[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 19 (Thursday, January 29, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4468-4470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2311]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint Environmental Impact Report/
Environmental Impact Statement on a Proposed 30-year Expansion and 
Waste Management Plan for the Molycorp Mountain Pass Mine, Mountain 
Pass, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Joint Environmental Impact Report 
(EIR)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposed 30-year 
expansion and waste management plan for the Molycorp Mountain Pass 
Mine, Mountain Pass, California and notice of scoping meeting.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Needles Field 
Office, and the County of San Bernardino, in accordance with the 
California Environmental Quality Act, will be directing the preparation 
of a joint EIR/EIS to be prepared by a third-party contractor on the 
impacts of a proposed 30-year mine expansion and waste management plan 
for the Molycorp Mountain Pass Mine, located in Mountain Pass, San 
Bernardino County, California.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted until February 28, 1998. A 
public scoping meeting will be held beginning at 7 p.m. on February 3, 
1998, at the Baker Community Center, 73730 Baker Boulevard, Unit C, 
Baker, California.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Needles Field Office, Bureau 
of Land Management, 101 West Spike's Road, Needles, California 92363, 
ATTN: Molycorp Mountain Pass Mine Project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: George R. Meckfessel, Planning and 
Environmental Coordinator, at (760) 326-7000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the early 1990s, Molycorp Inc. (Molycorp) 
developed a plan to expand its mining operations for an additional 30 
years. Because the expansion area would exceed 25 percent of the vested 
area, Molycorp was required to obtain a Mining Conditional Use Permit 
from the County of San Bernardino. At the time that Molycorp proposed 
to expand its mining operations, portions of the main mine site were 
located on public land managed by BLM. Therefore, the original 
environmental review for the project was planned to be an EIR/EIS.

[[Page 4469]]

However, in 1992, Molycorp and BLM entered into a land transfer, which 
exchanged 879 acres of public land for 1,920 acres of private land. Due 
to the land transfer the environmental review was conducted as an EIR, 
with the County as the Lead Agency.
    A Draft EIR was circulated for public review in December 1996. The 
comment period closed on February 12, 1997. Numerous comments were 
received from public agencies and private individuals, including the 
following:
     BLM
     U.S. Geological Survey
     National Park Service
     U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
     California Regional Water Quality Control Board
     California Department of Transportation
     Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District
     County of San Bernardino Fire Department Hazardous 
Materials Division
     San Bernardino County Museum
     County of San Bernardino Division of Environmental Health 
Services
     The Desert Tortoise Council
     The Wilderness Society
     The Sierra Club, San Gorgonio Chapter
     Desert Survivors
     National Outdoor Coalition
     People Against Radioactive Dumps
     Best, Best & Krieger representing Primadonna Corporation
     Marjorie Mikels
     Dr. Howard Wilshire
    The predominant issues identified by commentors involved waste 
discharges, off-site groundwater contamination, potential air 
contamination, and full disclosure of mine components and processes. 
Upon review of the numerous comments received, the County determined 
that additional technical analysis would be required to adequately 
address the issues raised by those commenting on the Draft EIR. The 
County concluded that the Draft EIR would need to be recirculated to 
provide for proper public review of the additional analysis.
    During the summers of 1995 and 1996, releases were experienced in 
the 13-mile-long pipeline that carries waste discharges from the main 
mine processing area to the existing New Ivanpah Evaporation Pond. The 
New Ivanpah Evaporation Pond is located approximately 9 miles to the 
northeast of the main mine processing area. This pipeline crosses lands 
managed by the BLM and the NPS. The releases and subsequent issues 
related to integrity of the Ivanpah evaporation ponds heightened 
concerns about waste management and disposal. Molycorp indicated a 
desire to replace the discharge pipeline. The BLM felt that the 
environmental review process for considering a replacement pipeline 
would best be accomplished in concert with the County's consideration 
of the proposed expansion. Discussions with the County subsequently led 
to the decision to conduct a joint environmental review and to 
recirculate the 1996 Draft EIR as a Draft EIR/EIS that would add to the 
existing project the analysis of potential environmental impacts 
associated with replacing the waste discharge pipeline, and would also 
address issues of impacts to public lands from existing and potential 
contaminant migration from the main mine site and the existing New 
Ivanpah Evaporation Pond.
    Comments received on the Draft EIR/EIS will be addressed in the 
Final EIR/EIS. Commentors on the December 1996 Draft EIR will be 
included in the distribution of the Draft EIR/EIS and are invited to 
provide comments on the Draft EIR/EIS.
    Molycorp is proposing to continue its current lanthanide (rare-
earth elements) mining operation at its Mountain Pass Mine facility for 
the next 30 years. This continued effort would result in an expansion 
of the open pit, overburden storage areas, and mill tailings storage 
areas. Plant production rates would not increase as a result of the 
project. Expansion of the mine would consist of enlarging the surface 
area and depth of the open pit, expanding existing overburden 
stockpiles, expanding the existing North Tailings Pond or constructing 
a new tailings pond, and replacing the existing waste discharge 
pipeline to the existing New Ivanpah Evaporation Pond, either through 
pipeline replacement, or the construction of an on-site effluent 
treatment facility, or a combination of both.
    As described in the December 1996 Draft EIR, the mine expansion 
would occur over 30 years in three phases of 10 years each, with a 
final monitoring phase of 5 years. Phase I would include the following 
activities:
     Revisions to the existing means of waste disposal to the 
existing New Ivanpah Evaporation Pond, either through replacement of 
the existing pipeline, on-site effluent treatment, or a combination of 
both and potential modifications to or closure of the evaporation pond
     Continued mining and expansion of the pit westward by 
approximately 10 acres
     Realignment of power distribution lines
     Expansion of the west Overburden Stockpile by 
approximately 80 acres and realignment of the AT&T access road
     Expansion of the North Tailings Pond after retrofitting 
with a liner or design and construction of a new tailings pond and 
closure of the North Tailings Pond
     Relocation and expansion of the mine equipment yard
     Stockpiling of surface material from pit and overburden 
expansion for future reclamation of the tailings pond and overburden 
stockpiles.
    Phase 2 would include the following:
     Expansion of the open pit by 35 acres
     Expansion of Overburden Stockpile by 125 acres
     Increase tailings pond by 60 acres
     Relocation of Shadow Valley water supply line and 
explosives magazine
     Initiation of reclamation and revegetation of tailings 
pond and Overburden Stockpile
    Phase 3 would include the following:
     Expansion of the open pit by 35 acres
     Expansion of the Overburden Stockpile by 125 acres
     Increase tailings pond by 50 acres
     Continued reclamation and revegetation of tailings pond 
and Overburden Stockpile
    Phase 4 would include the following:
     Termination of mining and contouring of pit slopes
     Closure of tailings pond
     Closure of hazardous waste holding area
     Final reclamation and revegetation of Overburden Stockpile 
and previously vegetated disturbed surfaces.
    The Draft EIR/EIS will present final proposed acreages of mine 
facilities subject to final mine design.
    The components of the project remain the same as those described in 
the December 1996 Draft EIR, with the exception of Molycorp facilities 
occurring on federally administered lands. Such facilities include the 
replacement of the waste discharge pipeline to the existing New Ivanpah 
Evaporation Pond and the replacement of the existing fresh water 
pipeline. Alternatives to the expansion project, as identified in the 
December 1996 EIR, include a No Project Alternative, a Reduced Project 
Alternative, and an Underground Mining Alternative. Other alternatives 
addressing the waste management plans will be included. These 
alternatives will include three waste discharge pipeline alternative 
alignments, two on-site treatment alternatives, including (1) full 
treatment at the main mine site with no discharge to the existing New 
Ivanpah

