[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 162 (Friday, August 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50864-50866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20582]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVW0000.L5110000.GN0000.LVEMF1402860.14X; MO #4500078994]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Coeur Rochester Mine Plan of Operations
Amendment 10 and Closure Plan, Pershing County, NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Coeur Rochester Mine
Plan of Operations Amendment 10 and Closure Plan and by this notice is
announcing the opening of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Coeur Rochester Mine Plan of Operations
Amendment 10 and Closure Plan Draft EIS within 45 days following the
date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of
Availability in
[[Page 50865]]
the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or hearings
and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance
through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Coeur Rochester Mine
Plan of Operations Amendment 10 and Closure Plan Draft EIS by any of
the following methods:
Web site: http://on.doi.gov/1d5pIxR.
Email: [email protected]. Include Coeur Rochester Mine POA10
DEIS Comments in the subject line.
Fax: 775-623-1503.
Mail: BLM Winnemucca District, Humboldt River Field
Office, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, NV 89445.
Copies of the Coeur Rochester Mine Plan of Operations Amendment 10 and
Closure Plan Draft EIS are available in the Winnemucca District Office
at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Rehberg, Project Lead,
telephone 775-623-1500; address BLM Winnemucca District, Humboldt River
Field Office, 5100 E. Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, NV 89445; email
[email protected]. 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 a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, Coeur Rochester, Inc. (CRI),
has requested an expansion of their operations at the existing Coeur
Rochester Mine, which is located approximately 18 miles northeast of
Lovelock, Nevada, in the Humboldt Range, Pershing County. The mine is
currently authorized up to a disturbance of 1,939 acres (approximately
187 acres of private land and 1,752 acres of public land), which was
permitted under a series of Environmental Assessments (EA N26-86-002P,
February 1986; EA NV-020-99-12, February 1999; EA NV-020-01-06,
December 2000; EA NV-020-01-06, February 2002; EA NV-020-03-13, August
2003; DOI-BLM-NV-W010-2010-0010-EA, October 2010).
The Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts
associated with the proposed changes to CRI's current operations
presented under this Plan of Operations (Plan) modification, which
includes disturbance to 2,170.1 acres, of which 1,939 acres are already
approved for disturbance. A total of 254.5 acres of the new disturbance
is proposed on public land, however, there will be a reduction of
approved disturbance acres of 23.3 acres on private land.
The Draft EIS analyzes three alternatives: (1) The Proposed Action,
(2) Permanent Management of Potentially Acid Generating (PAG) Material
Outside of the Rochester Pit Alternative, and (3) the No Action
Alternative. If selected by the BLM, the Proposed Action would include
a change to the Plan boundary designed to include existing claims and
newly acquired private lands within the boundary. However, all of the
proposed disturbance to public land would be within the existing
approved Plan boundary. The proposal includes the following:
An approximately 67-acre expansion to the existing
Stage IV Heap Leach Pad (HLP);
An increase of the allowable maximum Stage IV HLP
stacking height from 330 feet to 400 feet;
Construction of a 124-acre Stage V HLP with associated
ponds and tank;
Relocation of a portion of the American Canyon public
access road and establishment of an associated right-of-way (ROW);
Relocation of a portion of the paved Rochester main
access road ROW;
Realignment of the Stage IV haul road and construction
of secondary access roads;
Relocation of existing power lines consistent with the
proposed ROW realignments and HLP construction;
Relocation of the electrical building, core shed, and
production well PW-2a;
Excavation of new borrow areas and construction of one
new growth medium stockpile;
Installation of the Stage IV HLP conveyor system,
associated load out points, ore stockpiles, maintenance road, and
utility corridor, including process solutions and fresh water supply
pipelines; and
Changes to closure activities for existing facilities
including: altering the open pit safety berm sizes; HLP interim
fluid management plans; HLP cover designs; the installation of
evaporation cells; and long-term draindown management.
Under the the Permanent Management of PAG Material Outside of the
Rochester Pit Alternative, the proposed activities listed in the
Proposed Action would be the same, with the exception of the permanent
location of the PAG material. In this alternative the material would be
permanently relocated outside of the existing pit.
Under the No-Action Alternative, the BLM would not approve the
proposed Plan modification and there would be no expansion. CRI would
continue mining activities under their previously approved plan of
operation.
Three other alternatives were considered, then eliminated: (1) Pit
Backfill Elevation Alternative, (2) Alternate Location for Stage V HLP
Alternative, and (3) Close a Portion of American Canyon Road to Public
Access Alternative.
A Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the Proposed Coeur
Rochester Mine Expansion was published in the Federal Register on June
27, 2014 (79 FR 36554). Eleven comments were received during a 30-day
scoping period. Information accepted during project scoping was
compiled to develop issue statements, which are listed in the Draft
EIS. The following issues of environmental, social, and economic
concern were identified: Air quality from mine emissions (including
mercury and greenhouse gases), climate change, geochemical mining
impacts, baseline data, alternatives development, monitoring,
cumulative impacts assessment, and potential impacts on vegetation,
riparian resources, dispersed recreation, visual resources, water
quality and quantity, wild horses and burros, and wildlife and special
status species.
The BLM analyzed a combination of proposed environmental measures
and possible mitigation to eliminate or minimize any impacts associated
with the proposed action. These included the potential for identifying
opportunities to apply mitigation hierarchy strategies for on-site,
regional, and compensatory mitigation appropriate to the size of the
proposal, and management actions to achieve resource objectives. The
BLM will use NEPA public participation requirements to assist the
agency in satisfying the public involvement requirements under the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 306108) pursuant
to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic and cultural
resources within the area potentially affected by the proposed Coeur
Rochester Mine Plan of Operations Amendment 10 will assist the BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources in the context of
both NEPA and the NHPA.
The BLM continues to consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts to Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes
and other stakeholders that may be interested or affected are invited
to comment on the proposal that the BLM is evaluating.
Please note that public comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses, and email addresses of
[[Page 50866]]
persons who submit comments will be available for public review and
disclosure at the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m.
to 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays.
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
James W. Schroeder,
Field Manager, Humboldt River Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2015-20582 Filed 8-20-15; 8:45 am]
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