[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41330-41331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15017]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVL01000. L51100000.GN0000. LVEMF1601180 241A; NVN-090443 and NVN-
082888; 13-08807; MO#4500047785; TAS: 14X5017]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Bald Mountain Mine North and South
Operations Area Projects, White Pine County, Nevada
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Egan Field Office, Ely, Nevada has prepared a Final Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Bald Mountain Mine North and
South Operations Area Projects (Project) and by this notice is
announcing its availability.
DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision for a minimum of 30 days
after the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS for the Bald Mountain Mine North and
South Operations Area Projects are available for public inspection at
the BLM Ely District Office and at http://on.doi.gov/14R9rZ8.
Additional information is available at http://on.doi.gov/14vXckC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact
Stephanie Trujillo, BLM Ely District Project Manager, telephone: (775)
289-1831; address: 702 North Industrial Way, Ely, NV 89301; 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: Barrick Gold U.S. Inc. (Barrick) proposes to
expand, construct, and operate an open-pit gold mining operation
located in the Bald Mountain Mining District in White Pine County,
Nevada, approximately 65 miles northwest of the Town of Ely. The
proposed development and expansion would result in the disturbance of
approximately 7,097 acres, which would be located primarily on public
land managed by the BLM. The life of the mine would extend for 80 years
including construction, operation, reclamation, closure, reclamation
monitoring, and post-closure monitoring. Barrick completed the sale of
the Bald Mountain Mine (BMM) to Kinross Gold Corporation (Kinross) on
January 11, 2016 prior to final completion of the EIS process. Kinross
has assumed ownership of the Bald Mountain Mine and the proposed
expansion of the North and South Operations Area Projects (Project).
The Final EIS has retained the name of Barrick in the document, but
Kinross is the new operator of the BMM and proponent of the proposed
expansion.
The Final EIS describes and analyzes the proposed project site-
specific impacts (including cumulative) on all affected resources. The
Final EIS describes four alternatives: the Proposed Action, the North
and South Operations Area Facilities Reconfiguration Alternative, the
North and South Operations Area Western Redbird Modification
Alternative, and the No Action Alternative.
The North and South Operations Area Facilities Reconfiguration
Alternative was developed to avoid or minimize potential impacts to
mule deer migration; Greater Sage-Grouse leks, associated Priority
Habitat Management Areas (PHMAs), and General Habitat Management Areas
(GHMAs); visual impacts affecting the cultural setting of the Pony
Express National Historic Trail, Ruby Valley Pony Express Station, and
Fort Ruby National Historic Landmark; and visual impacts affecting
visitor aesthetics at the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The North
and South Operations Area Facilities Reconfiguration Alternative would
eliminate 1,429 acres of disturbance from the Proposed Action and an
additional 1,934 acres of previously authorized disturbance would not
be constructed, representing a 3,352-acre (47 percent) reduction in
comparison to the Proposed Action.
The North and South Operations Area Western Redbird Modification
(WRM) Alternative was developed to further reduce potential impacts to
mule deer migration. The WRM Alternative further reduces impacts to
groundwater and key cultural and visual resource settings, and reduces
potential impacts to Greater Sage-Grouse. The WRM Alternative would
eliminate 1,831 acres of disturbance from the Proposed Action and an
additional 2,169 acres of previously authorized disturbance would not
be constructed, representing a 3,989-acre (56 percent) reduction in
comparison to the Proposed Action. Five other alternatives were
considered but eliminated from further analysis. Mitigation measures
are considered to minimize environmental impacts and to ensure the
Project does not result in unnecessary or undue degradation of public
lands.
On April 16, 2012, a Notice of Intent was published in the Federal
Register inviting scoping comments on the Proposed Action. A legal
notice for scoping was prepared by the BLM and published in the Elko
Daily Free Press, Ely Times, Eureka Sentinel, and Reno Gazette-Journal
informing the public of the BLM's intention to prepare the Bald
Mountain Mine North and South Operations Area Projects EIS. Public
scoping meetings were held May 7-10, 2012, in Ely, Eureka, Elko, and
Reno, Nevada. A total of 180 individual comments were received. The
comments were incorporated in a Scoping Report and were considered in
the preparation of the Draft EIS.
