Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, South Dakota, Section 30 Limestone Mining Project, 35396-35398 [2011-15052]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 117 (Friday, June 17, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35396-35398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15052]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, South 
Dakota, Section 30 Limestone Mining Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Corrected Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: A Plan of Operation has been submitted by Pete Lien and Sons, 
Inc., for the purpose of mining for chemical grade limestone within 
mining claims on National Forest System land. The proposal is to mine 
within Pennington County, South Dakota, totaling approximately 100 
acres about one mile north of the northwest boundary of Rapid City, 
South Dakota. The original Notice of Intent for this project was 
published in Federal Register (71FR62989) on Friday, October 27, 2006. 
A Corrected Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was published in the 
Federal Register (74FR51550) on Wednesday, October 7, 2009. That first 
Corrected Notice of Intent was republished due to time lapse between 
the estimated schedule in the original

[[Page 35397]]

Notice of Intent and the revised estimated Draft and Final EIS 
publication dates. A Notice of Availability for the Section 30 
Limestone Mining Project Draft EIS was published in the Federal 
Register (76FR14968) on Friday, March 18, 2011. This second Corrected 
Notice of Intent is being republished due to time lapse between the 
schedule in the first Corrected Notice of Intent and the new estimated 
Final EIS publication date.

DATES: The final environmental impact statement is expected to be 
completed by September of 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Slepnikoff, Project Coordinator, 
Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, at above address, 
phone (605) 343-1567.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The Purpose and Need for this project is authorization of Pete Lien 
and Sons, Inc., proposal to exercise their rights under U.S. mining 
laws while protecting the environment in accordance with Forest Service 
regulations for locatable minerals. The Purpose and Need has several 
components. Pete Lien and Sons, Inc. has a statutory right to extract 
locatable minerals (chemical grade limestone) as proposed in accordance 
with the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended (30 U.S.C. 21-54). The 
Forest Service has the responsibility to protect surface resources of 
National Forest System lands to the extent practicable. Forest Service 
mining regulations state that, ``operations shall be conducted so as, 
where feasible, to minimize adverse impacts on National Forest System 
surface resources (36 CFR 228.8).''

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to approve the Plan of Operation (PoO) 
submitted by Pete Lien and Sons, Inc. to mine approximately 100 acres 
of National Forest System lands on the PLS 30-1 through PLS 30-10 Lode 
Mining Claims, SDMMC 209097. The Plan of Operations was 
developed by Pete Lien and Sons, Inc. It was submitted to the Forest 
Service in accordance with the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended 
and Forest Service mining regulations at 36 CFR 228 Subpart A. The 
Project is located between Rapid City and Black Hawk, South Dakota. 
Legal description is; T.2N., R.7E., NE [frac14] Section 30, BHM.
    The Plan of Operation is summarized as follows:
     It is estimated that the operation will process 
approximately 10 million tons of limestone. The life of the proposed 
mine is estimated at 10 years, not including final reclamation.
     Remove vegetation, stockpile topsoil for future 
reclamation, drill and blast rock to remove an approximate 20 foot bed 
of limestone rock resulting in an open pit with approximately 20 foot 
high walls.
     Blasted rock may be crushed on site to reduce size for 
hauling. Raw materials will be hauled to the east of Highway 79 for 
processing into chemical grade limestone products.
     Concurrent reclamation is planned. Therefore approximately 
60 acres will be disturbed at any one time. Reclamation will result in 
a depression on the existing hillside. High walls will be reduced, site 
graded, topsoil applied, and vegetation planted once mineral extraction 
is complete.
     The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will be 
responsible for enforcing mine safety regulations. The mine site will 
be enclosed by fences and gates as required by MSHA and other 
regulatory guidance.
    Pete Lien and Sons, Inc. will secure permits for all mining and 
reclamation activities as required by law. Several permits have been 
obtained or will be obtained pending the NEPA analysis and decision. 
Notable permit requirements include:
     Clean Water Act--Apply for construction/mining activity 
permit with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
     Clean Air Act--Permit or permits will be obtained to 
ensure that equipment and dust control measures comply with the Clean 
Air Act.
     South Dakota Mining License--Pete Lien and Sons, Inc. 
currently has a mining license inclusive of the relevant portion of 
Section 30. The proposed mine may be exempt from further state 
permitting per a statutory exemption for the extraction of cement 
precursors.
     Pennington County Construction (Mining) Permit--Pete Lien 
and Sons, Inc. will notify the County of its schedule and plans to 
initiate mining on Section 30. Construction permit CP 01-05 specifies 
the scope of the County's further review of road impacts, drainage, and 
other matters related to mining on Section 30.

Responsible Official

    Craig Bobzien, Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest, 1019 
North 5th Street, Custer, South Dakota 57730-7239.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Forest Supervisor will decide whether the proposed action will 
proceed as proposed or as modified by an alternative. Also, the 
Supervisor will decide which recommended mitigation measures and 
monitoring requirements will be applied, and whether a Forest Plan 
Amendment is required.

Scoping Process

    The Forest Service advertised the proposal in the Rapid City 
Journal, newspaper of record on Friday, October 27, 2006. The project 
is listed in the Black Hills National Forest Quarterly NEPA calendar. 
Adjacent landowners, known interested parties, and government agencies 
received letters describing the project and identifying the project 
timeframe. Scoping comments were recieved by November 27, 2006. An 
informational and public meeting was held on November 14, 2006, at 7 
p.m. in the Black Hawk Elementary School Gymnasium regarding this 
project proposal.

Preliminary Issues

    At this time, project planners are aware of issues related to 
cultural (heritage) resources and scenic quality. Through the Scoping 
process, we will use comments obtained about the proposed action to 
determine the breadth of issues to be addressed in the analysis.
    The potential for adverse affects to heritage resources has been 
identified as an issue for this proposed undertaking. A number of 
archaeological sites have been identified and recorded in the project 
area as a result of heritage resource surveys. Five of these sites have 
been evaluated as eligible for nomination to the National Register of 
Historic Places. Through consultation with Indian tribes, use of this 
area for religious activities has also been documented. Pursuant to the 
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Forest is in 
consultation with Indian tribes and the South Dakota State Historic 
Preservation Office to develop measures of avoidance and/or mitigation 
for significant cultural and archaeological values by the proposed 
undertaking. Successful completion of consultation pursuant to the NHPA 
would result in a Memorandum of Agreement that will implement avoidance 
or mitigation of significant heritage resources in the Area of 
Potential Affect.
    The existing vegetation will be removed prior to mining. The 
current scenic view will be altered from visible vantage points.

[[Page 35398]]

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent corrects information in the original NOI. The 
original NOI initiated the scoping process which guides the development 
of the environmental impact statement. The Forest Service sought 
information that planners may not have been aware of, or comments and/
or concerns regarding potential effects of the proposal to authorize 
mining on the Section 30 PLS Lode Mining Claims. Early Notice of 
Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent Environmental Review: 
A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for comment. 
The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will be 
for 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The Forest Service 
believes, at this early stage, it is important to give reviewers notice 
of several court rulings related to public participation in the 
environmental review process. First, reviewers of draft environmental 
impact statements must structure their participation in the 
environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and 
alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont 
Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, 
environmental objections that could be raised at the draft 
environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised until 
after completion of the final environmental impact statement may be 
waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, 
it is very important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of the 45-day comment period so that 
substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest 
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to 
them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft 
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is 
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the 
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives 
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer 
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
    Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available for public inspection.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21.

    Dated: June 8, 2011.
Craig Bobzien,
Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2011-15052 Filed 6-16-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P