Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Nevada Vanadium Company Gibellini Vanadium Mine Project, Eureka County, Nevada, 63602-63603 [2023-19920]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2023 / Notices
11, 2022, the TIG announced they had
reviewed project idea submissions and
initiated drafting an RP/EA, which
would include a reasonable range of
restoration alternatives (projects) for the
Birds Restoration Type.
The TIG released the Draft RP/EA for
public review and comment on March
14, 2023, and published a notice of
availability in the Federal Register (88
FR 15734). The comment period ran
through April 28, 2023. To facilitate
public understanding of the document,
the TIG held webinars on March 28 and
April 4, 2023, during which public
comments were solicited. After the
public review period closed, the TIG
reviewed the comments received,
prepared responses to those comments,
finalized the plan, and prepared a
FONSI.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Overview of the Open Ocean TIG’s
Final RP/EA
In the Final RP/EA, the Open Ocean
TIG analyzes a reasonable range of 11
alternatives and, pursuant to NEPA, a
no action alternative. The TIG’s seven
preferred alternatives, listed below,
were selected for funding and
implementation.
• Predator Removal and Seabird
Nesting Colony Restoration at Mona
Island
• Seabird Nesting Colony
Reestablishment and Protection at
Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge
• Seabird Nesting Colony Protection
and Enhancement at Dry Tortugas
National Park
• Seabird Bycatch Reduction in
Northeast U.S. and Atlantic Canada
Fisheries
• Northern Gannet Nesting Colony
Restoration in Eastern Canada
• Common Tern Nesting Colony
Restoration in Manitoba
• Invasive Goat Removal to Restore
Seabird Nesting Habitat in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines
Funding to implement the selected
alternatives will come from the Birds
restoration allocation. The total
estimated cost to implement the seven
selected alternatives is approximately
$33,280,000. Restoration planning in the
Open Ocean Restoration Area will
continue.
Administrative Record
The Administrative Record for the
Final RP/EA can be viewed
electronically at https://www.doi.gov/
deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord under
folder 6.5.2.2.3.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et
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17:05 Sep 14, 2023
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seq.), its implementing Natural Resource
Damage Assessment regulations found
at 15 CFR 990, and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations found at 40
CFR 1500–1508.
Mary Josie Blanchard,
Department of the Interior, Director of Gulf
of Mexico Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2023–19738 Filed 9–14–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500171133]
Notice of Availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
Nevada Vanadium Company Gibellini
Vanadium Mine Project, Eureka
County, Nevada
AGENCY:
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
Notice of availability.
ACTION:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
announces the availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Nevada Vanadium Company
Gibellini Vanadium Mine Project.
DATES: The BLM will not issue a
decision on the proposal for a minimum
of 30 days after the date that the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and
documents pertinent to this proposal are
available for review on the BLM
ePlanning project website at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2000633/510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Scott Distel, Project Manager, telephone:
(775) 635–4093; address: 50 Bastian
Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada, 89820;
email: sdistel@blm.gov. Individuals in
the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services for
contacting Mr. Distel. Individuals
outside the United States should use the
relay services offered within their
country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United
States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Purpose and Need for the Proposed
Action
The BLM’s purpose for the action is
to respond to Nevada Vanadium
Company’s (NVV) proposal, as
described in its proposed Plan of
Operations, and to analyze the potential
environmental effects associated with
the Proposed Action, which is the
operator’s proposed Plan of Operations,
and alternatives to the Proposed Action.
NEPA mandates that the BLM evaluate
the potential effects of the Proposed
Action and develop alternatives. The
BLM’s need for the action is established
by the BLM’s responsibilities under
section 302 of FLPMA and the BLM
Surface Management Regulations at 43
CFR subpart 3809 to respond to a
proposed Plan of Operations and ensure
that operations prevent unnecessary or
undue degradation of the public lands.
Proposed Action and Alternatives
Under the proposed Plan of
Operations, NVV would construct and
operate an open pit mine in the
southern extent of the Fish Creek Range.
Facilities associated with the Proposed
Action include development of an open
pit mine, rock disposal area, crushing
facilities and stockpile, heap leach pad,
process facility, process and make-up
water ponds, borrow areas, mine and
access roads, water and power supply
lines, and ancillary facilities. The
estimated project life consists of 1.5
years of construction, 7 years of
operation, 4 years of active reclamation
and closure, and up to 30 years of postclosure monitoring. In addition, NVV
would complete exploration operations
as part of the proposed Plan of
Operations. The project area includes a
total of 6,456 acres of BLM-administered
public lands, of which approximately
806 acres of surface disturbance would
occur due to project-related operations.