Concerns raised during scoping included: potential degradation of
surface water or groundwater quality and potential depletion to
groundwater from pit lakes and/or water withdrawals for mine
operations; potential impacts to mule deer habitat and migration
corridors; potential impacts to Greater Sage-Grouse habitat and
strutting grounds; potential impacts to Wild Horse Herd Management
Areas (HMAs), including herd access to surface water sources; potential
air quality impacts from fugitive dust containing mercury, arsenic, or
other contaminants; and potential impacts to visual resources including
the visual setting of the Pony Express Trail and the Ruby Lake National
Wildlife Refuge. The North and South Operations Area Facilities
Reconfiguration Alternative and Western Redbird Alternative were
developed to help reduce impacts to mule deer, Greater Sage-Grouse, and
visual resources. Mitigation measures have also been included to show
how impacts on resources could be minimized.
The BLM prepared the Draft EIS in conjunction with its five
Cooperating
[[Page 41331]]
Agencies: Nevada Department of Wildlife, State of Nevada Sagebrush
Ecosystem Program, Eureka County, White Pine County, and the U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. A Notice of
Availability was published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2015
(80 FR 48913-48914), and the public was invited to provide written
comments on the Draft EIS during the 45-day comment period (8/14/2015
to 9/28/2015). The BLM extended the comment period an additional 15
days to 60 days based on several comments received that requested an
extension of the comment period on the Draft EIS.
A legal notice was prepared by the BLM and published in the Elko
Daily Free Press, Ely Times, Eureka Sentinel, and Reno Gazette-Journal
informing the public of the availability of the Bald Mountain Mine
North and South Operations Area Projects Draft EIS and upcoming public
meetings, which were held in Ely, Eureka, Elko, and Reno (9/15/2015 to
9/18/2015). A total of 35 individual comment submittals containing 451
individual comments were received. Comments on the Draft EIS received
from the cooperating agencies, the public, and the internal BLM review
were considered and incorporated, as appropriate, into the Final EIS.
Concerns included potential impacts (1) to mule deer migration; (2) to
Greater Sage-Grouse leks and associated habitats; (3) to springs from
groundwater pumping; (4) to Wild Horse Herd Management Areas (HMAs),
including herd access to surface water sources; (5) to air quality
(specifically from mercury); (6) of climate change on wildlife and
other resources; and (7) to visual resources and other indirect impacts
to the setting of the Pony Express National Historic Trail, Ruby Valley
Pony Express Station, Fort Ruby National Historic Landmark, and
Sunshine Locality National Register District and the Ruby Lake National
Wildlife Refuge. There were also comments received in general support
or opposition to the Project. These public comments resulted in the
addition of clarifying text, but did not significantly change the
analysis. The selected agency preferred alternative is the Western
Redbird Modification Alternative.
On September 21, 2015, during the public comment period for the
Draft EIS, the Record of Decision (ROD) and 2015 Nevada and
Northeastern California Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource
Management Plan Amendment was signed. To ensure consistency with the
Plan Amendment, the BLM compared the maps and habitat management
categories in that document to the initial habitat maps from BLM
Instruction Memorandum 2012-044 (December 27, 2011) that were used in
the development of the DEIS. The proponent has proposed a robust suite
of applicant-committed environmental protection measures into their
Proposed Action and all Alternatives, to incorporate Design Features
and Management Decisions from the 2015 Nevada and Northeastern
California Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management Plan
Amendment. As a result, the analysis and resulting mitigation for
Greater Sage-Grouse outlined in Chapter 6 (Mitigation and Monitoring)
of this Final EIS are consistent with the Greater Sage-Grouse Plan.
This will be achieved by avoiding, minimizing, and compensating for
residual impacts by applying beneficial mitigation actions.
Following a 30-day Final EIS availability and review period, a
Record of Decision (ROD) will be issued. The decision reached in the
ROD is subject to appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals. The 30-
day appeal period begins with the issuance of the ROD.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 40 CFR 1506.10.
Jill A. Moore,
Field Manager, Egan Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-15017 Filed 6-23-16; 8:45 am]
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