[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 91 (Thursday, May 11, 1995)] [Notices] [Pages 25243-25245] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 95-11645] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [CA-066-00-5440-10-ZBBB; CACA-30079; CACA-25594; CACA-3192] Proposed Land Exchange and Rights-of-Way for Eagle Mountain Non- Hazardous Municipal Solid Waste Landfill and Recycling Center Agency: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Palm Springs-South Coast Resource Area, Desert District, California. Action: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and 40 CFR 1508.22, notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the County of Riverside (County) will prepare a joint Federal Environmental Impact Statement/County Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for a proposed land exchange and rights-of-way with Kaiser Eagle Mountain, Inc. (Kaiser) for a proposed Class III non-hazardous, municipal solid waste landfill and recycling center at the Eagle Mountain mine site in Riverside County, California. The landfill would be operated by Mine Reclamation Corporation (MRC). In the proposed land exchange, BLM would acquire from Kaiser approximately 2,846 acres of land that include areas containing important habitat for the desert tortoise (a federally listed threatened species) and habitat supporting the desert pupfish (a federally listed endangered species). The acquisition of these offered private lands would benefit BLM's biological, cultural, scenic, and resource management goals and programs. BLM would transfer to Kaiser approximately 3,481 acres of public land, much of which is disturbed from past mining operations and is subject to unpatented mining and mill site claims currently held by Kaiser. Kaiser would lease this land together with other lands necessary for the landfill to MRC for use in developing and operating a Class III non-hazardous, municipal solid waste landfill and recycling center (Landfill). Kaiser is also applying for the conversion of a legislatively approved railroad right-of-way (granted to Kaiser for rail and road access to the mine site for mining purposes) to a 26.8 mile right-of- way grant pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 for rail and road access to the site. Kaiser also is applying for a new 6.75 mile right-of-way [[Page 25244]] pursuant to FLPMA to allow road access via existing Eagle Mountain Road to the site. The new FLPMA right-of-way is proposed to be issued jointly to Kaiser and the Metropolitan Water District. The proposed new FLPMA right-of-way to Kaiser would supersede the existing legislative right- of-way to allow use of the rail and road for landfill purposes. The site also would be used for rail and equipment maintenance, landfill gas recovery and utilization, flare/energy recovery, and leachate processing. Alternatives to the current proposal will be considered in the EIS/EIR. Supplementary Information: The project site is Kaiser's open iron mine located in the Eagle Mountains in eastern Riverside County, California. The site is located approximately 10 miles north of Interstate Highway 10 and Desert Center, approximately 170 miles east of Los Angeles, and approximately 50 miles west of the Arizona border. MRC has leased from Kaiser the lands necessary for the Landfill and a 52-mile private railroad for the Landfill for a period of 100 years. MRC proposes to use approximately 4,564 acres of the leased area for the Landfill facility site, of which about 2,262 acres would be for actual landfilling. The proposed railroad right-of-way traverses public land from Ferrum to the mine site. Before refuse is delivered to the project site, it will be processed through a transfer station or a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) as near as practicable to the sources of refuse production in Southern California. At the transfer station or MRF, which will not be owned or operated by MRC, refuse will be screened for hazardous substances, sorted for recyclables, compacted, and loaded into closed shipping containers. The closed containers will be transported to the Landfill site by train or in some cases by truck. MRC plans to have the Landfill operational in 1997. Initially, MRC expects to receive approximately 3,000 to 4,000 tons of waste per day. Over the first 10 years, this daily volume is expected to reach 12,000 tons per day. The peak waste flow of 20,000 tons is not expected to be reached until at least 20 years into the operations, with 18,000 tons per day being transported by rail and a maximum of 2,000 tons per day being transported by road. The waste would be placed in and around the existing open mining pits at the site. The estimated total capacity of the proposed Landfill is approximately 670 million tons. The project would be developed to meet stringent state and federal regulations and guidelines for municipal solid waste landfills. The entire area underlying the refuse would be lined with a composite liner overlain by a leachate collection and removal system. At no time would refuse be placed upon or against unlined native material. Other environmental monitoring and control systems to be constructed would include: groundwater monitoring wells, leachate collection and treatment system, drainage systems, and landfill gas control and recovery systems. In conjunction with the development of the Landfill, Kaiser would redevelop the Eagle Mountain Townsite (Townsite) located near the Landfill site. The Townsite consists of residential and commercial buildings and infrastructure as well as an operating community correctional facility. Although the Townsite was once populated with nearly 3,700 people, the current Townsite population has decreased to approximately 220 people. The Eagle Mountain Landfill and Recycling Center project was previously evaluated in a Joint EIS/EIR prepared by the BLM and the County. A Notice of Intent for the prior EIS/EIR was published November 15, 1989 (See 54 FR 47581). The County certified the EIR portion of the joint document on November 3, 1992, and the BLM issued its Record of Decision (ROD) for the Project on October 20, 1993. Appeals were filed with the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) as a result of the BLM's approval of the project. In December, 1992, three lawsuits were filed in state court challenging the adequacy of the EIR under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In September, 1994, a state court judge issued a Writ of Mandate to the County finding the EIR inadequate in specified areas and requiring further environmental review to be undertaken by the County. As the County was preparing to initiate a new round of environmental review to address the deficiencies identified by the state court in its Writ of Mandate, BLM requested that the ROD be remanded to the BLM to facilitate undertaking joint environmental review with the County pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The IBLA has now remanded the matter to the BLM to allow for further environmental review. BLM has agreed to again prepare a joint NEPA/CEQA environmental document in cooperation with the County. The new document will include review of potential environmental impacts from the anticipated improvements to the Townsite, located adjacent to the Landfill site. The County will concurrently process land use applications for the Landfill and the Townsite. BLM has responsibility for the environmental review being conducted pursuant to NEPA and will ensure appropriate review in accordance with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA, pertinent guidance contained in the Department of Interior Manual on Environmental Quality (DM 516), and the BLM NEPA Handbook (H-1790- 1). The environmental document will be developed by a third party contractor approved by BLM. BLM will maintain overall responsibility for preparation and review of the document. Dates: Four public scoping meetings will be held on consecutive days at the following times and locations: 9 a.m-12 p.m. May 31, 1995: Council Chamber, City of Palm Desert, 73- 510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, California 6 p.m.-9 p.m. May 31, 1995: County Service Area #51, Clubhouse, 26251 Parkview, Desert Center, California 9 a.m-12 p.m. June 1, 1995: Riverside Raincross Convention Center, Community Room, 3443 Orange Street, Riverside, California 6 p.m.-9 p.m. June 1, 1995: Ramada Inn, San Jacinto Room, 3885 West Florida Avenue, Hemet, California Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. for the morning meetings and 5:30 p.m. for the evening meetings. Public participation is an integral part of the review process. 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 identify and eliminate from detailed study the issues that are not significant. All comments recommending that the EIS/EIR address specific environmental issues should contain supporting documentation and rationale. Written comments must be submitted no later than 30 days from the date of this notice to the following address: Ms. Julia Dougan, Area Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Palm Springs-South Coast Resource Area Office, 63-500 Garnet Avenue, North Palm Springs, California, 92258-2000. For Additional Information Contact: Dr. Joan Oxendine, BLM, Palm Springs-South Coast Resource Area, P.O. Box 2000, North Palm Springs, CA 92258-2000, telephone 619-251-4804. [[Page 25245]] Dated: May 5, 1995. Julia Dougan, Area Manager. [FR Doc. 95-11645 Filed 5-10-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-40-P