Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mount Hope Project, Eureka County, NE, 62256-62257 [2012-25182]

Download as PDF wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 62256 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 198 / Friday, October 12, 2012 / Notices recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d) and 1320.12(a)). As required at 5 CFR 1320.8(d), the BLM published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register on June 13, 2012 (77 FR 35421), and the comment period ended August 13, 2012. The BLM received two comments. Neither comment addressed, or was germane to, this information collection. Therefore, the BLM has not changed the collection in response to either comment. The BLM now requests comments on the following subjects: 1. Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper functioning of the BLM, including whether the information will have practical utility; 2. The accuracy of the BLM’s estimate of the burden of collecting the information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; 3. The quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and 4. How to minimize the information collection burden on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other forms of information technology. Please send comments as directed under ADDRESSES and DATES. Please refer to OMB control number 1004–0012 in your correspondence. Before including your address, phone number, email 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. The following information is provided for the information collection: Title: Application for Land for Recreation or Public Purposes (43 CFR 2740 and 2912). Forms: • Form 2740–1, Application for Land for Recreation or Public Purposes. OMB Control Number: 1004–0012. Abstract: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) uses the information collection to decide whether or not to lease or sell certain public lands to applicants under the Recreation and Purposes Act, 43 U.S.C. 869 to 869–4. The Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to lease or sell, for recreational or public purposes, certain public lands to State, Territory, county, and local governments; nonprofit corporations; and nonprofit associations. VerDate Mar<15>2010 13:59 Oct 11, 2012 Jkt 229001 Frequency of Collection: Once. Estimated Number and Description of Respondents Annually: 21 State, Territory, country and local governments; 1 nonprofit association; and 1 nonprofit corporation. Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden Annually: 920 hours (40 hours per application). Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’ Burden Annually: $2,300 ($100 per application). Jean Sonneman, Bureau of Land Management, Information Collection Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 2012–25177 Filed 10–11–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–84–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLNVB01000 L51100000.GN0000.LVEMF12CF010 241A; NVN–082096; NVN–084632; NVN–091272; 12–08807; MO# 4500039779; TAS: 14X5017] Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mount Hope Project, Eureka County, NE Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Mount Lewis Field Office, Battle Mountain, Nevada has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Mount Hope Project and by this notice is announcing its availability. DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a minimum of 30 days from the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice in the Federal Register. SUMMARY: Copies of the Mount Hope Project Final EIS are available at the Battle Mountain District Office, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada, during regular business hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Interested persons may also review the Final EIS on the Internet at: www.blm.gov/nvst/ en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact Gloria Tibbetts, Planning and Environmental Coordinator, telephone: 775–635–4060; ADDRESSES: PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 address: 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada 89820; email: gtibbetts@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: Eureka Moly, LLC (EML) has submitted a Plan of Operations (NVN–082096) to the BLM Mount Lewis Field Office for the proposed Mount Hope Molybdenum Mining Project. The proposed project would be located in central Nevada approximately 23 miles northwest of Eureka, Nevada. The project is a proposed molybdenum mine and includes a power transmission line, a water well field, and all associated mine-processing facilities. The project is to be located on both public and private lands in Eureka County, Nevada, and is expected to have a mine life of 80 years. The surface disturbance associated with the proposed activities totals 8,092 acres of public land and 263 acres of private land located within the 22,886-acre project area. The project proposal is to extract molybdenite from public lands where EML holds mining claims and private land to the optimal extent possible. After extraction, EML would reclaim the project area in a manner that is environmentally responsible and in compliance with Federal mining laws, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), Nevada Mine Reclamation Law, and other applicable laws and regulations. The