[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 166 (Friday, August 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58962-58963]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20449]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWYR05000.L51100000.GN0000.LVEMK11CW630-WYW-168184]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Sheep Mountain Uranium Project, Fremont County,
Wyoming
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 (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy Act of 1976
(FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Sheep Mountain
Uranium Project and by this notice is announcing its availability.
DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal 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 Sheep Mountain Uranium Project Final EIS are
available for public inspection in the BLM Lander Field Office, 1335
Main Street, Lander, Wyoming; and in the BLM Wyoming State Office, 5353
Yellowstone, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Interested persons may also review the
Final EIS on the Internet at the project Web site at http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/lfo/sheepmtn.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Krassin, Project Manager,
telephone 307-332-8400; address Lander Field Office, 1335 Main Street,
Lander, Wyoming 82520; email [email protected]. Persons
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf 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: Titan Uranium USA Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Titan Uranium Inc., submitted a 43 CFR 3809 plan of
operations to the BLM Lander Field Office (LFO) for the Sheep Mountain
Uranium Project (Project) in Fremont County, Wyoming on June 16, 2011.
On February 29, 2012, Energy Fuels Inc. acquired Titan Uranium Inc. and
all of its subsidiaries are now wholly-owned subsidiaries of Energy
Fuels Resources (USA) Inc. (Energy Fuels). Energy Fuels will continue
as the owner and operator of the Project. Energy Fuels submitted a
revised Plan of Operations to the BLM on July 9, 2012 and August 27,
2013.
The Project is located 8 miles south of Jeffrey City, Wyoming, in
south-central Fremont County, in the Crooks Gap-Green Mountain Mining
District, which was extensively mined starting in the 1950s. This area
lies 62 miles southeast of Riverton, 67 miles north of Rawlins, and 105
miles southwest of Casper. The Project is within the active State of
Wyoming Permit to Mine 381C administered by the Wyoming Department of
Environmental Quality-Land Quality Division (WDEQ-LQD). Energy Fuels'
revised application to Permit to Mine 381C was approved in July 2015.
Energy Fuels is currently considering applying for a U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) Source Materials License.
Energy Fuels proposes to explore for and develop uranium reserves
to produce approximately 1.0 million to 2.0 million pounds of
U3O8, or yellowcake, from the uranium ore per
year over an anticipated project life of 20 years. Mining would be
completed using conventional methods including open pit and underground
methods. Ore processing into yellowcake would occur either on site
using a heap leach and solvent extraction/ion exchange or off site
using the existing conventional Sweetwater Uranium Mill approximately
30 miles to the south. The boundary of the Sheep Mountain Project Area
is within the active WDEQ-LQD Permit to Mine 381C Permit Area,
encompassing approximately 3,611 acres (approximately 5.6 square
miles), of which approximately 929 acres would be disturbed under the
Proposed Action Alternative. Approximately 62 percent (572.5 acres) of
the surface within the proposed action disturbance area historically
was disturbed by previous mining and exploration activities.
The Final EIS addresses the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts
of the proposed action, the No Action Alternative and the BLM
Mitigation Alternative.
The No Action Alternative, as required by NEPA, describes
conditions that would occur if the proposed Project were denied. The No
Action Alternative includes reclamation by Energy Fuels of
approximately 144 acres as required by the WDEQ-LQD Permit to Mine
381C, and the reclamation of the existing McIntosh Pit by the WDEQ-
Abandoned
[[Page 58963]]
Mine Lands Program which began in 2014 and is scheduled to conclude in
2020. The Proposed Action Alternative is the Project as proposed by
Energy Fuels in its plan of operations and the WDEQ-LQD Permit to Mine
381C as approved in July 2015.
The BLM Mitigation Alternative would utilize the same conventional
mining techniques over the same period as under the Proposed Action
Alternative, but modifications to the proposed reclamation plan would
be required. In addition, the BLM Mitigation Alternative would identify
opportunities to apply hierarchical mitigation strategies for on-site
and regional mitigation strategies and identify areas appropriate to
apply landscape-level conservation and management actions to achieve
resource objectives.
The Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal
Register on August 23, 2011 (76 FR 52688). The scoping comments
received in response to this notice were used while preparing the Draft
EIS to inform during alternative development and to identify issues to
be analyzed in the impact analysis. A 45-day public comment period for
the Draft EIS was held from January 16-March 2, 2015. The BLM hosted a
public meeting in Lander at the Fremont County Library on January 28,
2015.
Notable changes to the Draft EIS based on comments received include
the following:
Clarified the description of specific aspects of the
Proposed Action, including revisions to the WDEQ-LQD Mine Permit 381C,
storm-water management, disposal of dewatered waste water under the
Wyoming Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WYPDES), and roles and
responsibilities of permitting agencies in allowing off-site versus on-
site processing.
Reviewed and revised the analysis of impacts to water
resources as a result of the WYPDES permit and storm-water management
plans under the Proposed Action Alternative for consistency with Mine
Permit 381C.
Added details to the analysis of impacts to Greater Sage-
Grouse, particularly in regards to hauling material off site which
included analyzing alternative haul routes to the potential off-site
processing facility.
Added details to the analysis of other resources such as
public health and safety, wetlands, vegetation, soils, water, climate
and air quality.
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, 40 CFR 1506.10
Mary Jo Rugwell,
BLM Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-20449 Filed 8-25-16; 8:45 am]
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