No state or private lands are included in
the project area. The operator would
reclaim surface disturbances under the
Proposed Action and would prevent
unnecessary or undue degradation of
the lands. Final reclamation of the
project area would occur at the end the
project although every effort would be
made to identify concurrent reclamation
opportunities during the life of the
operation.
The South Access Road Alternative
would include the same mine
components as described for the
Proposed Action, except the access road
would be constructed in a different
location. This alternative access road
would be approximately 7 miles long
and extend from County Road M–103
(Duckwater Road) to the project area.
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ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2023 / Notices
The access road would be constructed
parallel to the power line corridor.
Overall, this alternative would result in
approximately 38 additional acres of
surface disturbance relative to the
Proposed Action. Total surface
disturbance would include 844 acres of
BLM-administered land. Postreclamation topography would be
similar to that of the Proposed Action,
except the access road would be in a
different location.
The Renewable Energy Alternative
would consist of the same overall
operations as described for the Proposed
Action except this alternative would
include supporting the mine operations
with a combination of renewable energy
sources and a utility interconnection
with future large-scale battery storage.
This alternative would include the
installation of a solar energy facility
with enough solar electric photovoltaic
capacity for the site to become a net
generation facility with battery storage
able to perform peak smoothing and
daily load management.
This alternative would result in
approximately 33 additional acres of
surface disturbance compared to the
Proposed Action. Total surface
disturbance for the Renewable Energy
Alternative would include 839 acres of
public lands.
Under the No Action Alternative, the
BLM would not authorize the Plan of
Operations, and the operations
described in the Proposed Action would
not occur. Mineral resources would
remain undeveloped, and the
construction and operation of the
proposed mine and associated facilities
would not occur.
Based on the analyses contained in
the EIS for the proposed Gibellini
Vanadium Mine Project, and after
carefully considering input received
from the public and cooperating
agencies, the BLM has selected the
Renewable Energy Alternative as the
BLM’s environmentally preferred
alternative.
Public comments on the Draft EIS
received and internal BLM review were
considered and incorporated as
appropriate into the Final EIS. Public
comments resulted in the addition of
clarifying text but did not significantly
change the impact analyses.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.)
Douglas W. Furtado,
District Manager, Battle Mountain District.
[FR Doc. 2023–19920 Filed 9–14–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–21–P
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–VRP–WS—NPS0036398 ;
PPWOWMADL3, PPMPSAS1Y.TD0000 (222);
OMB Control Number 1024–0022]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Backcountry/Wilderness
Use Permit
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 we,
the National Park Service (NPS) are
proposing to renew an information
collection with revisions.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before October
16, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
suggestions on the information
collection requirements should be
submitted by the date specified above in
DATES to https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under Review—
Open for Public Comments’’ or by using
the search function. Please provide a
copy of your comments to Phadrea
Ponds, NPS Information Collection
Clearance Officer (ADIR–ICCO), 13461
Sunrise Valley Drive (MS–244) Reston,
VA 20192 (mail); or phadrea_ponds@
nps.gov (email). Please include 1024–
0022 in the subject line of your
comments.
SUMMARY:
To
request additional information about
this Information Collection Request
(ICR), contact Roger Semler, Chief,
Wilderness Stewardship Division at
roger_semler@nps.gov (email) or 202–
430–7615 (Phone). Please reference
OMB Control Number 1024–0022 in the
subject line of your comments.
Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point of
contact in the United States. You may
also view the ICR at https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3501et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we
provide the public and other Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
PO 00000
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63603
comment on new, proposed, revised,
and continuing collections of
information. This helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. It also helps the
public understand our information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
A FederalRegister notice with a 60day public comment period soliciting
comments on this collection of
information was published on (87 FR
73776) on December 1, 2022. We
received the following comments in
response to that Notice:
Comment #1: Email From John Ryter on
12/1/2022
I’d like to comment on the proposal
to require permits for climbing in
national parks. It’s hard to determine
whether this proposal means climbers
would be required to get permits in
advance, and whether there would be
limits on the number of permits
available for a given day. If there is a
limit on how many are available on a
given day, I am concerned that the
addition of permits would cause fewer
climbers to abandon or reschedule their
climbs due to weather, and we would
see an increase in injuries, rescues, and
fatalities occurring in national parks.
This could be mitigated by reducing the
time in advance that permits could be
acquired (e.g., cannot get permits more
than 4 days in advance), but that
presents its own challenges.
There are already cases where a
permit is a de facto requirement for
doing a climb, such as those where
backcountry camping is necessary for
most non-professional climbers. In my
experience, this hasn’t been an issue
(there have been enough sites available
that it was possible to get a site the day
of), but since so many climbs require
early starts (6 a.m. or earlier), day-of
permits would be pretty challenging to
do. It would also be good to link those
sorts of campsites, like the lower saddle
of the Grand Teton, with the climbing
permits in some way so people don’t
end up with one and not the other.
