Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine, Caribou County, Idaho, 56491-56493 [2015-23412]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 181 / Friday, September 18, 2015 / Notices
is consistent with State and Federal
programs.
Application Comments: Interested
parties may submit comments regarding
the specific use proposed in the
application and plan of development
that would amend R&PP lease COC49757 and whether the BLM followed
proper administrative procedures in
reaching the decision to lease under the
R&PP Act.
Any comments will be reviewed by
the BLM who may sustain, vacate, or
modify this realty action. In the absence
of any adverse comments, the
classification of the land described in
this notice will become effective
November 17, 2015.
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.
Authority: 43 CFR 2741.5.
Ruth Welch,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2015–23483 Filed 9–17–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JB–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[F–14851–B2, F–14874–B2; LLAK940000–
L14100000–HY0000–P]
Alaska Native Claims Selection
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of decision approving
lands for conveyance.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that an
appealable decision will be issued by
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
approving conveyance of the surface
estate in the lands described below to
NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.,
Successor in Interest to Deering
Ipnatchiak Corporation, and Katyaak
Corporation, pursuant to the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).
The subsurface estate in these lands will
be conveyed to NANA Regional
Corporation, Inc., when the surface
estate is conveyed to NANA Regional
Corporation, Inc., as Successor in
Interest to Deering Ipnatchiak
Corporation, and Katyaak Corporation.
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SUMMARY:
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Any party claiming a property
interest in the lands affected by the
decision may appeal the decision in
accordance with the requirements of 43
CFR part 4. Please see the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for
the time limits for appealing the
decision.
DATES:
A copy of the decision may
be obtained from: Bureau of Land
Management, Alaska State Office, 222
West Seventh Avenue, #13, Anchorage,
AK 99513–7504.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The
BLM by phone at 907–271–5960 or by
email at blm_ak_akso_public_room@
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 BLM during normal
business hours. In addition, the FIRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question with the
BLM. The BLM will reply during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As
required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is
hereby given that an appealable
decision will be issued by the BLM to
NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.,
Successor in Interest to Deering
Ipnatchiak Corporation, and Katyaak
Corporation. The decision approves the
surface estate in the lands described
below for conveyance pursuant to the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43
U.S.C. 1601, et. seq.). The subsurface
estate in these lands will be conveyed
to NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.,
when the surface estate is conveyed to
NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.,
Successor in Interest to Deering
Ipnatchiak Corporation, and Katyaak
Corporation. Deering Ipnatchiak
Corporation, and Katyaak Corporation
were the original ANCSA corporations
for the villages of Deering and Kiana,
and merged with NANA Regional
Corporation, Inc. in 1976 under the
authority of Public Law 94–204.
The lands are located in the vicinity
of Deering and Kiana, Alaska and are
described as:
ADDRESSES:
Kateel River Meridian, Alaska
T. 18 N., R. 9 W.,
Sec. 21.
Containing 640 acres.
T. 6 N., R. 17 W.,
Secs. 1 to 36, inclusive.
Containing 22,923.84 acres.
T. 7 N., R. 18 W.,
Secs. 16 to 36, inclusive.
Containing 13,319.47 acres.
Aggregating 36,883.31 acres.
Notice of the decision will also be
published once a week for four
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56491
consecutive weeks in the Arctic
Sounder.
Any party claiming a property interest
in the lands affected by the decision
may appeal the decision in accordance
with the requirements of 43 CFR part 4
within the following time limits:
1. Unknown parties, parties unable to
be located after reasonable efforts have
been expended to locate, parties who
fail or refuse to sign their return receipt,
and parties who receive a copy of the
decision by regular mail which is not
certified, return receipt requested, shall
have until October 19, 2015 to file an
appeal.
2. Parties receiving service of the
decision by certified mail shall have 30
days from the date of receipt to file an
appeal.
Parties who do not file an appeal in
accordance with the requirements of 43
CFR part 4 shall be deemed to have
waived their rights. Notices of appeal
transmitted by electronic means, such as
facsimile or email, will not be accepted
as timely filed.
