Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Rasmussen Valley Phosphate Mine, Caribou County, Idaho, 62531-62533 [2016-21772]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2016 / Notices
management, resource rehabilitation
following catastrophic fires, and other
disturbances. The BLM served as the
lead Federal agency for the preparation
of the Final EIS. Alternative B in the
Final EIS identifies three herbicides
selected for use: Aminopyralid,
fluroxypyr, and rimsulfuron. The
Record of Decision identifies best
management practices, standard
operating procedures, and mitigation
measures for all vegetation treatment
projects involving the use of
aminopyralid, fluroxypyr, and
rimsulfuron.
The Final EIS addresses human health
and ecological risk for the use of
chemical herbicides on public lands and
provides a cumulative impact analysis
of the use of chemical herbicides in
conjunction with other treatment
methods.
The decision area includes surface
estate public lands administered by 11
BLM State offices: Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana
(North Dakota/South Dakota), New
Mexico (Oklahoma/Texas/Nebraska),
Nevada, Oregon (Washington), Utah,
and Wyoming.
The BLM issued a Notice of
Availability of the Draft Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement Using
Aminopyralid, Fluroxypyr, and
Rimsulfuron (Draft EIS) on June 19,
2015 (80 FR 35394).
The BLM responded to 98 individual
public comments during the Draft EIS
public review period.
Comment responses and subsequent
changes to the impact analysis are
documented in the Final EIS. In
addition, the FEIS contains Subsistence
analysis required under Section 801(a)
of the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (ANILCA).
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1606.10.
Kit Muller,
Acting Assistant Director, Resources and
Planning, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2016–21446 Filed 9–8–16; 8:45 am]
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
BILLING CODE 4310–84–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:11 Sep 08, 2016
Jkt 238001
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[15XL LLIDI02000 L71220000.EO0000–
LVTFDX508400 241A 4500080287]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Notice of Availability of Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Rasmussen Valley
Phosphate Mine, Caribou County,
Idaho
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior, United States Forest Service,
Agriculture.
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 Final Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the proposed Rasmussen Valley
Phosphate Mine, and by this Notice are
announcing the opening of the review
and availability of the document. A
Draft USFS Record of Decision (ROD) is
also available for review and objection
as described in the Summary section.
DATES: The BLM and USFS will issue
coordinated RODs for this project. The
Final EIS is now available for public
review, as is the Draft USFS ROD. The
BLM ROD will be released and
announced separately, no sooner than
the end of the Final EIS availability
period on October 11, 2016. A legal
notice published in the newspaper of
record of the Final USFS ROD will be
released no sooner than five business
days following the end of the 45 day
objection period after the Draft USFS
ROD has been announced and made
available.
SUMMARY:
CD–ROM and print copies
of the Rasmussen Valley Mine Final EIS
and the Draft USFS ROD 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 Final EIS is
available online at BLM Planning and
NEPA Register: https://on.doi.gov/
1GpGxyW and an electronic copy of the
Final EIS and the Draft USFS ROD are
available online at CTNF 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,
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00062
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
62531
4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, ID 83204,
telephone 208–236–7503, fax 208–478–
6376. 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. 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: Nu-West
Industries, Inc., doing business as
Agrium Conda Phosphate Operations
(Agrium), has submitted a mine and
reclamation plan for the Rasmussen
Valley Mine to exercise their contractual
rights to recover phosphate ore reserves
contained within Federal Phosphate
Lease I–05975 (the Lease). 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 Rasmussen Valley near
the headwaters of the Blackfoot River.
Agrium proposes to develop the
Rasmussen Valley Mine within the
Lease on a combination of BLMmanaged lands managed by the
Pocatello Field Office, National Forest
System (NFS) lands administered by the
Soda Springs Ranger District, the
Blackfoot River Wildlife Management
Area (WMA) administered by the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game (IDFG),
and on split estate lands (private land
with Federal minerals). The Lease grants
the lessee, Agrium, exclusive rights to
mine and otherwise dispose of the
federally-owned phosphate deposit. The
proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine
would also include some development
outside the Lease on private lands, NFS
lands, WMA lands, and on State lands
administered by the Idaho Department
of Lands (IDL). Agrium has also
requested lease modifications in three
locations to accommodate recovering
phosphate outside the existing Lease
area, or to accommodate disposal of
mine waste on NFS lands.