BLM, in accordance with the FLPMA, is to respond to the applicant’s Plan of Operations to conduct mining under the General Mining Law. The Final EIS describes and analyzes the project’s site-specific impacts (including cumulative) on all affected resources. Four action alternatives including: (1) The Proposed Action, (2) Partial Backfill Alternative, (3) Off-Site Transfer of Ore Concentrate for Processing Alternative, and (4) Slower, Longer Project Alternative, were analyzed in addition to the No Action Alternative. The Proposed Action would consist of an open pit mine with associated pit dewatering, a 230-kilovolt transmission line, a water well field, and ancillary mining facilities, including a molybdenite concentrate roaster and packaging plant and a ferromolybdenum plant for production of ferromolybdenum alloy. The project E:\FR\FM\12OCN1.SGM 12OCN1 wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 198 / Friday, October 12, 2012 / Notices would have an 18- to 24-month construction phase, 44 years of mining and ore processing, 30 years of reclamation, and 5 years of monitoring. Approximately 400 potential jobs would be provided in the area for this timeframe with a peak employment of 615 personnel during construction activities. The project is consistent with the Shoshone-Eureka Resource Area Management Plan and does not impact any areas with special designations. The Partial Backfill Alternative would be essentially similar to the Proposed Action except that the open pit would be partially backfilled at the end of mining to eliminate the potential for a pit lake to form. The Off-Site Transfer of Ore Concentrate for Processing Alternative would also be similar to the Proposed Action except that the ore processing facilities would include only milling operations and production of the molybdenum sulfide concentrate. The Slower, Longer Project Alternative would have the same components as the Proposed Action, but operations would be conducted at approximately one-half the production rate of the Proposed Action, which would result in a project that would last approximately twice as long. The BLM analyzed this alternative in detail based on a request from Eureka County, a Cooperating Agency on the EIS. Mitigation measures have been identified for multiple resources under each alternative to minimize potential environmental impacts and to assure that the proposed project would not result in undue or unnecessary degradation of public lands. Eight additional alternatives were considered and rationale for their elimination from detailed analysis is discussed. These alternatives include (1) Complete Backfilling Alternative, (2) Different Waste Rock Disposal Facility Heights Alternative, (3) Increased Ore Processing to Match the Mining Schedule Alternative, (4) Decreased Mining to Match the Ore Processing Schedule Alternative, (5) Reduced Project Alternative, (6) Different Facility Locations within the Project Area Alternative, (7) Different Powerline Alternative, and (8) Different Potentially Acid Generating Waste Rock Management Alternative. Based on the analysis in the Final EIS, the BLM has determined that the Preferred Alternative is the Proposed Action, with accompanying mitigation measures. On March 2, 2007, a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register (72 FR 9579) inviting scoping comments on the proposed action. Public scoping meetings for the VerDate Mar<15>2010 13:59 Oct 11, 2012 Jkt 229001 project were held on March 27 and 28, 2007 in Eureka and Battle Mountain, Nevada. Six written comments were received via mail and/or email during the scoping period and three additional letters were received after the closure of the formal scoping period. All comments that were received have been incorporated in a Scoping Summary Report and were considered in the preparation of this Final EIS. On December 2, 2011 a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register (76 FR 75554) on the Draft EIS to the public for a 90-day comment period. Two public comment meetings were held on January 18 and 19, 2012 in Eureka and Crescent Valley, Nevada. More than 1,900 comments were received from 941 separate parties. Comments primarily pertained to potential impacts from the groundwater drawdown, socioeconomic impacts to the local communities, and impacts to wildlife and other natural resources. All of these comments were considered and are addressed in Appendix H of the Final EIS. Some additional analysis and clarifying text was included in the Final EIS as a result of the comments. Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10. Christopher J. Cook, Mount Lewis Field Manager. [FR Doc. 2012–25182 Filed 10–11–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [NPS–NER–CACO–10593: 2310–0081–422] Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Herring River Restoration Project, Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts National Park Service, Interior. Notice of Availability. AGENCY: ACTION: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Herring River Restoration Project in Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. The DEIS provides a systematic analysis of alternative approaches to restore the Herring River estuary to a more productive and natural condition after a century of diking and draining. DATES: The NPS will accept comments on the DEIS