Ralph L. Eluska, Sr.,
Land Transfer Resolution Specialist, Division
of Lands and Cadastral.
[FR Doc. 2015–23480 Filed 9–17–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
[15XL LLIDI02000 L71220000.EO0000–
LVTFDX508400 241A 4500080287]
Notice of Availability of Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine,
Caribou County, Idaho
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior; United States Forest Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service (USFS), Caribou-Targhee
National Forest (CTNF), have prepared
a Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the proposed Rasmussen Valley
Mine, and by this Notice are
announcing the opening of the comment
period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be
considered, the Agencies must receive
SUMMARY:
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56492
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 181 / Friday, September 18, 2015 / Notices
written comments on the Rasmussen
Valley Mine Draft EIS within 45 days
following the date the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes their
Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register. The BLM will announce any
future public meetings and any other
public involvement activities at least 15
days in advance through public notices,
media news releases, or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• Email: blm_id_rasmussenvalleyeis@
blm.gov.
• Fax: 303–471–3472.
• Mail: Rasmussen Valley Mine EIS,
ARCADIS U.S., Inc., 630 Plaza Drive,
Suite 100, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129.
Please reference ‘‘Rasmussen Valley
Mine EIS’’ on all correspondence. CD–
ROM and print copies of the Rasmussen
Valley Mine Draft EIS are available in
the BLM Pocatello Field Office at the
following address: 4350 Cliffs Drive,
Pocatello, ID 83204. In addition, an
electronic copy of the Draft EIS is
available at either of the Web addresses
listed below:
• BLM Land Use Planning and NEPA
Register: https://on.doi.gov/1GpGxyW.
• Caribou-Targhee National Forest
Current and Recent Projects: https://
www.fs.usda.gov/projects/ctnf/
landmanagement/projects.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William (Bill) Volk, Bureau of Land
Management, Pocatello Field Office,
telephone 208–236–7503; address at
4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, ID 83204;
email at wvolk@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 for the above individual.
You will receive a reply during normal
business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Nu-West
Industries, Inc., doing business as
Agrium Conda Phosphate Operations
(Agrium), has submitted a mine plan for
the Rasmussen Valley Mine to exercise
their existing contractual rights to
recover phosphate ore reserves
contained within Federal Phosphate
Lease I–05975 (the Lease). They have
also filed an application to modify this
lease by increasing its size by 170 acres.
The Proposed Action would include
440.4 acres of new disturbance and
develop a new open pit phosphate
mining operation on the Lease that
would include mining the pit in panels,
backfilling depleted panels with
overburden, storing overburden in piles
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external to the pit, construction of a
haul road, development of a water
management plan, and construction of
other ancillary facilities. Ore would be
processed off site at Agrium’s Conda
Phosphate Operations (CPO) Fertilizer
Manufacturing Plant northeast of Soda
Springs. The mine would be located in
Caribou County approximately 18 miles
northeast of Soda Springs, Idaho, on the
southwestern flank of Rasmussen Ridge
and adjacent to portions of Rasmussen
Valley near the headwaters of the
Blackfoot River.
The proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine
would be developed on BLM-managed
lands within an existing Federal
phosphate lease; on National Forest
System lands within and outside of an
existing Federal phosphate lease with
surface administered by the Soda
Springs Ranger District, on the Blackfoot
River Wildlife Management Area within
and outside of the Federal phosphate
lease with the surface administered by
the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
(IDFG), and on split estate, private land
with minerals administered by the BLM.
The Lease grants the lessee, Agrium in
this case, exclusive rights to mine and
otherwise dispose of the federallyowned phosphate deposit. Under the
proposed action a lease modification
would increase the size of the lease by
170 acres. A portion of the proposed
action would also be outside of the
Federal phosphate lease on State land
administered by the Idaho Department
of Lands (IDL).