The BLM, as the Federal Lease
administrator, is the lead agency for the
Final EIS. The USFS is the joint-lead
agency, and the Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality and the 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 Final EIS. The Final EIS provides
the analysis upon which the BLM,
USFS, and other involved agencies will
base their decisions regarding the
proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine.
E:\FR\FM\09SEN1.SGM
09SEN1
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
62532
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2016 / Notices
In accordance with the Mineral
Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and
NEPA, the BLM will evaluate the
information in the Final EIS and
respond to Agrium’s mine and
reclamation plan, review the impacts of
the alternatives to the Proposed Action,
including the No Action Alternative,
and will issue decisions related to the
development of the Lease and the
proposed lease modifications. The USFS
will make recommendations to the BLM
concerning surface management and
mitigation on leased lands within the
CTNF and will make separate but
coordinated decisions on special use
authorizations for off-lease activities
within the CTNF.
Approval of the Proposed Action
would constitute both agencies’
approval of Agrium’s Juanuary 2011
mine and reclamation plan and
proposed lease modifications. Under the
Proposed Action, Agrium would disturb
approximately 468 acres using open pit
mining methods in phases (panels),
allowing concurrent backfilling and
reclamation of previously mined panels;
construct permanent and temporary
external overburden and ore piles,
topsoil and growth media stockpiles;
construct haul roads and realign
portions of nearby county roads; and
construct power lines, a staging and fuel
storage area, water supply wells, and
runoff sediment control structures. In
addition, Agrium would shape pit
backfill and external overburden piles to
reduce the risk of ponded water on or
in the pit; place a cover system over the
backfill and select overburden to reduce
the risk of deep percolation of water;
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
enlargement of the Lease by lease
modification. Phosphate ore would be
hauled to Agrium’s existing Wooley
Valley Tipple, where it would be placed
on rail cars and shipped by existing rail
to Agrium’s Conda Phosphate Operation
(CPO) Fertilizer Plant approximately 12
miles to the southwest.
A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare
this EIS was published in the Federal
Register on March 1, 2011, which
initiated a 30-day public scoping period
for the Proposed Action. During public
and internal scoping, issues and
concerns were expressed that included
impacts to wetlands; impacts to surface
water and groundwater potentially
resulting from releases of selenium and
other contaminants of potential concern
(COPCs) from waste rock; physical
stability of proposed external
overburden piles; management of pit
water; impacts to wildlife and
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:11 Sep 08, 2016
Jkt 238001
associated wildlife habitat, especially on
the WMA; and maximizing phosphate
resource recovery.
To address these issues and concerns,
the agencies considered several
alternatives to the Proposed Action.
From these alternatives, Agrium
proposed a combined set of alternatives
to form Alternative One, called the
Rasmussen Collaborative Alternative
(RCA). In the Final EIS, the RCA is the
agencies’ preferred alternative and
would disturb approximately 548 acres.
Under the RCA, wetlands issues would
be addressed by relocating the haul
road, pit ramps and county road, and
positioning borrow areas to avoid all
wetlands. The potential for selenium
and other COPCs to impact shallow
groundwater and connected surface
water would be avoided by eliminating
the three external overburden piles from
the mine plan. To accomplish this,
overburden would be placed as backfill
in the existing open pit at the Monsanto
Company’s wholly owned subsidiary,
P4 Production, LLC’s (P4), nearby South
Rasmussen Mine. Eliminating the three
external overburden piles would also
alleviate concerns for the stability of
these piles. Water management needs
would be greatly reduced by not
excavating the pit below the water table.
Impacts to regional groundwater from
COPCs would be reduced by proposing
a more protective earthen cover over the
backfill and overburden than the cover
system proposed in the Proposed
Action. The RCA cover system would
use select alluvium and soil, available
from a nearby borrow area, to reduce the
amount of precipitation that percolates
through the backfill and overburden.
The RCA would also extend the pit
toward the north to maximize
phosphate resource recovery.
Under the RCA, the proposed lease
modifications would be revised to
accommodate backfill and external
overburden piles on NFS land outside of
the current Lease boundaries. Off-lease
borrow areas on NFS lands would
require a mineral materials permit from
the USFS. Other off-lease activities on
NFS land would require USFS Special
Use Authorizations. RCA activities on
State land, including pit backfill and
haul roads on P4’s South Rasmussen
Mine, would require a modification to
the currently approved mine plan for
P4’s State lease. A modification to the
currently approved mine plan for P4’s
South Rasmussen Mine Federal fringe
lease (IDI–023868) would also be
required for RCA activities that would
backfill a portion of that mine pit.
