Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Dry Creek Trona Mine Project, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, 65389-65390 [2024-17683]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 154 / Friday, August 9, 2024 / Notices
the States, or the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various
levels of government. A federalism
summary impact statement is not
required.
Civil Justice Reform (Executive Order
12988)
This notice complies with the
requirements of Executive Order 12988.
Specifically, in issuing this notice, the
Department has taken the necessary
steps to eliminate drafting errors and
ambiguity, minimize potential litigation,
and provide a clear legal standard for
affected conduct as required by section
3 of Executive Order 12988.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
These rate adjustments do not affect
the collections of information which
have been approved by the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995. The OMB Control Number
is 1076–0141 and expires March 31,
2026.
National Environmental Policy Act
The Department has determined that
these rate adjustments do not constitute
a major Federal action significantly
affecting the quality of the human
environment and that no detailed
statement is required under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42
U.S.C. 4321–4370(d)), pursuant to 43
CFR 46.210(i). In addition, the rate
adjustments do not present any of the 12
extraordinary circumstances listed at 43
CFR 46.215.
Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.
BILLING CODE 4337–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_WY_FRN_MO4500180137]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Dry Creek Trona Mine Project,
Sweetwater County, Wyoming
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
AGENCY:
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 draft
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:21 Aug 08, 2024
Jkt 262001
Documents pertinent to this proposal
may be examined online at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/admin/
project/2016395/510 and at the
Kemmerer and Rock Springs Field
Offices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
[FR Doc. 2024–17669 Filed 8–8–24; 8:45 am]
SUMMARY:
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Dry Creek Trona Mine Project,
Sweetwater County, WY.
DATES: To afford the BLM the
opportunity to consider comments on
the draft EIS, please ensure that the
BLM receives your comments within 45
days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability
(NOA) of the draft EIS in the Federal
Register. The EPA usually publishes its
NOAs on Fridays. The BLM will hold a
public meeting during the public
comment period. The date, time, and
location will be announced at least 15
days prior to the meeting, through
public notices, news releases, social
media, mailings and the BLM website:
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
admin/project/2016395/510.
ADDRESSES: The draft EIS is available for
review on the BLM project website at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
admin/project/2016395/510.
Written comments related to the Dry
Creek Trona Mine EIS may be submitted
by any of the following methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/admin/project/2016395/
510
• Email: BLM_WY_Dry_Creek@blm.gov
• Mail: Dry Creek Trona Mine EIS c/o
BLM Kemmerer Field Office, 430
North Highway 189, Kemmerer, WY
83101
Kelly Lamborn, Project Manager,
telephone: (307) 828–4505; address: 430
North Highway 189, Kemmerer, WY
83101; email BLM_WY_Dry_Creek@
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 Ms. Kelly
Lamborn. Individuals outside the
United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The draft
EIS provides the analysis of
environmental impacts for the proposed
Dry Creek Trona Mine Project. Pacific
Soda, LLC (Pacific Soda) owns rights to
mine trona resources on private lands
and leased BLM administered lands in
the Kemmerer Field Office in
Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The
PO 00000
Frm 00078
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
65389
proposed mine permit area includes two
BLM leased sections and three private
sections locatedsouth of I–80 and west
of Wyoming State Highway 530, south
of the town of Green River, Wyoming.
The mine plan, if approved by the BLM,
would allow Pacific Soda to construct
mining facilities and employ solution
mining technologies to develop their
BLM leases by mining trona beds 2,300
feet below the surface and processing
that trona for market. Pacific Soda
estimates that approximately 23.5
million tons of trona are in reserve on
each section of land within the
proposed project area, that mining
would occur on each section for 9 to 10
years, and that mined trona would be
refined to produce approximately 6.0
million metric tons of marketable soda
ash per year and 440,900 metric tons of
sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) per
year. Key approving agencies are the
Wyoming Department of Environmental
Quality, the BLM, and the State of
Wyoming Industrial Siting Commission.
There are four alternatives under
consideration. Approximately the same
amount of trona would be mined under
each action alternative (i.e., alternatives
B, C, and D):
Alternative A—No Action Alternative:
The project would not be approved.