As directed by the Mineral Leasing
Act of 1920 and in accordance with
NEPA, the BLM will evaluate and
respond to the mine plan and issue
decisions related to the development of
the phosphate lease, consider the no
action alternative, and decide whether
to approve the proposed mine plan. The
USFS will make recommendations to
the BLM concerning surface
management and mitigation on leased
lands within the CTNF, and will make
separate decisions on special use
authorizations for off-lease activities
within the CTNF. The BLM, as the
Federal lease administrator, is the lead
agency for the Draft EIS. The USFS is
the joint-lead agency and the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality
and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are
cooperating agencies. The IDL, IDFG,
Idaho Department of Water Resources,
and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have
also participated in the preparation of
the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS provides the
analysis upon which the BLM and other
involved agencies can base decisions
regarding the project.
Under the Proposed Action,
phosphate ore would be mined and
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hauled to Agrium’s existing Wooley
Valley Tipple, then by existing rail to
Agrium’s CPO Fertilizer Plant
approximately 12 miles to the
southwest. The Proposed Action would
consist of using open pit mining
methods to mine a pit in phases
(panels), backfill and reclaim pits;
construct permanent and temporary
external overburden and ore piles,
growth media stockpiles, haul roads;
realign portions of the county roads;
construct power lines, staging and fuel
storage area, water supply wells, and
runoff sediment control structures; leave
high wall exposures in portions of the
backfilled pit; and extend the pit and
associated backfill beyond the Lease
boundary in several locations requiring
Lease modification.
A Notice of Intent to prepare this EIS
was published in the Federal Register
(76 FR 11259) on March 1, 2011,
initiating a public scoping period for the
Proposed Action. During scoping, issues
and concerns that were expressed
included impacts to wetlands; impacts
to surface water and groundwater
potentially resulting from releases of
selenium and other constituents of
potential concern (COPC) from waste
rock; physical stability of proposed
external overburden piles; management
of pit water; impacts to wildlife and
associated wildlife habitat, especially on
the Blackfoot River Wildlife
Management Area; and maximum
phosphate resource recovery.
To address these issues, several
alternatives were considered. Two of
these alternatives, Alternative One—the
Rasmussen Collaborative Alternative
and the No Action Alternative, were
carried forward for full analysis in the
Draft EIS. Alternative One is the agency
preferred alternative and would include
371.7 acres of new disturbance.
Elements included in Alternative One
are: Relocating the haul road to avoid
wetlands; reducing the potential for
selenium and other COPCs to impact
surface water and groundwater by
placing overburden originally scheduled
for external overburden piles in an
existing open pit at P4’s nearby South
Rasmussen Mine, resulting in the
elimination of three external overburden
piles and the associated concern for
stability of the natural foundation under
these piles and impacts to water
resources by COPCs; limiting pit depth
to reduce the concern for the
management of pit water; shaping pit
backfill and external overburden piles to
reduce the risk of ponded water on or
in the pit, and designing a cover to place
over the backfill and overburden to
reduce the risk of deep percolation of
water; maximizing phosphate resource
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 181 / Friday, September 18, 2015 / Notices
recovery by extending the pit north;
reducing the size of the BLM lease
modification contained in the Proposed
Action to 100 acres while still
accommodating extension of the mine
pit, external overburden piles,
temporary growth media stockpiles, and
ancillary mine features beyond the
current Lease boundaries. If the mine is
extended, USFS Special Use
Authorizations and State of Idaho
Temporary Use Authorizations will also
be needed.
Under the No Action Alternative, the
Rasmussen Valley Mine Plan would not
be approved for mining, and no
associated development would occur on
the existing lease. Similarly, associated
requests such as the lease modification
application would not be approved. The
No Action Alternative would not
provide ore for the CPO and would
leave the mineral resource unmined.
The resources would not be developed
under the 2011 Proposed Action.
However, the No Action Alternative
does not preclude application and
approval of future Mine and
Reclamation Plans for the site because
of pre-existing mining rights granted in
the existing Lease.
To facilitate understanding and
comments on the Draft EIS, public
meetings are planned to be held in Soda
Springs and Pocatello, Idaho. Meetings
will be open-house style, with displays
explaining the project and a forum for
commenting on the draft EIS. The BLM
will announce dates, times, and
locations of the public scoping meetings
in mailings and news releases.