The RCA proposes various mitigation
measures to avoid, minimize and/or
compensate for mine impacts to all
PO 00000
Frm 00063
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
resources. The RCA would avoid
impacts that may be associated with the
Proposed Action where possible. For
example, under the RCA, surface water
impacts from mine waste leachates
would be avoided by eliminating certain
waste piles. Also, the main haul road
would be relocated to totally avoid
wetlands. The RCA would also
minimize other impacts to the extent
practicable such as applying a more
protective cover on mine waste to
reduce the amount of leachate reaching
groundwater to a level allowable by the
Idaho Department of Environmental
Quality. Some impacts such as
conversion of visual resources from
upland range or aspen to bare pit wall
cannot be fully mitigated, but would be
minimized to the extent practicable by
backfilling mine pits with all of the
overburden generated by mining.
Impacts to wildlife habitat would be
minimized on-site by using more robust
reclamation including a reclamation
seed mix with native species to provide
more vegetation diversity for wildlife
forage.
The residual impacts to wildlife
habitat for the proposed Rasmussen
Valley Mine were quantified using a
Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA)
methodology. The HEA quantifies the
baseline wildlife habitat and predicts
the permanent and interim losses and
gains of wildlife habitat that would
result from the mining activity and
reclamation. Agrium has proposed to
use the quantitative results of the HEA
in the determination of a monetary fee
that they will contribute to a third party,
such as a State natural resource
management agency, foundation, or
other appropriate organization, to
implement wildlife habitat mitigation
projects in the regional watershed, to
achieve, at a minimum, no net loss to
the services, functions, and values of the
original habitat.
A Draft EIS was prepared and a notice
of availability published in the Federal
Register on September 18, 2015,
initiating a 45-day public comment
period. The Draft EIS considered several
alternative components. Besides the
Proposed Action, the RCA and the No
Action Alternative were carried forward
for full analysis in the Final EIS.
Agencies, organizations, and interested
parties provided comments on the Draft
EIS via mail, email, and public
meetings.
In developing responses to these
comments, revisions were made to the
RCA in the Final EIS to minimize
impacts to non-Federal lands and
groundwater impacts at P4’s South
Rasmussen Mine. These revisions
include the addition of off-lease borrow
E:\FR\FM\09SEN1.SGM
09SEN1
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2016 / Notices
areas on NFS lands to potentially
minimize the borrow area on the WMA,
and using select borrow material to
improve the earthen cover on the RCA
pit backfill at the South Rasmussen
Mine.
Under the No Action Alternative, the
Rasmussen Valley Mine would not be
approved for mining, and no associated
development would occur on the
existing Lease at this time. Similarly,
associated requests such as the lease
modification applications would not be
approved. The No Action Alternative
would not provide ore for the CPO and
would leave the mineral resource
unmined. 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.
The USFS’s decision concerning that
portion of the proposed project related
to Special Use Authorizations for offlease activities is subject to the objection
process pursuant to 36 CFR 218
Subparts A and B. Instructions for filing
objections will be provided in the legal
notice published in the newspaper of
record for the Draft USFS ROD.
Objections will be accepted only from
those who have previously submitted
specific written comments regarding the
proposed project, either during scoping
or other designated opportunities for
public comment, in accordance with 36
CFR 218.5(a). Issues raised in objections
must be based on previously submitted,
timely, and specific written comments
regarding the proposed project, unless
based on new information arising after
designated opportunities.
The BLM will not issue a draft ROD
for the project but will release a ROD in
the future, based on the Final EIS and
any considerations the public may
communicate regarding this proposal
during the ‘‘availability period’’
previously described. The BLM’s
decision regarding the mine and
reclamation plan and lease
modifications will be subject to appeal
under procedures found in 43 CFR part
4, with explanation and opportunity to
be provided in the forthcoming ROD.
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.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:11 Sep 08, 2016
Jkt 238001
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ; 40 CFR
parts 1500–1508; 43 CFR part 46; 43 U.S.C.
1701; and 43 CFR part 3590.
Mary D’Aversa,
District Manager, Idaho Falls District, Bureau
of Land Management.
Garth Smelser,
Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National
Forest, U.S. Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 2016–21772 Filed 9–8–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWYRO5000. L16100000. DX0000]
Notice of Proposed Supplementary
Rules for Travel Management
Limitations on Public Lands in
Fremont County, Wyoming
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of proposed
supplementary rules.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) is proposing
supplementary rules for public lands
included in the Lander Approved
Resource Management Plan and Record
of Decision (Lander RMP) dated June 26,
2014. The proposed rules would
implement decisions found in the
Lander RMP relating to the use of
motorized and non-motorized vehicles.
