Notice of Availability for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Blackrock Land Exchange, Bannock and Power Counties, Idaho, 31804-31805 [2020-11365]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 102 (Wednesday, May 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31804-31805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11365]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

20X.LLIDI02000.L71220000.FR0000.LVTFD2015100.241A.4500131504]


Notice of Availability for the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Blackrock Land Exchange, Bannock and Power 
Counties, Idaho

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Pocatello Field Office, in Pocatello, Idaho, has prepared a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Blackrock Land 
Exchange and by this notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 60 days after the date that the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: The Final EIS is available on the BLM ePlanning project 
website at https://go.usa.gov/xEUuc. If you are unable to access the 
documents online and would like a paper copy, please contact the 
Project Lead identified below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryce Anderson, Project Manager by 
telephone: 208-478-6353; address: 4350 S Cliffs Dr., Pocatello, ID 
83204; or email: [email protected]. People who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay 
Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Mr. Anderson. The FRS is 
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question 
with Mr. Anderson. You will receive a reply during normal business 
hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM is the lead agency for the land 
exchange that was proposed in 2019. The Idaho Department of 
Environmental Quality (IDEQ), Idaho Governor's Office of Energy and 
Mineral Resources (OEMR), EPA, and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are 
Cooperating Agencies.
    In 1994, the J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot) submitted a proposal to 
acquire 719 acres of Federal land managed by the BLM in exchange for 
667 acres of non-Federal land. The Federal lands are adjacent to 
Simplot's Don Plant in Power and Bannock Counties, Idaho. The non-
Federal lands are located in the Blackrock and Caddy Canyon areas in 
Bannock County approximately 5 miles east-southeast of Pocatello.
    In 1998, pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response 
Compensation and Liability Act, the Don Plant facilities and the 
surrounding area, known as the Eastern Michaud Flats (EMF), were 
designated as a Superfund Site, including a portion of the proposed 
Federal lands to be exchanged. The BLM prepared an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) to analyze the proposed land exchange and issued a 
Decision Record/Finding of No Significant Impact (DR/FONSI) on December 
21, 2007. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes litigated the decision in 
District Court. In May 2011, the Court granted the Tribes' motion and 
remanded the DR/FONSI to the BLM, ordering the agency to prepare an 
EIS.
    The BLM's purpose is to evaluate the current land exchange proposal 
and the need is to respond to the proposal pursuant to FLPMA. The land 
exchange would result in improved resource management in an area 
containing crucial mule deer winter range and would secure permanent 
public access within a popular recreation area. Simplot's purpose for 
the proposed land exchange is to implement legally enforceable controls 
as directed by the EPA and IDEQ. To meet fluoride reduction 
requirements from a 2016 Consent Order with the IDEQ, Simplot has 
proposed construction of cooling

[[Page 31805]]

ponds adjacent to the Don Plant, which would require the acquisition of 
adjacent Federal lands. Additionally, this acquisition would allow 
Simplot to maximize the operational life of its ongoing phosphate 
processing operations at the Don Plant by expanding gypsum stacks onto 
adjacent land.
    The formal public scoping process for the EIS began on May 20, 
2019, with publication of a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register, 
which initiated a 45-day public comment period. Key resource issues 
identified during scoping include: Air quality, cultural resources, 
fish and wildlife, hazardous and solid wastes, lands and realty, 
recreation, socioeconomics, environmental justice, tribal treaty 
rights, visual resources, and water resources. The Notice of 
Availability for the Draft EIS was published on December 20, 2019, 
initiating a 45-day public comment period. The public comments resulted 
in the addition of: (1) Information on radioactivity and radionuclides, 
(2) information on water quality in the Portneuf River, including 
contributions from upstream sources, especially phosphorous and 
arsenic, and (3) qualitative information describing how a complete 
liner failure could occur and general types of effects/impacts. The BLM 
has responded to substantive comments and made appropriate revisions to 
the Final EIS or explained why a comment did not warrant a change.
    The Final EIS evaluates the Proposed Action and two action 
alternatives, in addition to a No Action Alternative. The Proposed 
Action is to exchange 719 acres of Federal land for 667 acres of non-
Federal land.
    Alternative A (Increased Non-Federal Land Acreage) includes the 
same area of Federal (719 acres) and non-Federal lands (667 acres) as 
the proposed action, with the addition of voluntary mitigation and 
donation parcels (A and B) proposed by Simplot. Parcel A is voluntary 
mitigation that includes an additional 160 acres of non-Federal land 
within Blackrock Canyon to mitigate the net loss of Federal acres in 
the proposed action. The acquired lands would be available to tribal 
members for aboriginal purposes and would improve existing public 
access to the Chinese Peak/Blackrock Trail system. Parcel B is a 
proposed donation consisting of approximately 950 acres within the Fort 
Hall Reservation that would be offered to the Secretary of the 
Interior, or to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
    Alternative B (Avoiding the West Canyon) was developed from 
comments received during scoping to adjust the boundary of the Federal 
lands to minimize impacts to cultural and tribal resources in the West 
Canyon area on the north side of Howard Mountain. The Federal lands 
that would be acquired by Simplot would be reconfigured to eliminate 
the West Canyon area from the land exchange. This alternative would 
involve exchanging 711 acres of Federal land for 667 acres of non-
Federal land. This alternative also includes the voluntary mitigation 
and donation parcels (A and B). Simplot would donate $25,000 to the 
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes' Language Program as voluntary mitigation for 
the BLM's conveyance of a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)-
eligible site within the Federal land.
    Under the No Action Alternative, the proposed land exchange would 
not be authorized.
    The BLM selected Alternative B as the Preferred Alternative, 
because it adjusts the boundary of the Federal lands to minimize 
impacts to cultural resources, allows for a net gain of public lands, 
and makes additional lands available for tribal uses. The BLM will 
continue consultation with Native American Tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. The BLM will give tribal concerns due consideration, 
including impacts on Native American trust assets and potential impacts 
to cultural resources.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.

John F. Ruhs,
BLM Idaho State Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-11365 Filed 5-26-20; 8:45 am]
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