Written and electronic comments
regarding the Draft EIS should be
submitted within 45 days of the date of
publication of the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. To
assist the BLM and the USFS in
identifying issues and concerns related
to this project, comments should be as
specific as possible. The portion of the
proposed project related to special use
authorizations for off-lease activities is
subject to the USFS’s objection process
pursuant to 36 CFR 218 Subparts A and
B. Only those who provide comment
concerning the off-lease activities
during this comment period or who
have previously submitted specific
written comments on the off-lease
activities, either during scoping or other
designated opportunity for public
comment, will be eligible as objectors to
the off-lease activities (36 CFR 218.5).
BLM appeal procedures found in 43
CFR 4 apply to the portion of the project
related to activities proposed on the
Federal mineral lease(s).
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18:47 Sep 17, 2015
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Please note that public comments and
information submitted including names,
street addresses, and email addresses of
respondents will be available for public
review and disclosure at the above BLM
address during regular business hours (8
a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday,
except holidays.
Before including your 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.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ; 40 CFR
parts 1500–1508; 43 CFR part 46; 43 U.S.C.
1701; 43 CFR part 3510; and 43 CFR part
3590.
Jeremy Casterson,
Acting District Manager, Idaho Falls District,
Bureau of Land Management.
Robert Mickelsen,
Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National
Forest.
[FR Doc. 2015–23412 Filed 9–17–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[AA–10731, AA–10785, AA–10786, AA–
10788, AA–11135, AA–11146, AA–12448;
LLAK–944000–L14100000–HY0000–P]
Alaska Native Claims Selection
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Decision Approving
Lands for Conveyance.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that an
appealable decision will be issued by
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
approving conveyance of the surface
and subsurface estates in the lands
described below to Chugach Alaska
Corporation (formerly known as
Chugach Natives, Inc.), pursuant to the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
DATES: Any party claiming a property
interest in the lands affected by the
decision may appeal the decision in
accordance with the requirements of 43
CFR part 4. Please see the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for
the time limits for appealing the
decision.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the decision may
be obtained from: Bureau of Land
Management, Alaska State Office, 222
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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56493
West Seventh Avenue, #13, Anchorage,
AK 99513–7504.
The
BLM by phone at 907–271–5960 or by
email at blm_ak_akso_public_room@
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 BLM during normal
business hours. In addition, the FIRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
to leave a message or question with the
BLM. The BLM will reply during
normal business hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
As
required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is
hereby given that an appealable
decision will be issued by the BLM to
Chugach Alaska Corporation (formerly
known as Chugach Natives, Inc.). The
decision approves conveyance of the
surface and subsurface estates in certain
lands pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601,
et seq). The lands are located in the
Chugach National Forest, and contain/
aggregate 80.78 acres. Notice of the
decision will also be published once a
week for four consecutive weeks in the
Alaska Dispatch News.
Any party claiming a property interest
in the lands affected by the decision
may appeal the decision in accordance
with the requirements of 43 CFR part 4
within the following time limits:
1. Unknown parties, parties unable to
be located after reasonable efforts have
been expended to locate, parties who
fail or refuse to sign their return receipt,
and parties who receive a copy of the
decision by regular mail which is not
certified, return receipt requested, shall
have until October 19, 2015 to file an
appeal.
2. Parties receiving service of the
decision by certified mail shall have 30
days from the date of receipt to file an
appeal.
Parties who do not file an appeal in
accordance with the requirements of 43
CFR part 4 shall be deemed to have
waived their rights. Notices of appeal
transmitted by electronic means, such as
facsimile or email, will not be accepted
as timely filed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Loch Anderson,
Land Law Examiner, Adjudication Section.
[FR Doc. 2015–23481 Filed 9–17–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 181 (Friday, September 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56491-56493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23412]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
[15XL LLIDI02000 L71220000.EO0000-LVTFDX508400 241A 4500080287]
Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for the Proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine, Caribou County, Idaho
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior; United States Forest
Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USFS), Caribou-Targhee
National Forest (CTNF), have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine, and by this
Notice are announcing the opening of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the Agencies must receive
[[Page 56492]]
written comments on the Rasmussen Valley Mine Draft EIS within 45 days
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes their
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce
any future public meetings and any other public involvement activities
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media news
releases, or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: blm_id_rasmussenvalleyeis@blm.gov.