DATES: Comments on the proposed
supplementary rules must be received
or postmarked by November 8, 2016 to
be assured of consideration. Comments
received, postmarked, or electronically
dated after that date will not necessarily
be considered in the development of
final supplementary rules.
ADDRESSES: Please mail or hand deliver
all comments concerning the proposed
supplementary rules to Kristin
Yannone, Planner, BLM Lander Field
Office, 1335 Main Street, Lander, WY
82520.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
• Visit www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/field_
offices/Lander/implementation.html;
• Send an email to blm_wy_lrmp_
wymail@blm.gov; or
• Contact Kristin Yannone, Planner,
either by mail at the BLM Lander Field
Office, 1335 Main Street, Lander, WY
82520 or by phone at 307–332–8400.
Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 800–877–8339 to
contact Ms. Yannone. The FIRS is
available 24 hours a day, seven days a
PO 00000
Frm 00064
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
62533
week. You will receive a reply during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
public is invited to provide comments
on these proposed supplementary rules.
See DATES and ADDRESSES for
information on submitting comments.
Written comments on the proposed
supplementary rules should be specific,
confined to issues pertinent to the
proposed supplementary rules and
explain the reason for any
recommended change. Comments
requesting changes to decisions in the
Lander RMP are outside the scope of
this rulemaking.
Where possible, comments should
reference a specific provision of these
proposed supplementary rules. The
BLM need not consider or include in the
administrative record: (a) Comments
that the BLM receives after the close of
the comment period (see DATES), unless
they are postmarked or electronically
dated before the deadline, or (b)
comments delivered to an address other
than that listed above (see ADDRESSES).
Comments, including names, street
addresses, and other contact
information of respondents, will be
available for public review at the BLM
Lander Field Office during regular
business hours, Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. Before
including your address, telephone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, be advised that your entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask in your comment to
withhold from public review your
personal identifying information, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Background
The BLM establishes supplementary
rules under the authority of 43 CFR
8365.1–6, which allows the BLM State
Directors to establish such rules for the
protection of persons, property, and
public lands and resources. This
regulation allows the BLM to issue rules
of less than national effect without
codifying the rules in the Code of
Federal Regulations.
Discussion of the Supplementary Rules
The Lander RMP identified areas as
closed to motorized and/or mechanized
travel and areas limited to designated
routes and seasonal travel. The Lander
RMP process included a Federal
Register Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement and
Land Use Plan Amendment dated
February 13, 2007 (72 FR 6740), a
E:\FR\FM\09SEN1.SGM
09SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 175 (Friday, September 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62531-62533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21772]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[15XL LLIDI02000 L71220000.EO0000-LVTFDX508400 241A 4500080287]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement
for the Proposed Rasmussen Valley Phosphate Mine, Caribou County, Idaho
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior, United States Forest
Service, Agriculture.
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 Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Rasmussen Valley Phosphate Mine, and
by this Notice are announcing the opening of the review and
availability of the document. A Draft USFS Record of Decision (ROD) is
also available for review and objection as described in the Summary
section.
DATES: The BLM and USFS will issue coordinated RODs for this project.
The Final EIS is now available for public review, as is the Draft USFS
ROD. The BLM ROD will be released and announced separately, no sooner
than the end of the Final EIS availability period on October 11, 2016.
A legal notice published in the newspaper of record of the Final USFS
ROD will be released no sooner than five business days following the
end of the 45 day objection period after the Draft USFS ROD has been
announced and made available.
ADDRESSES: CD-ROM and print copies of the Rasmussen Valley Mine Final
EIS and the Draft USFS ROD 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 Final EIS is available
online at BLM Planning and NEPA Register: https://on.doi.gov/1GpGxyW and
an electronic copy of the Final EIS and the Draft USFS ROD are
available online at CTNF 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, 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, ID
83204, telephone 208-236-7503, fax 208-478-6376. 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. 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: Nu-West Industries, Inc., doing business as
Agrium Conda Phosphate Operations (Agrium), has submitted a mine and
reclamation plan for the Rasmussen Valley Mine to exercise their
contractual rights to recover phosphate ore reserves contained within
Federal Phosphate Lease I-05975 (the Lease). 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
Rasmussen Valley near the headwaters of the Blackfoot River.
