[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 107 (Monday, June 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29546-29547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13566]



 ========================================================================
 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 107 / Monday, June 5, 1995 / 
Notices  

[[Page 29546]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


North Star Inc. Mine Operating Plan

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the United States Forest Service 
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the 
potential environmental impacts that may be associated with development 
of the proposed North Star Project. North Star, Inc., previously known 
as Right Star, Inc. a California Corporation, has filed a plan of 
operation with the Big Bear Ranger Station, San Bernardino National 
Forest to expand and develop a high grade locatable limestone deposit 
in San Bernardino County, California. The North Star Project is located 
approximately 80 miles due east of Los Angeles, and approximately 3.5 
miles northeast of Big Bear City. The Project will ultimately affect 
approximately 37 acres, and includes the following activities: mining, 
limestone trucking, vegetation and soil removal, blasting, loading, 
crushing, screening, and reclamation of disturbed land. The quarry will 
extend to a depth of approximately 40 feet below the level of Forest 
Road 3N03. Access to the site is via State Highway 18 and Forest Road 
3N03. Approximately 200 tons of limestone per day would be transported 
to markets in California and Arizona. The USDA Forest Service is the 
lead Federal Agency for NEPA compliance in the preparation of the 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project. The 
following issues have been preliminarily identified for analysis: 
Visual quality, cultural resources, traffic, recreation, threatened, 
endangered and sensitive plant and wildlife species, health and safety, 
economics, mineral development, air quality, and other land uses. In 
accordance with the National Environmental Quality Act requirements, 
the EIS will also consider alternatives to the proposed action. 
Alternatives and additional issues may be identified as a result of the 
public scoping process.
    This notice is a request for environmental information that you or 
your organization feels should be addressed in the EIS. Detailed 
information may be included in your response. Written comments should 
be sent to the address below no later than June 30, 1995.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The General Mining Law of 1872 (May 10, 
1872) as amended, authorizes the location and extraction of minerals, 
including limestone, subject to regulations prescribed by law.
    Mining regulations for the Forest Service are found in 36 CFR Part 
228, Subpart A, first issued on August 28, 1974.
    In preparing the environmental impact statement, the Forest Service 
will identify and consider a range of alternatives for this site. One 
of these will be no development of the site. Other alternatives will 
consider the company proposal, and environmentally modified proposal 
and an environmentally constrained proposal. Alternative locations for 
overburdened dumps, roads, and support facilities also will be 
considered.
    Gene Zimmerman, Forest Supervisor, San Bernardino National Forest, 
San Bernardino, California is the responsible official.
    Public participation will be especially important at several points 
during the analysis. The first point is during the scoping process (40 
CFR 1501.7). The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments, 
and assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies and other 
individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by 
the proposed action. This input will be used in preparation of the 
draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The scoping process 
includes:
    1. Identifying potential issues.
    2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth.
    3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been 
covered by a relevant previous environmental analysis.
    4. Exploring additional alternatives.
    5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed 
action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects 
and connected actions).
    6. Determining potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.
    The mining of limestone is a significant activity on the north 
slope of the San Bernardino Mountains and is important to the economy 
of the Lucerne Valley Community. In excess of 3.5 million tons of 
limestone material are removed annually from quarries on both private 
and Federal lands. An additional 1.8 million tons of un-economic 
materials are removed but re-deposited in waste dumps. The limestone 
mining operations on the northslope have been carried on for many years 
through various approvals (Plans of Operations and a variety of 
amendments to those plans). The need for a consolidation of plans and 
amendments and a need to emphasize reclamation and advanced planning 
has been identified.
    North Star, Inc., has been bulk-sample mining at the edge of the 11 
acre site. Approximately .6 of an acre has been mined to date. Mining 
equipment (e.g. drills, crushers, loaders) has not been left on the 
site. North Star proposes to expand from the current bulk sample to an 
anticipated 200,000 tons of product in the next 5 years, based upon 
market demands.
    North Star Minerals, Inc., a California corporation, holds leases 
for Smart Ranch Carbonate Placer Mining Claims 11 and 16 from Don Fife 
and Associates in Lone Valley, Big Bear Ranger District (Sec 32, T3N, 
R2E, SBBM) all within San Bernardino County. Right Star proposes to 
develop a quarry on the 11 acres and conduct operations that will yield 
high quality screened limestone products. Access to the site is via SH 
18 and Forest road 3N03. Approximately 8 trucks per day would transport 
200 tons of limestone to markets in the Lucerne Valley area. The 11 
acres will be used for soil stockpiles, processing facility and a 
benched quarry. Operations will include vegetation and soil removal, 
blasting, loading, hauling, crushing and screening. The quarry will 
extend to a depth of approximately 40 feet below the level of FS 3N03. 
Waste material would also be deposited on-site. Electrical power would 
be supplied by [[Page 29547]] a diesel generator. The staging area 
would be set up to accommodate a guard's camper trailer and chemical 
toilet for the crew. A 20 foot air-sea cargo container (for storage of 
small tools) and a 500 gallon diesel fuel storage tank would be in the 
same general location.
    During a preliminary environmental analysis, it was determined that 
an area of Forest Service sensitive plants and their habitat exists on 
the North Star limestone area, and that the plants and habitat would be 
impacted by any developmental alternative. For the reason, it was 
determined that the proposal could have significant effects on the 
environment, and an EIS is needed.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by 
September 1995. At that time EPA will publish a notice of availability 
of the draft EIS in the Federal Register.
    The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date 
that the EPA's notice of availability appears in the Federal Register. 
It is very important that those interested in the management of the 
north slope of the San Bernardino Mountains participate at that time. 
To be the most helpful, comments on the draft EIS should be as specific 
as possible and may address the adequacy of the statement or the merits 
of the alternatives discussed (see The Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3). In addition, Federal court 
decisions have established that reviewers of draft EISs must structure 
their participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that 
it is meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewers' position and 
contentions, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 
553 (1978), and that environmental objections that could have been 
raised at the draft stage may be waived if not raised until after 
completion of the final environmental impact statement. Wisconsin 
Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334 (E.D. Wis. 1980). The 
reason for this is to ensure that substantive comments and objections 
are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it can 
meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final.
    After the comment period ends on the draft EIS, the comments will 
be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the final 
environmental impact statement. The final EIS is scheduled to be 
completed by December 1995. In the final EIS, the Forest Service is 
required to respond to the comments received (40 CFR 1503.4). The 
responsible official will consider the comments, responses, 
environmental consequences discussed in the EIS, and applicable laws, 
regulations, and policies in making a decision regarding this proposal. 
The responsible official will document the decision and reasons for the 
decision in the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to 
appeal under 36 CFR 211.18.

DATES: Comments are requested on this notice concerning the scope of 
the analysis of the draft EIS. Comments must be received within 30 days 
of the publication date of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions concerning the scope 
of the analysis to Gene Zimmerman, Forest Supervisor, San Bernardino 
National Forest, 1824 S. Commercenter Circle, San Bernardino, CA 92408-
3430.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Raj Daniel, District Minerals Officer, San Bernardino National Forest, 
Mill Creek Station, 34701 Mill Creek Road, Mentone, CA 92359, 
telephone: (909) 794-1123.

    Dated: May 26, 1995.
Gene Zimmerman,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-13566 Filed 6-2-95; 8:45 am]
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