Fax: 303-471-3472.
Mail: Rasmussen Valley Mine EIS, ARCADIS U.S., Inc., 630
Plaza Drive, Suite 100, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129.
Please reference ``Rasmussen Valley Mine EIS'' on all
correspondence. CD-ROM and print copies of the Rasmussen Valley Mine
Draft EIS are available in the BLM Pocatello Field Office at the
following address: 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, ID 83204. In addition,
an electronic copy of the Draft EIS is available at either of the Web
addresses listed below:
BLM Land Use Planning and NEPA Register: https://on.doi.gov/1GpGxyW.
Caribou-Targhee National Forest Current and Recent
Projects: https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/ctnf/landmanagement/projects.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William (Bill) Volk, Bureau of Land
Management, Pocatello Field Office, telephone 208-236-7503; address at
4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, ID 83204; email at wvolk@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
for the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal
business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Nu-West Industries, Inc., doing business as
Agrium Conda Phosphate Operations (Agrium), has submitted a mine plan
for the Rasmussen Valley Mine to exercise their existing contractual
rights to recover phosphate ore reserves contained within Federal
Phosphate Lease I-05975 (the Lease). They have also filed an
application to modify this lease by increasing its size by 170 acres.
The Proposed Action would include 440.4 acres of new disturbance and
develop a new open pit phosphate mining operation on the Lease that
would include mining the pit in panels, backfilling depleted panels
with overburden, storing overburden in piles external to the pit,
construction of a haul road, development of a water management plan,
and construction of other ancillary facilities. Ore would be processed
off site at Agrium's Conda Phosphate Operations (CPO) Fertilizer
Manufacturing Plant northeast of Soda Springs. The mine would be
located in Caribou County approximately 18 miles northeast of Soda
Springs, Idaho, on the southwestern flank of Rasmussen Ridge and
adjacent to portions of Rasmussen Valley near the headwaters of the
Blackfoot River.
The proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine would be developed on BLM-
managed lands within an existing Federal phosphate lease; on National
Forest System lands within and outside of an existing Federal phosphate
lease with surface administered by the Soda Springs Ranger District, on
the Blackfoot River Wildlife Management Area within and outside of the
Federal phosphate lease with the surface administered by the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), and on split estate, private land
with minerals administered by the BLM. The Lease grants the lessee,
Agrium in this case, exclusive rights to mine and otherwise dispose of
the federally-owned phosphate deposit. Under the proposed action a
lease modification would increase the size of the lease by 170 acres. A
portion of the proposed action would also be outside of the Federal
phosphate lease on State land administered by the Idaho Department of
Lands (IDL).
As directed by the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 and in accordance
with NEPA, the BLM will evaluate and respond to the mine plan and issue
decisions related to the development of the phosphate lease, consider
the no action alternative, and decide whether to approve the proposed
mine plan. The USFS will make recommendations to the BLM concerning
surface management and mitigation on leased lands within the CTNF, and
will make separate decisions on special use authorizations for off-
lease activities within the CTNF. The BLM, as the Federal lease
administrator, is the lead agency for the Draft EIS. The USFS is the
joint-lead agency and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are cooperating agencies. The IDL, IDFG,
Idaho Department of Water Resources, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
have also participated in the preparation of the Draft EIS. The Draft
EIS provides the analysis upon which the BLM and other involved
agencies can base decisions regarding the project.
Under the Proposed Action, phosphate ore would be mined and hauled
to Agrium's existing Wooley Valley Tipple, then by existing rail to
Agrium's CPO Fertilizer Plant approximately 12 miles to the southwest.
The Proposed Action would consist of using open pit mining methods to
mine a pit in phases (panels), backfill and reclaim pits; construct
permanent and temporary external overburden and ore piles, growth media
stockpiles, haul roads; realign portions of the county roads; construct
power lines, staging and fuel storage area, water supply wells, and
runoff sediment control structures; leave high wall exposures in
portions of the backfilled pit; and extend the pit and associated
backfill beyond the Lease boundary in several locations requiring Lease
modification.