Alternative B—Proposed Action:
Company proposed action would
include processing facilities at the mine
location. This alternative includes 26.22
miles of water line and impacts nine
acres of USFS managed lands near the
Green River. Under the proposed action
approximately 6,325 total acres could be
impacted, of which about 327 acres is
identified as a priority habitat
management area (PHMA) for sage
grouse, with the remaining acreage a
general habitat management area
(GHMA).
Alternative C—Modified proposed
action: would collocate the transmission
line, access road, and rail line and
thereby reduce construction in
undisturbed areas. The water line would
remain the same as Alternative B. Under
this alternative approximately 6,387
total acres would be impacted, of which
about 324 acres are PHMA, with the
remaining acreage being GHMA.
Alternative D—BLM Preferred
Alternative: Implementation of
Alternative D would result in a larger
total project footprint (7,015 acres).
Although development of the well field
and mine production levels would be
unchanged, the processing facilities
would be moved from the mine site area
to a site north of I–80, approximately 8
miles west of Green River, Wyoming,
within a designated processing facilities
boundary. The water supply pipeline
E:\FR\FM\09AUN1.SGM
09AUN1
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
65390
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 154 / Friday, August 9, 2024 / Notices
would be relocated to north of I–80,
connecting the processing facilities to
the water intake on the Green River,
reducing the impacts from 24.66 miles
to 6.4 miles, and eliminating the
disturbance through the U.S. Forest
Service Flaming Gorge Recreation Area
and the Blacks Fork PHMA for Greater
Sage-Grouse.
The preparation of an EIS is intended
to assist the BLM in the decisionmaking process through the
identification, analysis, and public
disclosure of potential impacts of the
Proposed Action on the human
environment, including but not limited
to environmental, social, and economic
impacts (40 CFR 1502.16). Aside from
BLM- and USFS-managed lands, there
are no additional federal or Wyoming
state-managed lands that would be
disturbed by the Proposed Action.
Additionally, the BLM is not aware of
any other proposed activities in the Dry
Creek Trona Mine Project area that
would be considered a connected action
to the Proposed Action under NEPA.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed
Action: The BLM’s purpose for the
action is to respond to Pacific Soda’s
Plan of Operations to construct and
operate trona mining facilities,
including mine well fields, processing
facilities, a co-generation plant, storage
ponds, access roads, railroad spurs, and
utility features. If approved by the BLM,
this would allow Pacific Soda the
opportunity to develop their valid
existing leases on specific public lands
within the proposed mining plan
boundary as authorized by the Mineral
Leasing Act of 1920 (as amended) and
FLPMA. Pacific Soda would construct
the mining facilities and transportation
and utility features specified in the Plan
of Operations and SF–299 applications
for rights-of-way for off lease facilities.
The need for the action is established
by the BLM’s responsibility under the
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (as
amended) and FLPMA. Under these
statutes, the BLM is required to respond
to the Proposed Action and review the
proposed Mine Plan and associated SF–
299 applications to ensure that
proposed mining activities and
construction of associated facilities do
not cause unnecessary or undue
degradation of public lands and are
carried out consistent with leasing
stipulations and other requirements
mandated in the BLM Kemmerer and
Green River Resource Management
Plans (RMPs), as well as other
applicable federal, state, and local
statutes and regulations.
Schedule for the Decision-Making
Process: The Proposed Final EIS is
anticipated to be available for public
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:21 Aug 08, 2024
Jkt 262001
review in December 2024, and the
Record of Decision in March 2025. The
BLM will continue to consult with
Indian Tribal Nations on a governmentto-government basis in accordance with
Executive Order 13175, BLM MS 1780,
and other Departmental policies. Tribal
concerns, including impacts on Indian
trust assets and potential impacts to
cultural resources, will be given due
consideration. Consultation with
interested Indian Tribal Nations is
ongoing. A Programmatic Agreement for
addressing cultural concerns is included
in the EIS. Following a thorough NEPA
analysis, the BLM’s decision includes
whether to approve the Plan of
Operations and subsequent SF–299
applications (for transportation and
utility features) and, if approved, to
determine whether modifications and/or
additional mitigation measures are
required to comply with the FLPMA
mandate to prevent unnecessary or
undue degradation and conform to
leasing stipulations specified in the
BLM Kemmerer and Green River RMPs.