from the public for 60 days after the date that the Environmental Protection Agency notices the availability of the DEIS in its regular SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 62257 Friday Federal Register listing. A public meeting will be held during the review period to facilitate the submission of public comment. Once scheduled, the meeting date will be announced via the Cape Cod National Seashore Web site (https://www.nps.gov/caco/), the NPS’s Planning Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site (https:// parkplanning.nps.gov/herring_river), and a press release to area media. ADDRESSES: The DEIS for the Herring River Restoration Project will be available for public review online at the NPS’s PEPC Web site (https:// parkplanning.nps.gov/herring_river). You may submit your comments by any one of several methods. The preferred method of comment is via the internet at (https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ herring_river). You may also mail comments to Herring River Restoration Plan, Cape Cod National Seashore, 99 Marconi Site Road, Wellfleet, MA 02667. Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to Cape Cod National Seashore, 99 Marconi Site Road, Wellfleet, MA 02667. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George E. Price, Jr., Superintendent, Cape Cod National Seashore, 99 Marconi Site Road, Wellfleet, MA 02267; telephone (508) 771–2144. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Herring River Restoration Project is a joint project of the Cape Cod National Seashore, the Town of Wellfleet, and the Town of Truro, Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The Herring River is the largest estuary on outer Cape Cod, encompassing more than 1,100 acres of degraded wetlands in a complicated network of five valleys: The Herring River, Mill Creek, Pole Dike Creek, Bound Brook, and Duck Harbor. The Chequessett Neck Road dike was built in 1908 at the mouth of the Herring River to restrict natural tidal flows. Ditches were constructed to drain the normally saturated flood plain soil. The once extensive salt marshes have been transformed into stands of invasive plants, shrubby thickets, and forests. The old salt marsh peat, deprived of the tides, has decomposed and compressed, sinking the surface of the flood plain as much as three feet. The decomposition of peat has released sulfuric acid that kills fish and other aquatic life, and low summertime dissolved oxygen has also harmed aquatic life. The DEIS analyzes three action alternatives and the no action E:\FR\FM\12OCN1.SGM 12OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 198 (Friday, October 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62256-62257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25182]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVB01000 L51100000.GN0000.LVEMF12CF010 241A; NVN-082096; NVN-084632; 
NVN-091272; 12-08807; MO 4500039779; TAS: 14X5017]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Mount Hope Project, Eureka County, NE

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as 
amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Mount Lewis Field Office, 
Battle Mountain, Nevada has prepared a Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Mount Hope Project and by this notice is 
announcing its availability.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 30 days from the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Mount Hope Project Final EIS are available at 
the Battle Mountain District Office, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, 
Nevada, during regular business hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except holidays. Interested persons may also review the 
Final EIS on the Internet at: www.blm.gov/nvst/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact Gloria 
Tibbetts, Planning and Environmental Coordinator, telephone: 775-635-
4060; address: 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada 89820; email: 
gtibbetts@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: Eureka Moly, LLC (EML) has submitted a Plan 
of Operations (NVN-082096) to the BLM Mount Lewis Field Office for the 
proposed Mount Hope Molybdenum Mining Project. The proposed project 
would be located in central Nevada approximately 23 miles northwest of 
Eureka, Nevada. The project is a proposed molybdenum mine and includes 
a power transmission line, a water well field, and all associated mine-
processing facilities. The project is to be located on both public and 
private lands in Eureka County, Nevada, and is expected to have a mine 
life of 80 years. The surface disturbance associated with the proposed 
activities totals 8,092 acres of public land and 263 acres of private 
land located within the 22,886-acre project area. The project proposal 
is to extract molybdenite from public lands where EML holds mining 
claims and private land to the optimal extent possible. After 
extraction, EML would reclaim the project area in a manner that is 
environmentally responsible and in compliance with Federal mining laws, 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), Nevada Mine 
Reclamation Law, and other applicable laws and regulations. The BLM, in 
accordance with the FLPMA, is to respond to the applicant's Plan of 
Operations to conduct mining under the General Mining Law.