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Evaporation Pond and closure of the evaporation pond and (2) partial 
treatment at the main mine site with continued discharge to the 
existing New Ivanpah Evaporation Pond, and a No Project alternative, 
whereby no action would be taken to replace the pipeline or provide on-
site treatment.
    During preparation of the December 1996 Draft EIR, significant 
impacts to the environment from the project and the project 
alternatives were identified in the following issue areas: Geologic 
Hazards, Flood Hazards, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Air 
Quality, Scenic Resources, Soil Resources, and Hazardous/Radioactive 
Materials. Cumulative impacts were also identified in these issue 
areas. The Draft EIR/EIS will review the impact assessment provided in 
the December 1996 Draft EIR in light of comments received from agencies 
and the public during the December 1996 Draft EIR circulation period 
and will revise the impact assessment in accordance with the components 
and activities of the redesigned project.
    The Draft EIR/EIS will also evaluate potential impacts of the 
pipeline replacement project and alternatives as well as the potential 
impacts from continuing contaminant migration from the main mine site 
from continuing operations. Technical studies are planned or underway 
in the following areas:
     Survey of the existing waste discharge pipeline for 
contamination from potential past releases
     Evaluation of the biological resources along the corridors 
of the pipeline alternatives
     Evaluation of cultural and paleontological resources in 
the area of the pipeline replacement alternatives
     Hydrology studies of the main mine site and nearby washes
     Hydrology studies of the existing New Ivanpah Evaporation 
Pond
     Waste discharge treatment alternatives
     Pipeline alignment alternatives
     Human health and ecological risk assessments
     Pit lake water quality modeling
    The Draft EIR/EIS will use the data provided in the technical 
reports to analyze the potential impacts to the environment from the 
proposed project and alternatives.
    A public scoping meeting will be held at the Baker Community 
Center, 73730 Baker Boulevard, Unit C, Baker, California, on February 
3, 1998 at 7 p.m. Upon close of the comment period for the joint Notice 
of Preparation (NOP)/Notice of Intent (NOI), the County and BLM will 
direct the preparation of the Draft EIR/EIS. It is anticipated that the 
Draft document will be available for circulation within 6 to 8 months. 
The Draft EIR/EIS will be circulated for 60 days, during which time 
comments will be solicited from interested parties and organizations 
and a public hearing will be held. The Final EIR/EIS is expected to be 
completed within 3 to 4 months following close of the comment period.
    The BLM scoping process for this EIR/EIS will include the 
following: (1) Identification of issues to be addressed, (2) 
identification of viable alternatives, and (3) notification of interest 
groups, individuals, and agencies so that additional information 
concerning these issues can be obtained.
    The scoping process will consist of a news release announcing the 
start of the EIR/EIS process and letters of invitation to participate 
in the scoping process.
Molly S. Brady,
Manager, Needles Field Office.
[FR Doc. 98-2311 Filed 1-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P