If it’s simply a sign-in sheet at the
trailhead, that seems very reasonable
and I have no concerns. My only other
question is what the cutoff grade for
climbing would be—all off-trail travel,
class 3 or 4 or higher, or roped vs unroped? Either way, being able to do the
permit at the trailhead or online would
be a great idea.
NPS Response/Action Taken
During the 60-day Federal Register
comment period, the National Park
Service proposed creating a new Form
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 178 (Friday, September 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63602-63603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19920]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500171133]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for Nevada Vanadium Company Gibellini Vanadium Mine Project,
Eureka County, Nevada
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Nevada Vanadium Company Gibellini Vanadium Mine Project.
DATES: The BLM will not issue a decision on the proposal for a minimum
of 30 days after the date that the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and documents pertinent to this proposal are
available for review on the BLM ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2000633/510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Distel, Project Manager,
telephone: (775) 635-4093; address: 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain,
Nevada, 89820; email: [email protected]. Individuals in the United States
who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability
may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications
relay services for contacting Mr. Distel. Individuals outside the
United States should use the relay services offered within their
country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the
United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
The BLM's purpose for the action is to respond to Nevada Vanadium
Company's (NVV) proposal, as described in its proposed Plan of
Operations, and to analyze the potential environmental effects
associated with the Proposed Action, which is the operator's proposed
Plan of Operations, and alternatives to the Proposed Action. NEPA
mandates that the BLM evaluate the potential effects of the Proposed
Action and develop alternatives. The BLM's need for the action is
established by the BLM's responsibilities under section 302 of FLPMA
and the BLM Surface Management Regulations at 43 CFR subpart 3809 to
respond to a proposed Plan of Operations and ensure that operations
prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the public lands.
Proposed Action and Alternatives
Under the proposed Plan of Operations, NVV would construct and
operate an open pit mine in the southern extent of the Fish Creek
Range. Facilities associated with the Proposed Action include
development of an open pit mine, rock disposal area, crushing
facilities and stockpile, heap leach pad, process facility, process and
make-up water ponds, borrow areas, mine and access roads, water and
power supply lines, and ancillary facilities. The estimated project
life consists of 1.5 years of construction, 7 years of operation, 4
years of active reclamation and closure, and up to 30 years of post-
closure monitoring. In addition, NVV would complete exploration
operations as part of the proposed Plan of Operations. The project area
includes a total of 6,456 acres of BLM-administered public lands, of
which approximately 806 acres of surface disturbance would occur due to
project-related operations. No state or private lands are included in
the project area. The operator would reclaim surface disturbances under
the Proposed Action and would prevent unnecessary or undue degradation
of the lands. Final reclamation of the project area would occur at the
end the project although every effort would be made to identify
concurrent reclamation opportunities during the life of the operation.
The South Access Road Alternative would include the same mine
components as described for the Proposed Action, except the access road
would be constructed in a different location. This alternative access
road would be approximately 7 miles long and extend from County Road M-
103 (Duckwater Road) to the project area.
[[Page 63603]]
The access road would be constructed parallel to the power line
corridor. Overall, this alternative would result in approximately 38
additional acres of surface disturbance relative to the Proposed
Action. Total surface disturbance would include 844 acres of BLM-
administered land. Post-reclamation topography would be similar to that
of the Proposed Action, except the access road would be in a different
location.
The Renewable Energy Alternative would consist of the same overall
operations as described for the Proposed Action except this alternative
would include supporting the mine operations with a combination of
renewable energy sources and a utility interconnection with future
large-scale battery storage. This alternative would include the
installation of a solar energy facility with enough solar electric
photovoltaic capacity for the site to become a net generation facility
with battery storage able to perform peak smoothing and daily load
management.
This alternative would result in approximately 33 additional acres
of surface disturbance compared to the Proposed Action. Total surface
disturbance for the Renewable Energy Alternative would include 839
acres of public lands.
Under the No Action Alternative, the BLM would not authorize the
Plan of Operations, and the operations described in the Proposed Action
would not occur. Mineral resources would remain undeveloped, and the
construction and operation of the proposed mine and associated
facilities would not occur.
Based on the analyses contained in the EIS for the proposed
Gibellini Vanadium Mine Project, and after carefully considering input
received from the public and cooperating agencies, the BLM has selected
the Renewable Energy Alternative as the BLM's environmentally preferred
alternative.
Public comments on the Draft EIS received and internal BLM review
were considered and incorporated as appropriate into the Final EIS.
Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text but did not
significantly change the impact analyses.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.)
Douglas W. Furtado,
District Manager, Battle Mountain District.
[FR Doc. 2023-19920 Filed 9-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-21-P
