[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 88 (Thursday, May 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25196-25197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12089]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Anchor Hill Project, Gilt Edge Mine, Environmental Impact 
Statement Supplement, Black Hills National Forest, SD

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft supplement to a final 
environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: J. Thomas Millard, Spearfish/Nemo District Ranger, of the 
Black Hills National Forest gives notice of the agency's intent to 
prepare a Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Anchor Hill Project of the Gilt Edge Mine. The responsible 
official for this project is John C. Twiss, Forest Supervisor, Black 
Hills National Forest.

DATES: The Draft Supplement should be available for public comment by 
the end of April 1998. The Final Supplement should be ready for public 
review in July of 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to District Ranger, Spearfish/Nemo 
District, P.O. Box 407, Deadwood, SD 57732.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don Murray Lands and Minerals Staff on the Spearfish/Nemo Ranger 
District, (605) 578-2744.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft Supplement will provide additional 
information and clarification of items in the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Anchor Hill Project published in November 
1997. The Anchor Hill Project is the proposed expansion of an existing 
open pit gold

[[Page 25197]]

mine on to 37 acres of land in the Black Hills National Forest, which 
is located four miles southeast of Deadwood, South Dakota.
    The comment period on the draft supplement to the final 
environmental impact statement will be a minimum of 45 days from the 
date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of 
availability in the Federal Register.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft supplements to the final environmental impact statements must 
structure their participation in the environmental review of the 
proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to the 
reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. 
v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that 
could be raised at the draft supplement to the final environmental 
impact statement stage but that are not raised until after completion 
of the final supplement to the final environmental impact statement may 
be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, 
it is very important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of the 45 day comment period so that 
substantive comments and objectives are made available to the Forest 
Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and respond to 
them in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft supplement 
to the final environmental impact statement should be as specific as 
possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or 
chapters of the draft supplement. Comments may also address the 
adequacy of the draft supplement to the final environmental impact 
statement or the merits of the alternatives formulated and discussed in 
the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer to the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural 
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in 
addressing these points.

    Dated: April 3, 1998.
J. Thomas Millard,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 98-12089 Filed 5-6-98; 8:45 am]
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