Agrium proposes to develop the Rasmussen Valley Mine within the
Lease on a combination of BLM-managed lands managed by the Pocatello
Field Office, National Forest System (NFS) lands administered by the
Soda Springs Ranger District, the Blackfoot River Wildlife Management
Area (WMA) administered by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
(IDFG), and on split estate lands (private land with Federal minerals).
The Lease grants the lessee, Agrium, exclusive rights to mine and
otherwise dispose of the federally-owned phosphate deposit. The
proposed Rasmussen Valley Mine would also include some development
outside the Lease on private lands, NFS lands, WMA lands, and on State
lands administered by the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL). Agrium has
also requested lease modifications in three locations to accommodate
recovering phosphate outside the existing Lease area, or to accommodate
disposal of mine waste on NFS lands.
The BLM, as the Federal Lease administrator, is the lead agency for
the Final EIS. The USFS is the joint-lead agency, and the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality and the 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 Final EIS. The Final EIS
provides the analysis upon which the BLM, USFS, and other involved
agencies will base their decisions regarding the proposed Rasmussen
Valley Mine.
[[Page 62532]]
In accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and
NEPA, the BLM will evaluate the information in the Final EIS and
respond to Agrium's mine and reclamation plan, review the impacts of
the alternatives to the Proposed Action, including the No Action
Alternative, and will issue decisions related to the development of the
Lease and the proposed lease modifications. The USFS will make
recommendations to the BLM concerning surface management and mitigation
on leased lands within the CTNF and will make separate but coordinated
decisions on special use authorizations for off-lease activities within
the CTNF.
Approval of the Proposed Action would constitute both agencies'
approval of Agrium's Juanuary 2011 mine and reclamation plan and
proposed lease modifications. Under the Proposed Action, Agrium would
disturb approximately 468 acres using open pit mining methods in phases
(panels), allowing concurrent backfilling and reclamation of previously
mined panels; construct permanent and temporary external overburden and
ore piles, topsoil and growth media stockpiles; construct haul roads
and realign portions of nearby county roads; and construct power lines,
a staging and fuel storage area, water supply wells, and runoff
sediment control structures. In addition, Agrium would shape pit
backfill and external overburden piles to reduce the risk of ponded
water on or in the pit; place a cover system over the backfill and
select overburden to reduce the risk of deep percolation of water;
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 enlargement of the Lease by lease modification.
Phosphate ore would be hauled to Agrium's existing Wooley Valley
Tipple, where it would be placed on rail cars and shipped by existing
rail to Agrium's Conda Phosphate Operation (CPO) Fertilizer Plant
approximately 12 miles to the southwest.
A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare this EIS was published in the
Federal Register on March 1, 2011, which initiated a 30-day public
scoping period for the Proposed Action. During public and internal
scoping, issues and concerns were expressed that included impacts to
wetlands; impacts to surface water and groundwater potentially
resulting from releases of selenium and other contaminants of potential
concern (COPCs) from waste rock; physical stability of proposed
external overburden piles; management of pit water; impacts to wildlife
and associated wildlife habitat, especially on the WMA; and maximizing
phosphate resource recovery.
To address these issues and concerns, the agencies considered
several alternatives to the Proposed Action. From these alternatives,
Agrium proposed a combined set of alternatives to form Alternative One,
called the Rasmussen Collaborative Alternative (RCA). In the Final EIS,
the RCA is the agencies' preferred alternative and would disturb
approximately 548 acres. Under the RCA, wetlands issues would be
addressed by relocating the haul road, pit ramps and county road, and
positioning borrow areas to avoid all wetlands. The potential for
selenium and other COPCs to impact shallow groundwater and connected
surface water would be avoided by eliminating the three external
overburden piles from the mine plan. To accomplish this, overburden
would be placed as backfill in the existing open pit at the Monsanto
Company's wholly owned subsidiary, P4 Production, LLC's (P4), nearby
South Rasmussen Mine. Eliminating the three external overburden piles
would also alleviate concerns for the stability of these piles. Water
management needs would be greatly reduced by not excavating the pit
below the water table. Impacts to regional groundwater from COPCs would
be reduced by proposing a more protective earthen cover over the
backfill and overburden than the cover system proposed in the Proposed
Action. The RCA cover system would use select alluvium and soil,
available from a nearby borrow area, to reduce the amount of
precipitation that percolates through the backfill and overburden. The
RCA would also extend the pit toward the north to maximize phosphate
resource recovery.