A Notice of Intent to prepare this EIS was published in the Federal
Register (76 FR 11259) on March 1, 2011, initiating a public scoping
period for the Proposed Action. During scoping, issues and concerns
that were expressed included impacts to wetlands; impacts to surface
water and groundwater potentially resulting from releases of selenium
and other constituents of potential concern (COPC) from waste rock;
physical stability of proposed external overburden piles; management of
pit water; impacts to wildlife and associated wildlife habitat,
especially on the Blackfoot River Wildlife Management Area; and maximum
phosphate resource recovery.
To address these issues, several alternatives were considered. Two
of these alternatives, Alternative One--the Rasmussen Collaborative
Alternative and the No Action Alternative, were carried forward for
full analysis in the Draft EIS. Alternative One is the agency preferred
alternative and would include 371.7 acres of new disturbance. Elements
included in Alternative One are: Relocating the haul road to avoid
wetlands; reducing the potential for selenium and other COPCs to impact
surface water and groundwater by placing overburden originally
scheduled for external overburden piles in an existing open pit at P4's
nearby South Rasmussen Mine, resulting in the elimination of three
external overburden piles and the associated concern for stability of
the natural foundation under these piles and impacts to water resources
by COPCs; limiting pit depth to reduce the concern for the management
of pit water; shaping pit backfill and external overburden piles to
reduce the risk of ponded water on or in the pit, and designing a cover
to place over the backfill and overburden to reduce the risk of deep
percolation of water; maximizing phosphate resource
[[Page 56493]]
recovery by extending the pit north; reducing the size of the BLM lease
modification contained in the Proposed Action to 100 acres while still
accommodating extension of the mine pit, external overburden piles,
temporary growth media stockpiles, and ancillary mine features beyond
the current Lease boundaries. If the mine is extended, USFS Special Use
Authorizations and State of Idaho Temporary Use Authorizations will
also be needed.
Under the No Action Alternative, the Rasmussen Valley Mine Plan
would not be approved for mining, and no associated development would
occur on the existing lease. Similarly, associated requests such as the
lease modification application would not be approved. The No Action
Alternative would not provide ore for the CPO and would leave the
mineral resource unmined. The resources would not be developed under
the 2011 Proposed Action. However, the No Action Alternative does not
preclude application and approval of future Mine and Reclamation Plans
for the site because of pre-existing mining rights granted in the
existing Lease.
To facilitate understanding and comments on the Draft EIS, public
meetings are planned to be held in Soda Springs and Pocatello, Idaho.
Meetings will be open-house style, with displays explaining the project
and a forum for commenting on the draft EIS. The BLM will announce
dates, times, and locations of the public scoping meetings in mailings
and news releases.
Written and electronic comments regarding the Draft EIS should be
submitted within 45 days of the date of publication of the
Environmental Protection Agency's Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register. To assist the BLM and the USFS in identifying issues and
concerns related to this project, comments should be as specific as
possible. The portion of the proposed project related to special use
authorizations for off-lease activities is subject to the USFS's
objection process pursuant to 36 CFR 218 Subparts A and B. Only those
who provide comment concerning the off-lease activities during this
comment period or who have previously submitted specific written
comments on the off-lease activities, either during scoping or other
designated opportunity for public comment, will be eligible as
objectors to the off-lease activities (36 CFR 218.5). BLM appeal
procedures found in 43 CFR 4 apply to the portion of the project
related to activities proposed on the Federal mineral lease(s).
Please note that public comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of respondents
will be available for public review and disclosure at the above BLM
address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday
through Friday, except holidays.
Before including your 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.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ; 40 CFR parts 1500-1508; 43
CFR part 46; 43 U.S.C. 1701; 43 CFR part 3510; and 43 CFR part 3590.
Jeremy Casterson,
Acting District Manager, Idaho Falls District, Bureau of Land
Management.
Robert Mickelsen,
Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2015-23412 Filed 9-17-15; 8:45 am]
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