    The Final EIS describes and analyzes the project's site-specific 
impacts (including cumulative) on all affected resources. Four action 
alternatives including: (1) The Proposed Action, (2) Partial Backfill 
Alternative, (3) Off-Site Transfer of Ore Concentrate for Processing 
Alternative, and (4) Slower, Longer Project Alternative, were analyzed 
in addition to the No Action Alternative.
    The Proposed Action would consist of an open pit mine with 
associated pit dewatering, a 230-kilovolt transmission line, a water 
well field, and ancillary mining facilities, including a molybdenite 
concentrate roaster and packaging plant and a ferromolybdenum plant for 
production of ferromolybdenum alloy. The project

[[Page 62257]]

would have an 18- to 24-month construction phase, 44 years of mining 
and ore processing, 30 years of reclamation, and 5 years of monitoring. 
Approximately 400 potential jobs would be provided in the area for this 
timeframe with a peak employment of 615 personnel during construction 
activities. The project is consistent with the Shoshone-Eureka Resource 
Area Management Plan and does not impact any areas with special 
designations.
    The Partial Backfill Alternative would be essentially similar to 
the Proposed Action except that the open pit would be partially 
backfilled at the end of mining to eliminate the potential for a pit 
lake to form.
    The Off-Site Transfer of Ore Concentrate for Processing Alternative 
would also be similar to the Proposed Action except that the ore 
processing facilities would include only milling operations and 
production of the molybdenum sulfide concentrate.
    The Slower, Longer Project Alternative would have the same 
components as the Proposed Action, but operations would be conducted at 
approximately one-half the production rate of the Proposed Action, 
which would result in a project that would last approximately twice as 
long. The BLM analyzed this alternative in detail based on a request 
from Eureka County, a Cooperating Agency on the EIS.
    Mitigation measures have been identified for multiple resources 
under each alternative to minimize potential environmental impacts and 
to assure that the proposed project would not result in undue or 
unnecessary degradation of public lands. Eight additional alternatives 
were considered and rationale for their elimination from detailed 
analysis is discussed. These alternatives include (1) Complete 
Backfilling Alternative, (2) Different Waste Rock Disposal Facility 
Heights Alternative, (3) Increased Ore Processing to Match the Mining 
Schedule Alternative, (4) Decreased Mining to Match the Ore Processing 
Schedule Alternative, (5) Reduced Project Alternative, (6) Different 
Facility Locations within the Project Area Alternative, (7) Different 
Powerline Alternative, and (8) Different Potentially Acid Generating 
Waste Rock Management Alternative. Based on the analysis in the Final 
EIS, the BLM has determined that the Preferred Alternative is the 
Proposed Action, with accompanying mitigation measures.
    On March 2, 2007, a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS was 
published in the Federal Register (72 FR 9579) inviting scoping 
comments on the proposed action. Public scoping meetings for the 
project were held on March 27 and 28, 2007 in Eureka and Battle 
Mountain, Nevada. Six written comments were received via mail and/or 
email during the scoping period and three additional letters were 
received after the closure of the formal scoping period. All comments 
that were received have been incorporated in a Scoping Summary Report 
and were considered in the preparation of this Final EIS. On December 
2, 2011 a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS was published in the 
Federal Register (76 FR 75554) on the Draft EIS to the public for a 90-
day comment period. Two public comment meetings were held on January 18 
and 19, 2012 in Eureka and Crescent Valley, Nevada.
    More than 1,900 comments were received from 941 separate parties. 
Comments primarily pertained to potential impacts from the groundwater 
drawdown, socioeconomic impacts to the local communities, and impacts 
to wildlife and other natural resources. All of these comments were 
considered and are addressed in Appendix H of the Final EIS. Some 
additional analysis and clarifying text was included in the Final EIS 
as a result of the comments.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.

Christopher J. Cook,
Mount Lewis Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 2012-25182 Filed 10-11-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.