Under the RCA, the proposed lease modifications would be revised to
accommodate backfill and external overburden piles on NFS land outside
of the current Lease boundaries. Off-lease borrow areas on NFS lands
would require a mineral materials permit from the USFS. Other off-lease
activities on NFS land would require USFS Special Use Authorizations.
RCA activities on State land, including pit backfill and haul roads on
P4's South Rasmussen Mine, would require a modification to the
currently approved mine plan for P4's State lease. A modification to
the currently approved mine plan for P4's South Rasmussen Mine Federal
fringe lease (IDI-023868) would also be required for RCA activities
that would backfill a portion of that mine pit.
The RCA proposes various mitigation measures to avoid, minimize
and/or compensate for mine impacts to all resources. The RCA would
avoid impacts that may be associated with the Proposed Action where
possible. For example, under the RCA, surface water impacts from mine
waste leachates would be avoided by eliminating certain waste piles.
Also, the main haul road would be relocated to totally avoid wetlands.
The RCA would also minimize other impacts to the extent practicable
such as applying a more protective cover on mine waste to reduce the
amount of leachate reaching groundwater to a level allowable by the
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. Some impacts such as
conversion of visual resources from upland range or aspen to bare pit
wall cannot be fully mitigated, but would be minimized to the extent
practicable by backfilling mine pits with all of the overburden
generated by mining. Impacts to wildlife habitat would be minimized on-
site by using more robust reclamation including a reclamation seed mix
with native species to provide more vegetation diversity for wildlife
forage.
The residual impacts to wildlife habitat for the proposed Rasmussen
Valley Mine were quantified using a Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA)
methodology. The HEA quantifies the baseline wildlife habitat and
predicts the permanent and interim losses and gains of wildlife habitat
that would result from the mining activity and reclamation. Agrium has
proposed to use the quantitative results of the HEA in the
determination of a monetary fee that they will contribute to a third
party, such as a State natural resource management agency, foundation,
or other appropriate organization, to implement wildlife habitat
mitigation projects in the regional watershed, to achieve, at a
minimum, no net loss to the services, functions, and values of the
original habitat.
A Draft EIS was prepared and a notice of availability published in
the Federal Register on September 18, 2015, initiating a 45-day public
comment period. The Draft EIS considered several alternative
components. Besides the Proposed Action, the RCA and the No Action
Alternative were carried forward for full analysis in the Final EIS.
Agencies, organizations, and interested parties provided comments on
the Draft EIS via mail, email, and public meetings.
In developing responses to these comments, revisions were made to
the RCA in the Final EIS to minimize impacts to non-Federal lands and
groundwater impacts at P4's South Rasmussen Mine. These revisions
include the addition of off-lease borrow
[[Page 62533]]
areas on NFS lands to potentially minimize the borrow area on the WMA,
and using select borrow material to improve the earthen cover on the
RCA pit backfill at the South Rasmussen Mine.
Under the No Action Alternative, the Rasmussen Valley Mine would
not be approved for mining, and no associated development would occur
on the existing Lease at this time. Similarly, associated requests such
as the lease modification applications would not be approved. The No
Action Alternative would not provide ore for the CPO and would leave
the mineral resource unmined. 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.
The USFS's decision concerning that portion of the proposed project
related to Special Use Authorizations for off-lease activities is
subject to the objection process pursuant to 36 CFR 218 Subparts A and
B. Instructions for filing objections will be provided in the legal
notice published in the newspaper of record for the Draft USFS ROD.
Objections will be accepted only from those who have previously
submitted specific written comments regarding the proposed project,
either during scoping or other designated opportunities for public
comment, in accordance with 36 CFR 218.5(a). Issues raised in
objections must be based on previously submitted, timely, and specific
written comments regarding the proposed project, unless based on new
information arising after designated opportunities.
The BLM will not issue a draft ROD for the project but will release
a ROD in the future, based on the Final EIS and any considerations the
public may communicate regarding this proposal during the
``availability period'' previously described. The BLM's decision
regarding the mine and reclamation plan and lease modifications will be
subject to appeal under procedures found in 43 CFR part 4, with
explanation and opportunity to be provided in the forthcoming ROD.
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: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ; 40 CFR parts 1500-1508; 43
CFR part 46; 43 U.S.C. 1701; and 43 CFR part 3590.
Mary D'Aversa,
District Manager, Idaho Falls District, Bureau of Land Management.
Garth Smelser,
Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, U.S. Forest
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-21772 Filed 9-8-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GG-P
