Department of Agriculture February 28, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Omya California (Omya), a division of Omya Inc., has submitted the following applications: An Amended Plan of Operations and Reclamation Plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF); and A Mining and Land Reclamation Plan Conditional Use Permit application submitted to the County of San Bernardino (County). Combined, these applications propose the expansion of the existing Sentinel and Butterfield Quarries. The existing permitted Sentinel and Butterfield limestone quarries are located on mining claims within the SBNF. Known limestone ore resources, within the proposed quarry expansions, will add an additional 20 years life to the Sentinel Quarry, add an additional 40 years life to the Butterfield Quarry, and will allow mining at both quarries to be extended until 2055. Depending on market demand, the combined Sentinel and Butterfield Quarries average ore production rates will be approximately 680,000 tons per year compared to the 3-year average between 2004-2006 of approximately 378,000 tons per year. Reclamation will occur concurrently with mining. The proposed expansion includes 48.7 acres of disturbance at the Sentinel Quarry and 28.8 acres of disturbance at the Butterfield Quarry, for a total of 77.3 acres. Quarry development and expansion will be phased. Disturbance proposed for the project includes expansion of existing Sentinel and Butterfield Quarries, expansion of associated overburden placement sites, additional internal access roads and ancillary facility areas, and minor adjustments to existing disturbance boundaries. There are no new quarries, haul roads or overburden sites in this plan, only the phased expanded development and reclamation of the existing Sentinel and Butterfield Quarries. Implementation of the Proposed Project will require discretionary approvals from Federal, State, and local agencies and, therefore, this project is subject to the environmental review requirements of both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). To ensure coordination between the NEPA and CEQA processes, and to avoid duplication of effort, a joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is being prepared as recommended by CEQA Guidelines Section 15222 and 40 CFR 1506.25. The Forest Service is the NEPA Lead Agency and the County will be the CEQA Lead Agency for the joint EIR/EIS. As Lead Agency for the NEPA process, the Forest Service issues this Notice of Intent (NOI), as required by NEPA, for the Project. The County will issue a separate Notice of Preparation (NOP), as required for CEQA for the Proposed Project. Comments are being requested to help identify significant issues or concerns related to the proposed action, to determine the scope of the issues (including alternatives) that need to be analyzed and to eliminate from detailed study those issues that are not significant. Supporting documentation should be included with comments recommending that the EIR/EIS address specific environmental issues.

The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate and disclose the predicted effects of the Elk Late-Successional Reserve Enhancement project, which would treat natural stands and plantations on approximately 2,930 acres to reduce the current and future risk of large-scale disturbance events within early, mid and late-successional habitat within the Elk Flat Late-Successional Reserve and nearby stands. Additional benefits from risk reduction treatments include increasing the resilience and promoting continued development and connectivity of late-successional forest habitat within the Elk Flat Late-Successional Reserve. Objectives include improving forest health; increasing resiliency to natural events such as drought, insect and disease infestations and high severity wildfire; and restoring unique habitats. Forest stand treatments would be completed using commercial and non-commercial thinning and regeneration prescriptions. Fuels reduction would be completed using mechanical and hand methods and prescribed fire. Proposed road actions include maintenance and reconstruction of National Forest System roads, construction of temporary roads to complete project activities, and closure and decommissioning of National Forest System roads and existing routes. The project is located in Siskiyou County, California on the McCloud Ranger District of the Shasta McCloud Management Unit, Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The project's legal location is: Township 40 North, Range 1 West, Sections 4 and 5; and Township 41 North, Range 1 West, Sections 27 to 34, Mt. Diablo Meridian. The project area is approximately nine miles northeast of the town of McCloud, California, and 70 miles northeast of Redding, California.

This proposed rule would revise regulations governing the WIC Program, incorporating the provisions set forth in the Healthy, Hunger- Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) related to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) for the WIC Program. The HHFKA was signed into law by President Obama on December 13, 2010.