The BLM will hold a public meeting
during the public comment period. The
specific date, time, and location will be
announced at least 15 days prior to the
meeting, through public notices, news
releases, social media, mailings, and the
BLM website: https://eplanning.
blm.gov/eplanning-ui/admin/project/
2016395/510.
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 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)
Franklin Keeler,
Acting District Manager, BLM High Desert
District Office.
[FR Doc. 2024–17683 Filed 8–8–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–26–P
PO 00000
Frm 00079
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[L19900000.PO0000.LLHQ300000.23X; OMB
Control No. 1004–0025]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Mineral Surveys, Mineral
Patent Applications, Adverse Claims,
Protests, and Contests
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) proposes to renew an information
collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before October
8, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Send your written
comments on this Information
Collection Request (ICR) by mail to
Darrin King, Information Collection
Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of
the Interior, Bureau of Land
Management, Attention PRA Office, 440
W 200 S #500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101;
or by email to BLM_HQ_PRA_
Comments@blm.gov. Please reference
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Control Number 1004–0025 in
the subject line of your comments.
Please note that the electronic
submission of comments is
recommended.
SUMMARY:
To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact John Grasso by email
at jgrasso@blm.gov, or by telephone at
(303) 239–3777. 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-ofcontact in the United States. You may
also view the ICR at https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the PRA (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all
information collections require approval
under the PRA. The BLM may not
conduct or sponsor, and you are not
required to respond to a collection of
information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
E:\FR\FM\09AUN1.SGM
09AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65389-65390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17683]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_WY_FRN_MO4500180137]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Dry Creek Trona Mine Project, Sweetwater County,
Wyoming
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 draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Dry Creek Trona Mine Project, Sweetwater County, WY.
DATES: To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments on the
draft EIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your comments within 45
days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft EIS in the
Federal Register. The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays. The
BLM will hold a public meeting during the public comment period. The
date, time, and location will be announced at least 15 days prior to
the meeting, through public notices, news releases, social media,
mailings and the BLM website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/admin/project/2016395/510.
ADDRESSES: The draft EIS is available for review on the BLM project
website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/admin/project/2016395/510.
Written comments related to the Dry Creek Trona Mine EIS may be
submitted by any of the following methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/admin/project/2016395/510
Email: [email protected]
Mail: Dry Creek Trona Mine EIS c/o BLM Kemmerer Field Office,
430 North Highway 189, Kemmerer, WY 83101
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/admin/project/2016395/510 and at
the Kemmerer and Rock Springs Field Offices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Lamborn, Project Manager,
telephone: (307) 828-4505; address: 430 North Highway 189, Kemmerer, WY
83101; 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 Ms. Kelly Lamborn. 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: The draft EIS provides the analysis of
environmental impacts for the proposed Dry Creek Trona Mine Project.
Pacific Soda, LLC (Pacific Soda) owns rights to mine trona resources on
private lands and leased BLM administered lands in the Kemmerer Field
Office in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The proposed mine permit area
includes two BLM leased sections and three private sections
locatedsouth of I-80 and west of Wyoming State Highway 530, south of
the town of Green River, Wyoming. The mine plan, if approved by the
BLM, would allow Pacific Soda to construct mining facilities and employ
solution mining technologies to develop their BLM leases by mining
trona beds 2,300 feet below the surface and processing that trona for
market. Pacific Soda estimates that approximately 23.5 million tons of
trona are in reserve on each section of land within the proposed
project area, that mining would occur on each section for 9 to 10
years, and that mined trona would be refined to produce approximately
6.0 million metric tons of marketable soda ash per year and 440,900
metric tons of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) per year. Key approving
agencies are the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, the BLM,
and the State of Wyoming Industrial Siting Commission.
There are four alternatives under consideration. Approximately the
same amount of trona would be mined under each action alternative
(i.e., alternatives B, C, and D):
Alternative A--No Action Alternative: The project would not be
approved.
