[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 79 (Friday, April 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20419-20420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10893]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[BLM/MT/PL-98-010-1990-00-P]


Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Golden Sunlight 
Mines, Inc.; Amendment 008 and Mine Life Extension

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, DOI.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) and the Montana Environmental 
Policy Act, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Montana 
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), as lead agencies, have 
prepared, through a third-party contractor, a Final EIS on the impacts 
of the Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc., implementation of Amendment 008 and 
the extension of the mine life through 2006. The Final EIS presents a 
preferred alternative derived from seven alternatives, including the 
company Proposed Action. The preferred alternative is the agencies' 
attempt to reduce or avoid the potential environmental impacts of the 
Proposed Action. The Final EIS discloses the

[[Page 20420]]

possible environmental consequences associated with each alternative.

DATES: A Record of Decision will be prepared no earlier than 30 days 
after the Notice of Receipt for the Final EIS is published in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS will be available from the Bureau of 
Land Management, P.O. Box 3388, Butte, Montana 59702, telephone 406-
494-5059; or the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 
200901, Helena, Montana 50620-0901, telephone 406-444-3276.
    Public reading copies will be available for review at the following 
locations: (1) Bureau of Land Management, Office of External Affairs, 
Main Interior Building, Room 5600, 18th and C Streets NW., Washington, 
DC; (2) Bureau of Land Management, External Affairs Office, Montana 
State Office, 222 North 32nd Street, Billings, Montana; (3) Bureau of 
Land Management, Butte District Office, 106 North Parkmont Street; and 
(4) State of Montana, Department of Environmental Quality, 1520 East 
Sixth Avenue, Helena, Montana. Text of the Final EIS will be posted at 
the Department of Environmental Quality Web site: www.deq.mt.gov/
eis.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Hallsten, Team Leader, Montana 
Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 200901, Helena, Montana 
59620-0901, telephone 406-444-3276; or David Williams, Team Leader, 
Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 3388, Butte, Montana 59702, 
telephone 406-494-5059.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Golden Sunlight Mine (GSM) began large-
scale operations to mine and process gold-bearing ore in 1982 following 
completion of an Environmental Impact Statement by the Montana 
Department of State Lands (DSL) in 1981. Several minor amendments were 
processed by DSL and BLM between 1983 and 1990.
    In 1988 GSM applied for a major expansion of operations (Amendment 
008). Following completion of a mitigated Environmental Assessment in 
1990, GSM was authorized to proceed with the expansion. Amendment 008 
included 31 stipulations attached to the Decision Record for the EA. 
These stipulations were designed to address a variety of environmental 
issues developed in the EA. This decision was appealed to the Interior 
Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) by several environmental groups in 1990. 
In 1993 the IBLA ruled largely in favor of the agencies. In 1992 these 
same groups appealed the approval of Amendment 008 in Montana State 
court. On September 1, 1994, the District Court Judge ruled that DSL 
must prepare an EIS for the impacts associated with Amendment 008. 
Following the court ruling the plaintiffs, GSM and DSL, negotiated a 
Settlement Agreement that allowed mining to continue until the 
completion of an EIS.
    In compliance with the District Court Decision, the agencies began 
preparation of an EIS in 1995.
    Total disturbance is approximately 2,336 acres at this time. Under 
the Proposed Action the mine's permitted disturbance would expand to 
include an additional 517 acres of GSM land, 75 acres of BLM-
administered land, and 35 acres of school trust (state) land. 
Operations would continue until approximately 2006.
    The Golden Sunlight Mine is a conventional truck-and-shovel open-
pit mine. Approximately 60,000 to 70,000 tons of rock are excavated per 
day, totaling approximately 22 million tons per year. Only 2.5 million 
tons of this total are ore, the remainder being waste rock. 
Approximately 320 million tons of waste have been placed in waste rock 
dumps. The ore is processed in a vat cyanide process. Gold-bearing 
cyanide solutions are treated by carbon adsorption to recover the gold. 
The recovered gold is ultimately returned to solution for 
electrowinning onto steel wool, which is then smelted down to recover 
gold as dore. Following processing, the mill stream is piped as a 
slurry to Impoundment No. 2, a lined tailings impoundment. Impoundment 
No. 1 is an unlined facility which did experience some leakage in the 
early 1980s. This was corrected through a series of pumpback wells and 
the impoundment is currently undergoing the early stages of 
reclamation.
    Proposed reclamation of the waste rock dumps includes a mix of 
2H:1V and 3H:1V slopes. Because the waste rock at GSM has high 
potential for ``acid rock drainage'' or low pH runoff/effluent, 
effective reclamation of these wastes is crucial to limiting the 
reactions that produce acid rock drainage. The reclamation plan calls 
for a cover system that includes approximately 24 inches of neutral 
waste rock and 19 to 24 inches of cover soil. Extensive monitoring of 
several slopes reclaimed since 1990 to 1992 has helped the mine and the 
agencies determine what reclamation practices have been most effective. 
Surface water management is another critical factor in reclamation 
success and is an important part of the reclamation plan. Long-term 
water treatment is an integral part of the mine plan. GSM has posted a 
total bond of approximately 38 million dollars to cover reclamation 
costs.
    Public participation has occurred throughout the EIS process. A 
Notice of Intent was published in the Federal Register on October 25, 
1995. A public scoping meeting was conducted on October 17, 1995, to 
solicit comments for the scope of the EIS. Written scoping comments 
were accepted through November 10, 1995. A public hearing on the Draft 
EIS was held in Whitehall, Montana, on January 5, 1998, and written 
comments on the Draft EIS were accepted until January 21, 1998. In 
addition to 28 oral presentations at the public hearing, approximately 
289 written comments were received. All comments, written and oral, 
were reviewed and considered in preparation of the Final EIS.

    Dated: April 2, 1998.
Merle Good,
Headwaters Resource Area Manager.
[FR Doc. 98-10893 Filed 4-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P