward during the public scoping
process and addressed in the Draft EIS
include: Air Quality; Forestry and
Woodlands; Geology and Minerals;
Grazing Management; Land Use and
Realty; Migratory Birds; Noise;
E:\FR\FM\08APN1.SGM
08APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 68 / Friday, April 8, 2011 / Notices
Recreation; Social and Economic
Values; Soils; Special Status Species;
Transportation and Roads; Vegetation;
Visual Resources; Water Quality;
Wetlands and Riparian Zones;
Wilderness Characteristics; and Wildlife
and Fisheries.
Please note that public comments and
information submitted including names,
street addresses and e-mail addresses of
respondents will be available for public
review and disclosure at the above BLM
address during regular business hours
(7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday
through Friday, except holidays.
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.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10.
Kenny McDaniel,
District Manager, Burns.
[FR Doc. 2011–8333 Filed 4–7–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNV952000 L14200000.BJ0000 241A; 11–
08807; MO#4500020668; TAS: 14X1109]
Filing of Plats of Survey; Nevada
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The purpose of this notice is
to inform the public and interested State
and local government officials of the
filing of Plats of Survey in Nevada.
DATES: Effective Dates: Filing is effective
at 10 a.m. on the dates indicated below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David D. Morlan, Chief, Branch of
Geographic Sciences, Bureau of Land
Management, Nevada State Office, 1340
Financial Blvd., P.O. Box 12000, Reno,
Nevada 89520, 775–861–6541. Persons
who use a telecommunications device
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339 to contact the above
individual during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, to leave a message
or question with the above individual.
You will receive a reply during normal
business hours.
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:41 Apr 07, 2011
Jkt 223001
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. The Plat of Survey of the following
described lands was officially filed at
the Nevada State Office, Reno, Nevada
on April 8, 2010:
The plat, representing the dependent
resurvey of a portion of the west
boundary and the subdivision of section
31, and a metes-and-bounds survey in
section 31, Township 17 North, Range
64 East, Mount Diablo Meridian,
Nevada, under Group No. 886, was
accepted April 6, 2010. This survey was
executed to meet certain administrative
needs of the Bureau of Land
Management.
2. The Plats of Survey of the following
described lands were officially filed at
the Nevada State Office, Reno, Nevada
on April 15, 2010:
The plat, in two (2) sheets,
representing the dependent resurvey of
the Fourth Standard Parallel North
through a portion of Range 63 East, a
portion of the west boundary and a
portion of the subdivisional lines, the
subdivision of sections 6 and 7, and
metes-and-bounds surveys of portions of
the easterly and westerly right-of-way
lines of the Nevada Northern Railway,
Township 20 North, Range 64 East,
Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada, under
Group No. 857, was accepted on April
13, 2010.
The plat, in five (5) sheets,
representing the dependent resurvey of
portions of the east and north
boundaries and a portion of the
subdivisional lines, the subdivision of
sections 12, 25 and 36, and metes-andbounds surveys of portions of the
easterly and westerly right-of-way lines
of the Nevada Northern Railway,
Township 21 North, Range 63 East,
Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada, under
Group No. 857, was accepted on April
13, 2010. These surveys were executed
to meet certain administrative needs of
the Bureau of Land Management.
3. The Plat of Survey of the following
described lands was officially filed at
the Nevada State Office, Reno, Nevada
on April 29, 2010:
The plat, in five (5) sheets,
representing the dependent resurvey of
a portion of the north boundary and a
portion of the subdivisional lines, the
subdivision of section 11, and metesand-bounds surveys of portions of the
easterly and westerly right-of-way lines
of the Nevada Northern Railway,
Township 22 North, Range 63 East,
Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada, under
Group No. 867, was accepted on April
27, 2010. This survey was executed to
meet certain administrative needs of the
Bureau of Land Management.