Alternative B--Proposed Action: Company proposed action would
include processing facilities at the mine location. This alternative
includes 26.22 miles of water line and impacts nine acres of USFS
managed lands near the Green River. Under the proposed action
approximately 6,325 total acres could be impacted, of which about 327
acres is identified as a priority habitat management area (PHMA) for
sage grouse, with the remaining acreage a general habitat management
area (GHMA).
Alternative C--Modified proposed action: would collocate the
transmission line, access road, and rail line and thereby reduce
construction in undisturbed areas. The water line would remain the same
as Alternative B. Under this alternative approximately 6,387 total
acres would be impacted, of which about 324 acres are PHMA, with the
remaining acreage being GHMA.
Alternative D--BLM Preferred Alternative: Implementation of
Alternative D would result in a larger total project footprint (7,015
acres). Although development of the well field and mine production
levels would be unchanged, the processing facilities would be moved
from the mine site area to a site north of I-80, approximately 8 miles
west of Green River, Wyoming, within a designated processing facilities
boundary. The water supply pipeline
[[Page 65390]]
would be relocated to north of I-80, connecting the processing
facilities to the water intake on the Green River, reducing the impacts
from 24.66 miles to 6.4 miles, and eliminating the disturbance through
the U.S. Forest Service Flaming Gorge Recreation Area and the Blacks
Fork PHMA for Greater Sage-Grouse.
The preparation of an EIS is intended to assist the BLM in the
decision-making process through the identification, analysis, and
public disclosure of potential impacts of the Proposed Action on the
human environment, including but not limited to environmental, social,
and economic impacts (40 CFR 1502.16). Aside from BLM- and USFS-managed
lands, there are no additional federal or Wyoming state-managed lands
that would be disturbed by the Proposed Action. Additionally, the BLM
is not aware of any other proposed activities in the Dry Creek Trona
Mine Project area that would be considered a connected action to the
Proposed Action under NEPA.
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action: The BLM's purpose for the
action is to respond to Pacific Soda's Plan of Operations to construct
and operate trona mining facilities, including mine well fields,
processing facilities, a co-generation plant, storage ponds, access
roads, railroad spurs, and utility features. If approved by the BLM,
this would allow Pacific Soda the opportunity to develop their valid
existing leases on specific public lands within the proposed mining
plan boundary as authorized by the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (as
amended) and FLPMA. Pacific Soda would construct the mining facilities
and transportation and utility features specified in the Plan of
Operations and SF-299 applications for rights-of-way for off lease
facilities.
The need for the action is established by the BLM's responsibility
under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (as amended) and FLPMA. Under
these statutes, the BLM is required to respond to the Proposed Action
and review the proposed Mine Plan and associated SF-299 applications to
ensure that proposed mining activities and construction of associated
facilities do not cause unnecessary or undue degradation of public
lands and are carried out consistent with leasing stipulations and
other requirements mandated in the BLM Kemmerer and Green River
Resource Management Plans (RMPs), as well as other applicable federal,
state, and local statutes and regulations.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process: The Proposed Final EIS is
anticipated to be available for public review in December 2024, and the
Record of Decision in March 2025. The BLM will continue to consult with
Indian Tribal Nations on a government-to-government basis in accordance
with Executive Order 13175, BLM MS 1780, and other Departmental
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration. Consultation with interested Indian Tribal Nations is
ongoing. A Programmatic Agreement for addressing cultural concerns is
included in the EIS. Following a thorough NEPA analysis, the BLM's
decision includes whether to approve the Plan of Operations and
subsequent SF-299 applications (for transportation and utility
features) and, if approved, to determine whether modifications and/or
additional mitigation measures are required to comply with the FLPMA
mandate to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation and conform to
leasing stipulations specified in the BLM Kemmerer and Green River
RMPs.
The BLM will hold a public meeting during the public comment
period. The specific date, time, and location will be announced at
least 15 days prior to the meeting, through public notices, news
releases, social media, mailings, and the BLM website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/admin/project/2016395/510.
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 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)
Franklin Keeler,
Acting District Manager, BLM High Desert District Office.
[FR Doc. 2024-17683 Filed 8-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-26-P
