Second Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Gold Rock Mine Project, White Pine County, NV, 17565-17566 [2014-07005]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 60 (Friday, March 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17565-17566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07005]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVL01000. L51100000.GN0000. LVEMF1302520; N91957; MO 
4500053094; TAS: 13X5017]


Second Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Gold Rock Mine Project, White Pine County, 
NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The BLM's email account that was set up to receive scoping 
comments on the Gold Rock Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) during the initial scoping period (September 5, 2013, through 
October 7, 2013) was deleted during the recent Federal Government 
shutdown. Therefore, this second notice for the Gold Rock Mine Project 
EIS is being issued to extend the scoping period, invite members of the 
public to submit comments, and request that anyone who submitted 
comments by email during the initial 30-day scoping period resubmit 
their comments.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 
as amended, (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
(FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Egan 
Field Office, Ely, Nevada, intends to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and by this notice is announcing a 30-day extension of 
the public input period to solicit public comments and identify issues. 
The proposed project is located in White Pine County, about 50 miles 
west of Ely, in the Upper Railroad Valley.

DATES: This notice extends the public input period for the EIS. 
Comments may be submitted until April 28, 2014. In order to be included 
in the Draft EIS, all comments must be received prior to the close of 
this public comment period. No scoping meetings will be held during 
this 30-day extension of the public input period. We will provide 
additional opportunities for public participation upon publication of 
the Draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Gold Rock Mine 
Project by any of the following methods:
     The BLM's ePlanning Web site: https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/nepa/nepa_register.do.
     Fax: 775-289-1910.
     Mail: BLM Ely District, Egan Field Office, HC 33 Box 
33500, Ely, NV 89301-9408.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Egan 
Field Office, 702 N. Industrial Way, Ely, Nevada.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Netcher, Project Manager, 
telephone: 775-289-1872; email: dnetcher@blm.gov. Contact Mr. Netcher 
if you wish to have your name added to our mailing list. 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 Mr. 
Netcher. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave 
a message or question. You will receive a reply during normal business 
hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The initial scoping period for the Gold Rock 
Mine Project EIS was announced in the

[[Page 17566]]

Federal Register on September 5, 2013 (78 FR 54674). Scoping meetings 
were announced at least 15 days in advance through local media, 
newspapers, the BLM Web site at https://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/ely_field_office.html, and the BLM's online ePlanning system, and were 
held on September 24, 25, and 26 in 2013, in Ely, Eureka, and Reno, 
Nevada, respectively.
    On November 7, 2013, the BLM was informed that the email account 
set up to receive scoping comments on the Gold Rock Mine Project EIS, 
along with all of its contents, had been deleted and was not 
recoverable. On January 6, 2014, the BLM and the project proponent, 
Midway Gold US Inc. (Midway), decided to issue a second Notice of 
Intent (NOI) to extend the scoping period, invite the public to submit 
comments, and request that anyone who submitted scoping comments by 
email during the initial 30-day scoping period (September 5, 2013, 
through October 7, 2013) resubmit their comments by mail, by fax, or 
through the ePlanning system during this 30-day extension of the public 
input period.
    No changes have been made to the proposed action. No scoping 
meetings will be held during this 30-day extension of the public input 
period, as these meetings were not affected by the technical 
difficulties with the email account.
    Midway proposes to construct and operate an open-pit gold mining 
operation, which would include an open pit; a heap leach pad and 
associated ponds, process facility, and refinery; a mill; a carbon-in-
leach (CIL) plant; waste rock dumps; a tailings storage facility; and 
ancillary facilities. The mine would be located on the eastern side of 
the Pancake Mountain Range, about 30 miles southeast of Eureka, 50 
miles west of Ely and 15 miles south of U.S. Route 50. Electrical power 
would be obtained from Mt. Wheeler Power. For the Gold Rock Project, a 
69-kV transmission line would be extended from the Pan Mine 
approximately 6 miles across the valley to tie into the west side of 
the Gold Rock Project electric system. A county road that currently 
passes through the project area would be relocated onto existing county 
and BLM roads. Currently, Midway is authorized to disturb up to 267 
acres for exploration purposes. The proposed operations and associated 
disturbance would increase disturbance to 3,749 acres of public land 
managed by the BLM. The projected mining period is 10 years. Associated 
construction, closure, reclamation, and post-closure monitoring periods 
would extend the Project life for an estimated 38 years, to 
approximately 48 years. Midway is currently conducting exploration 
activities in this area which were analyzed in two environmental 
assessments (EAs): the Midway Gold Rock Project Final Environmental 
Assessment (June 2012), and the Environmental Assessment for the Midway 
Gold Rock Project, Exploration Amendment (October 2012).
    A range of alternatives will be developed, including the no-action 
alternative, to address the issues identified during scoping. 
Mitigation measures will be considered to minimize environmental 
impacts and to assure the proposed action does not result in 
unnecessary or undue degradation of public lands.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives, and guide the process for developing the EIS. 
At present, the BLM has identified the following preliminary issues:
    (a) Potential effects to wild horses, which would include loss of 
habitat from surface disturbance and which could include mortality from 
collision with project-related vehicles on existing roads;
    (b) Potential effects to greater sage-grouse, which would include 
loss of habitat from surface disturbance and which could include 
impacts to the species created by construction and operation in 
proximity to active sage-grouse leks;
    (c) Potential effects to mule deer, which would include loss of 
habitat from surface disturbance habitat and which could include 
mortality from collision with project-related vehicles on existing 
access roads;
    (d) Potential effects to employment and housing availability;
    (e) Potential effects to archaeological resources in the area, 
which could include Carbonari (historical charcoal production) sites 
and the Lincoln Highway route;
    (f) Potential effects to air quality created by the initiation of 
mining at the Gold Rock Mine Project;
    (g) Potential effects to viewshed in and around areas of Visual 
Resources Management Classes III and IV from project construction and 
operation, including effects to night sky from nighttime operations; 
and
    (h) Potential effects to recreational uses and users, which would 
include loss of access and loss of hunting areas.
    The BLM will use the NEPA commenting process to help fulfill the 
public involvement requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) as provided for in 36 CFR 
800.2(d)(3). Native American tribal consultations will be conducted in 
accordance with policy, and tribal concerns, including impacts on 
Indian trust assets, will be given due consideration. The BLM is in the 
process of determining the cooperating agencies. Federal, State, and 
local agencies, along with other stakeholders that may be interested or 
affected by the BLM's decision on this project are invited to 
participate in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be 
requested by the BLM to participate as a cooperating agency.
    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.

Jill A. Moore,
Field Manager, Egan Field Office.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501 and 43 CFR 3809.
[FR Doc. 2014-07005 Filed 3-27-14; 8:45 am]
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