4. The Plat of Survey of the following
described lands was officially filed at
PO 00000
Frm 00048
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
19787
the Nevada State Office, Reno, Nevada,
on September 1, 2010:
The plat, in two (2) sheets,
representing the dependent resurvey of
portions of the south and west
boundaries, a portion of the
subdivisional lines and a portion of the
subdivision-of-section lines of sections
30 and 33, and the further subdivision
of sections 30 and 33, Township 15
North, Range 20 East, Mount Diablo
Meridian, Nevada, under Group No.
874, was accepted August 31, 2010. This
survey was executed to meet certain
administrative needs of the U.S. Forest
Service.
5. The Plat of Survey of the following
described lands was officially filed at
the Nevada State Office, Reno, Nevada
on September 30, 2010:
The plat, in five (5) sheets,
representing the dependent resurvey of
a portion of the north boundary and a
portion of the subdivisional lines,
metes-and-bounds surveys of the
easterly and westerly right-of-way lines
of the Nevada Northern Railway and
metes-and-bounds survey of portions of
the Cherry Creek Station Grounds,
Township 23 North, Range 63 East,
Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada, under
Group No. 869, was accepted September
29, 2010. This survey was executed to
meet certain administrative needs of the
Bureau of Land Management.
6. The Plat of Survey of the following
described lands was officially filed at
the Nevada State Office, Reno, Nevada
on January 7, 2011:
The plat, representing the dependent
resurvey of the Second Standard
Parallel South, through portions of
Ranges 61 and 62 East; and a dependent
resurvey of a portion of the east
boundary of Township 9 South, Range
61 East; and the dependent resurvey of
a portion of the subdivisional lines, and
the subdivision of sections 4, 5 and 6,
Township 9 South, Range 62 East,
Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada, under
Group No. 877, was accepted on January
6, 2011. This survey was executed to
meet certain administrative needs of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
7. The Plats of Survey of the following
described lands were officially filed at
the Nevada State Office, Reno, Nevada
on February 4, 2011:
The plat, in four (4) sheets,
representing the dependent resurvey of
a portion of the east boundary and a
portion of the subdivisional lines, and
metes-and-bounds surveys of the
easterly and westerly right-of-way lines
of the Nevada Northern Railway,
Township 24 North, Range 63 East,
Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada, under
Group No. 880, was accepted on January
21, 2011.
E:\FR\FM\08APN1.SGM
08APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19786-19787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8333]
[[Page 19786]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[OR-65891, LLORB00000-L51010000-GN0000-LVRWH09H0560; HAG-11-0038]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Celatom Mine Expansion Project in Harney and Malheur
Counties, OR
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed
Celatom Mine Expansion Project and by this notice is announcing the
opening of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft EIS within 45 days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or hearings
and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance
through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Celatom Mine
Expansion Project by any of the following methods:
E-mail: OREPCME@blm.gov;
Mail: Celatom Mine Expansion Project Lead, BLM Burns
District Office, 28910 Highway 20 West, Hines, Oregon 97738;
Fax: (541) 573-4411, Attention Celatom Mine Expansion
Project Lead; or
Written comments may also be hand-delivered to the BLM
Burns District Office at the address shown above.
Copies of the Draft EIS are available at the Burns District Office
at the address listed above and electronically at the following Web
site: https://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/plans/index.php.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact
William Dragt, Celatom Mine Expansion Project Lead, telephone (541)
573-448-4400; address 28910 Highway 20 West, Hines, Oregon 97738; or e-
mail OREPCME@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EP Minerals (EPM), formally known as
EaglePicher Minerals, operates a diatomaceous earth mine complex
(Celatom Mine Complex), approximately 50 miles east of Burns and 60
miles west of Vale, Oregon. The Celatom Mine Complex currently consists
of three open-pit mines: Kelley Field (on BLM-administered land),
Section 36 (on State land), and Beede Desert (on private land) in
Harney and Malheur Counties, Oregon.
Existing EPM mining operations on BLM-administered land in the
Project Area were described in a Mine Plan of Operations (MPO)
submitted by EPM to the BLM in 1984.
