[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 52 (Thursday, March 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13437-13438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6576]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[CA-670-7122-6606); CACA 35511]


Recirculated Supplement; Environmental Impact Statement; Notice 
of availability; Imperial Project; Proposed Gold Mining/Processing 
Operations; Imperial County, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Recirculated Draft Supplement to 
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report 
for the Imperial Project Proposed Gold Mining/Processing Operation, 
Imperial County, California.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, notice is hereby given of the availability for 
comment of the Recirculated Supplement to the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report, which adds a new, lower 
threshold of significance to assess the significance of Project-related 
impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) on 
``endangered, rare or threatened species'' listed under the state or 
federal Endangered Species Acts. This change affects only the 
assessment of the significance of impacts under CEQA; BLM's threshold 
of significance to assess the significance of Project-related impact on 
these same biological resources under NEPA remains as described in the 
Draft.

DATES: Written comments must be post-marked or otherwise delivered by 
4:30 p.m. on May 19, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to the Imperial County 
Planning/Building Department, 939 Main Street, El Centro, California 
92243.


[[Page 13438]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Glen Miller (760) 337-4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document is a supplement to the 
analysis of biological resources in the November 1997 Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (``EIS/
EIR'') for the proposed Imperial Project (``Project''). As discussed in 
the Draft EIS/EIR, the Project is a proposal by Glamis Imperial 
Corporation to develop an open-pit, precious metal mining operation 
utilizing heap leach processes which is located entirely on public 
lands administered by the BLM in eastern Imperial County, California. 
In response to a recent decision by the San Deigo County Superior 
Court, this supplement adds a new, lower threshold of significance to 
assess the significance of Project-related impacts under CEQA on 
``endangered, rare or threatened species'' listed under the state or 
federal Endangered Species Acts. This change affects only the 
assessment of the significance of impacts under CEQA; BLM's threshold 
of significance to assess the significance of Project-related impact on 
these same biological resources under NEPA remains as described in the 
Draft EIS/EIR. This supplement explicitly relies on and incorporates by 
reference the underlying data, biological surveys, and other relevant 
information in the Draft EIS/EIR regarding biological resources; no new 
factual information is included in this supplement. Based upon this 
new, lower threshold of significance under CEQA, this supplement finds 
significant and unavoidable under CEQA the impacts resulting from the 
loss of on-site habitat for the desert tortoise, Gila woodpecker and 
peregine falcon; the loss of individual desert tortoise; and the 
cumulative effects of the identified cumulative projects on habitat for 
listed species and on individual desert tortoise. BLM's assessment of 
these same effects under NEPA remains unchanged from that presented in 
the Draft EIS/EIR; that these effects can and will be mitigated below 
the level of significance. Written comments regarding this supplement 
will be received during a 60-day public review period, but only 
comments received which are within the scope of this supplement will be 
addressed in the Final EIS/EIR.
    Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review. Individual respondents may request 
confidentially. If you wish to withhold your name or street address 
from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information 
Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written 
comment. Such requests will be honored to the extend allowed by law. 
All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirely.

    Dated: March 12, 1999.

Thomas Zale,
Acting Field Manager, El Centro Resource Area.
[FR Doc. 99-6576 Filed 3-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-M