Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Twin Metals Project in the Superior National Forest, Lake and St. Louis Counties, Minnesota, 39206-39208 [2020-14051]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 126 (Tuesday, June 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39206-39208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14051]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLES00000.L51100000.GF0000.LVEMM19M2070.19X]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Twin Metals Project in the Superior National Forest, Lake and St. 
Louis Counties, Minnesota

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Northeastern States District, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, intends to prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the potential 
impacts of issuing a proposed new preference right lease (MNES 57965) 
and approving a Mine Plan of Operation in the Superior National Forest 
in Lake and St. Louis Counties, Minnesota. The approval of a Mine Plan 
of Operation allows the lessee to access, and once other necessary 
permits are obtained, to mine federal minerals. The BLM will conduct a 
public scoping process, including public meetings. During this time, 
the public will be invited to submit comments.

DATES: The BLM will announce the dates of public scoping, including 
dates and locations of public meetings and the ways in which people may 
submit scoping comments, on its e-Planning

[[Page 39207]]

website. The BLM will notify the public of scoping meetings at least 15 
days prior to the event. Meeting dates, venues, and times will be 
announced by a news release to the media and postings on the project 
website.

ADDRESSES: The page that is dedicated to this project and its EIS is 
located at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1503233/510.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Derek Strohl, Planning and 
Environmental Coordinator, telephone: (414) 297-4416; address: 626 E 
Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 43202; email: 
[email protected]. Contact Mr. Strohl if you wish to add your 
name to our project notification 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 the above 
individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours 
per day, 7 days per week, to leave a message or question with the above 
individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 43 CFR 3592.1, the BLM must consult 
with other agencies involved when approving a Mine Plan of Operation. 
In addition, the State of Minnesota would need to issue a number of 
permits before mining activity could begin. The Minnesota Department of 
Natural Resources will serve as the responsible governmental unit for 
the preparation of a separate, state-level EIS. The BLM and the 
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources expect to coordinate their 
efforts on their respective EISs as appropriate, including during 
public scoping periods.
    The Forest Service is serving as a cooperating agency in the 
preparation of the EIS. The Forest Service decisions to be made are (1) 
whether to consent to the leasing of certain National Forest System 
lands requested in the preference right lease application (PRLA, MNES 
57965) and, if consent is granted, whether lease stipulations are 
necessary for the protection of surface resources; (2) whether to 
approve the Mine Plan of Operation pursuant to Section 14a of TMM's 
existing leases (MNES 1352 and MNES 1353); (3) whether to issue a 
Special Use Permit to allow the portion of the project that is on off-
lease National Forest System lands; and (4) whether to approve a Forest 
Plan amendment, if analysis leads the Forest Service to conclude that 
an amendment is necessary and appropriate to complete the Action. This 
notice does not commit the Forest Service to amending the Forest Plan. 
However, scoping comments can help to inform the Forest Service's 
decision as to the need for a Forest Plan amendment.
    In the event that the Forest Service determines that it intends to 
amend the Forest Plan, the public is hereby notified that the 
substantive requirements of the 2012 Planning Rule (36 CFR part 219) 
likely to be directly related to the Forest Plan amendment are 36 CFR 
219.8 (b)(1), (2), and (3) regarding social and economic 
sustainability, 36 CFR 219.10(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (6), (7), and (9), 
regarding integrated resource management for multiple use, 36 CFR 
219.10 (b)(1)(vi), regarding management of designated areas, and 36 CFR 
219.11(c), regarding timber requirements based on the National Forest 
Management Act.
    The proposed action is to issue a preference right lease and 
approve a Mine Plan of Operation for the mining of federal hard rock 
minerals in the Superior National Forest. The proposed activities would 
occur approximately 10 miles southeast of Ely, Minnesota, South of 
State Highway 1, in an area southeast of the South Kawishiwi River. The 
proposed Mine Plan of Operation details the proposed exploration, 
prospecting, testing, development and mining operations to be conducted 
to access federal minerals. Additional approvals by the State of 
Minnesota are required to conduct any mining. Mining would include 
critical minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, precious and 
platinum-group metals. The total surface footprint for mining is 
estimated at 1,156 acres, 400 acres of which is federal land managed by 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The surface-
disturbing components include a processing facility, a tailings 
management site, three ventilation shafts, a power line corridor, 
access roads, and a water intake corridor.
    The proposed Mine Plan of Operation describes the lifecycle of the 
mine. Construction of the mine would take two and a half years. After 
construction, the mine would operate for 25 years. Interim reclamation 
would begin on the dry stack facility as portions of it are completed, 
and final reclamation would follow the end of the 25-year period of 
mine operation.
    The Mine Plan of Operation estimates that approximately 163 million 
tons of ore would be removed. Mining and crushing would occur 24 hours 
per day, 7 days per week. Ore would be crushed underground and 
processed in the plant to recover copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, silver, 
platinum, and palladium. Tailings generated by this process would be 
dewatered and placed either in the tailings management site, also known 
as the dry stack facility, or mixed with a binder and used to backfill 
mined-out stopes. The current Mine Plan of Operation is available on 
the BLM's e-planning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1503233/510.
    The public will be invited to submit comments during a scoping 
period. Prior to the submission of any comments, if you provide 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.
    The purpose of the public scoping process will be to identify 
relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental 
analysis, including alternatives, and guide the process for developing 
the federal EIS. The BLM has identified the following preliminary 
issues associated with the project: (1) The potential for acid-rock 
drainage or other water quality impacts from ore and tailings; (2) 
regional socioeconomics, including the generation of high wage-paying 
jobs and the potential for impacts to water resources to degrade Ely's 
tourism-based economy; and (3) the potential impacts to recreation and 
wilderness, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness 
(BWCAW), approximately five miles from the proposed mine site. Scoping 
will also be used to determine if it is necessary to amend the Forest 
Plan to accommodate the Proposed Action.
    The BLM will coordinate the scoping process as provided in 36 CFR 
800.2(d)(3) (54 U.S.C. 306108) to help fulfill the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA, as amended) review process. The information 
about historic and cultural resources within the area potentially 
affected by the proposed project will assist the BLM in identifying and 
evaluating impacts to such resources in the context of both NEPA and 
the NHPA.
    The BLM will consult with Native American tribes on a government-
to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due 
consideration.

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Federal, state, and local agencies, along with tribes and other 
stakeholders who may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
project that the BLM is evaluating, will be invited to participate in 
the scoping process. Six federal and tribal agencies have agreed to 
participate in this process as cooperating agencies, as follows:

 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
 Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
 Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
 Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7.

Gary Torres,
Acting State Director, BLM-Eastern States.
[FR Doc. 2020-14051 Filed 6-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P