The total MPO area was 1,634 acres. The BLM approved the MPO after
completion of an Environmental Assessment in 1985 (BLM 1985). Existing
EPM stockpile operations on 35 acres of BLM-administered land at the
Vines Hill Stockpile Area (VHSA) approximately 14 miles west of Vale,
Oregon, were described in an MPO submitted by EPM and approved by the
Vale District BLM in 1986 (BLM 1986). Existing EPM mining operations on
private and State land in the Project Area and EPM mill operations on
private land approximately 7 miles west of Vale operate under county
and State permits. During preparation of this EIS, EPM is authorized to
continue operations within the Project Area on BLM-administered land as
approved by BLM in 1985, at the VHSA as approved by BLM in 1986, and on
private and State lands permitted by county and State agencies.
In 2008, EPM submitted an MPO to the BLM for 12,640 acres. The MPO
area includes expanded mining operations on 1,131 acres of BLM
administered lands which would be disturbed for decades plus
exploration and sampling on 250 acres which would be disturbed for
several years and then reclaimed. The remaining 11,259 acres in the MPO
area lies between the mines. This area will be largely undisturbed by
mining activities except for 5 acres for a new connector road and 250
acres to be used for exploration and sampling. Except for safety
considerations, this area also remains open to BLM's multiple uses. Due
to the size of the proposed operations, the BLM determined preparation
of an EIS is necessary to comply with the requirements of the NEPA. The
Draft EIS analyzes proposed activities on BLM-administered land and
cumulative effects from proposed activities on State-administered and
private land, all within the project boundary. This Draft EIS would
analyze EPM's proposed MPO as well as changes or conditions necessary
to meet the performance standards of 43 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) 3809.420 to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation. The
proposed operations associated with the project include:
(1) Expanding operations: At the Kelly Field area, expand mining
operations to 72.5 acres of BLM-administered land; in Section 36,
expand mining operations on State-administered land; at Beede Desert,
construct two new roads to connect Hidden Valley and Section 36 and
establish access from Hidden Valley north to Eagle; and, at Puma
claims, expand operations on private land to 5 acres.
(2) Developing new mining operations on BLM-administered land on
225 acres at Hidden Valley, 462.5 acres in North Kelly Field, 50 acres
in Section 25, and 286 acres in Eagle.
(3) Exploratory drilling on 200 acres of BLM-administered land, as
well as development drilling, sampling, trenching, and bulk sampling on
50 acres of BLM-administered land within the project boundary.
Exploration and subsequent trenching and bulk sampling would be
conducted to delineate boundaries of known ore reserves and to explore
for new deposits. These activities could occur on BLM-administered
lands anywhere within the Project Area. Activities under the Proposed
Action, including final reclamation, would be conducted over the course
of approximately 50 years. EPM proposes no changes to the permitted
operations at VHSA.
The proposed types of expansion of mining operations and
development of new mining operations in the Project Area include open
pit mines, roads within the mine operations areas, and other operations
such as stock piling and ancillary features such as service areas.
A Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the Celatom Mine Expansion
Project was published in the Federal Register on September 15, 2008 (73
FR 53268). Public participation was solicited through the media,
mailings, and the BLM Web site. Public meetings were held in Burns and
Vale, Oregon, in October 2008. Major issues brought forward during the
public scoping process and addressed in the Draft EIS include: Air
Quality; Forestry and Woodlands; Geology and Minerals; Grazing
Management; Land Use and Realty; Migratory Birds; Noise;
[[Page 19787]]
Recreation; Social and Economic Values; Soils; Special Status Species;
Transportation and Roads; Vegetation; Visual Resources; Water Quality;
Wetlands and Riparian Zones; Wilderness Characteristics; and Wildlife
and Fisheries.
Please note that public comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses and e-mail addresses of respondents
will be available for public review and disclosure at the above BLM
address during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday
through Friday, except holidays.
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.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10.
Kenny McDaniel,
District Manager, Burns.
[FR Doc. 2011-8333 Filed 4-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P
