Notice of Intent and Extension of Time To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Ambler Mining District Industrial Access Road, Alaska, 12119-12121 [2017-03993]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12119-12121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03993]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[16X.LLAKF02000. L51010000. ER0000. LVRWL16L0980]


Notice of Intent and Extension of Time To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Ambler Mining District 
Industrial Access Road, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent and extension of time.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended (FLPMA), and the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act of 1980, as amended (ANILCA), the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) Central Yukon Field Office, Fairbanks, Alaska, intends 
to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Federal 
authorizations to construct and operate an approximately 211-mile long 
industrial access road in the southern Brooks Range foothills of 
Alaska, originating at the Dalton Highway in the vicinity of Prospect 
Creek and terminating at the Ambler Mining District, which would not be 
open for public access. By this notice, the BLM is announcing the 
beginning of the EIS scoping process to solicit public comments and 
identify issues, and is extending the periods to complete the Draft and 
Final EIS, in accordance with ANILCA section 1104(e).

[[Page 12120]]


DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EIS, 
and extends completion dates for the Draft and Final EIS. Comments on 
relevant issues that will influence the scope of the EIS for the 
proposed Ambler Road project may be submitted in writing until May 30, 
2017. The BLM will provide opportunities for public participation 
during scoping meetings with appropriate public notice. The date(s) and 
location(s) of scoping meetings will be announced at least 15 days in 
advance through local media, newspapers, and the BLM ePlanning Web site 
at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/projectSummary.do?methodName=renderDefaultProjectSummary&projectId=57323
.
    In order to be considered for the Draft EIS, all comments must be 
received prior to the close of the 90-day scoping period or 15 days 
after the last public scoping meeting, whichever is later. The BLM will 
provide additional opportunities for public participation upon 
publication of the Draft EIS, including public meetings and a public 
comment period. If required, ANILCA section 810 subsistence hearings 
will be held concurrently with the Draft EIS public involvement 
meetings. Federal, State or local agencies, or tribes who are 
interested in serving as a cooperating agency for the development of 
the EIS are asked to submit such requests to the BLM.
    The dates for completion of the Draft EIS and Final EIS are 
extended to March 29, 2019, and December 30, 2019, respectively.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on issues related to the proposed 
project by any of the following methods:
     email: BLM_AK_AKSO_AmblerRoad_Comments@blm.gov.
     fax: (907) 271-5479.
     mail: Ambler Road Scoping Comments, 222 West 7th Avenue, 
Stop #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM 
Alaska Public Room, Fairbanks District Office, 222 University Avenue, 
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709; and at the BLM Alaska Public Information 
Center, Alaska State Office, 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 
99513.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim LaMarr; Central Yukon Field Office 
Manager, 907-474-2356, tlamarr@blm.gov. Also contact Mr. LaMarr if you 
wish to add your name to the mailing list to receive further 
information about this project. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 
1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business 
hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to leave 
a message or question with the above individual. You will receive a 
reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 24, 2015, the Alaska Industrial 
Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) submitted a consolidated 
application pursuant to ANILCA sections 201(4)(c) and 1104(c) with the 
BLM, National Park Service, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers. The application requests the issuance of right-of-way 
grants, permits for constructing bridges over navigable waters and for 
filling waters of the United States, and related authorizations 
associated with the proposed construction and operation of an 
approximately 211-mile long all-season industrial access road. The 
proposed controlled access road is named the Ambler Mining District 
Industrial Access Project.
    After submission of supplemental information on June 30, 2016, the 
application was determined to be complete. The proposed access road, if 
approved, would be in conformance with the BLM's 1991 Utility Corridor 
Resource Management Plan and the 2008 Kobuk-Seward Peninsula Resource 
Management Plan. Accordingly, no plan amendment would be required. In 
accordance with 43 CFR 36.5(d)(1), the filing date of the application 
was revised to June 30, 2016. BLM is the lead Federal agency in the 
development of an EIS for the proposed project. The list of cooperating 
agencies in the development of the EIS currently includes the U.S. 
Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the State of Alaska.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.4, the EIS is being prepared for the 
purpose of authorizing a BLM right-of-way grant and related 
authorizations to AIDEA for the construction, operation, and 
maintenance of the proposed road, as well as required permits from the 
U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    The proposed road would extend from the Dalton Highway in the 
vicinity of Prospect Creek to the Ambler Mining District in the Kobuk 
Valley of Northwest Alaska, which is located approximately 180 miles 
north of Fairbanks in the southern Brooks Range foothills of Alaska. 
The road would begin on BLM-managed lands within the Dalton Highway 
Utility Corridor would continue for approximately 18 miles. The road 
would then extend across State land and lands privately owned by Alaska 
Native corporations, and isolated BLM-managed parcels. The proposed 
road would cross roughly 24 miles of BLM-managed lands in total. In 
addition, approximately 26 miles of the proposed road would cross the 
Gates of the Arctic National Preserve, a conservation system unit (CSU) 
established by ANILCA section 201(4). This section of ANILCA 
specifically directs the Secretary of the Interior to authorize the 
road through the Preserve but does not address other 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 to guide the process for developing the 
EIS. At present, the BLM has identified the following preliminary 
issues for evaluation in the EIS:

 Air quality
 climate change effects
 invasive species
 mining
 recreational activities
 social and economic impacts
 impacts to rural and traditional lifestyles
 subsistence use and access
 travel management
 public access
 wildlife and biological resources
 special status species
 fish and aquatic species
 water
 wetlands and riparian
 wilderness characteristics
 cultural resources
 geology and soils
 critical minerals
 demand for gravel resources
 reasonably foreseeable future activities

    The BLM will identify, analyze, and require mitigation, as 
appropriate, to address the reasonably foreseeable impacts to resources 
from the approval of this project. Mitigation may include avoidance, 
minimization, rectification, reduction or elimination over time, and 
compensatory mitigation, and may be considered at multiple scales, 
including the landscape-scale.
    The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to 
help fulfill the public involvement process under the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA) Public Law 89-665, as amended by Public Law 96-
515, and as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about 
historic and cultural resources within the area potentially affected by 
the proposed action will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating 
impacts to such resources.

[[Page 12121]]

    The BLM intends to coordinate the development of the EIS with the 
National Park Service, which, in accordance with ANILCA section 
201(4)(d), is developing a separate environmental and economic analysis 
solely for the purpose of determining the most desirable route for that 
portion of the proposed road right-of-way that would cross Gates of the 
Arctic National Preserve.
    The BLM will consult with affected Federally Recognized Tribes on a 
government-to-government basis, and with affected Alaska Native 
corporations, in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Native concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given appropriate 
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes 
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed project, are invited to participate in the scoping process 
and, if eligible, may request or be asked by the BLM to participate in 
the development of the EIS as cooperating agencies.
    Pursuant to ANILCA section 1104(e), a Draft EIS must be completed 
within nine months of the application filing date, and the Final EIS 
must be completed within one year of the application filing date, 
unless these periods are extended for good cause by the lead Federal 
agency. Due to the size and complexity of the proposed project, 
multiple land managers along the approximately 211-mile route, and the 
BLM's commitment to work with several relatively isolated rural 
communities potentially affected by the proposed project, an extension 
of the timeline is necessary to meet the intent and purpose of NEPA and 
provide appropriate public involvement. Accordingly, the date for 
completion of the Draft EIS is extended to March 29, 2019, and the date 
for completion of the Final EIS is extended to December 30, 2019.
    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:  40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Bud Cribley,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2017-03993 Filed 2-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P