[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 122 (Friday, June 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39174-39175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15586]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UT-020-00-5101-ER-J206, U-76985]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
and Proposed Plan Amendment to the Pony Express Resource Management 
Plan (RMP)

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement and Proposed Plan Amendment to the Pony Express Resource 
Management Plan (RMP).

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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), Salt Lake 
Field Office, Utah announces the availability of a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) and plan amendment to the Transportation and 
Corridor Decision of the Pony Express RMP.
    On April 15, 1999 the Salt Lake Field Office published in the 
Federal Register a notice of intent to conduct a plan amendment to the 
RMP. Further, the notice indicated that BLM was a cooperating agency 
with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), lead agency for the DEIS. 
The NRC is publishing a separate notice for the DEIS, ``Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Construction and Operation of an 
Independent Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Installation on the Reservation 
of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians and the Related 
Transportation Facility in Tooele County, Utah'' NUREG-1714, June 2000, 
regarding the proposal of Private Fuel Storage, L.L.C. (PFS) to 
construct and operate an independent spent fuel storage installation 
(ISFSI) on the Reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. 
BLM intends to adopt the EIS as a basis for its plan amendment 
decision.

DATES: Comments on the land use plan amendment and DEIS will be 
accepted though September 21, 2000. Public meetings concerning both the 
DEIS and

[[Page 39175]]

plan amendment will be held at the following locations and dates:

--July 27, 2000, Little America Inn, Arizona Room, 500 S. Main Street, 
Salt Lake City, UT, from 7-10 p.m.
--July 28, 2000, Grantsville Middle School, 318 S. Hale Street, 
Grantsville, UT, from 7-10 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed BLM plan amendment and the DEIS 
should be sent to Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division 
of Freedom of Information and Publications Services, Office of 
Administration, Mailstop T-6D-59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001. All comments received by the NRC, including 
those made by Federal, State, and local agencies, Indian tribes, or 
other interested persons, will be made available for public inspection 
at the NRC's Public Document Room in Washington, DC.
    The DEIS is available for public inspection and duplication at the 
NRC's Public Document Room at the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NS, 
Washington, DC. The DEIS will be available for review on the NRC Web 
site, and a comment form will be available for those who wish to submit 
comments. Upon written request and to the extent supplies are 
available, a single copy of the draft report can be obtained for free 
by writing to the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Reproduction 
and Distribution Services Section, U.S. Nuclear Regulator Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; by e-mail ([email protected]); or by fax 
at (301) 415-2289. Comments, including names and street addresses of 
respondents, will be available for public review at the BLM Salt Lake 
Field Office and will be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). They may be published as part of the Final EIS 
and other related documents. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street address 
from public review and disclosure under the FOIA, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, will be made available for public 
inspection in their entirely.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the BLM plan 
amendment contact Alice Stephenson, BLM Project Leader, telephone (801) 
977-4317. Existing planning documents and information are available at 
the above address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PFS intends to transport spent nuclear fuel 
(SNF) by rail from commercial power reactor sites to an existing rail 
line north of Skull Valley. To transport the SNF from the existing rail 
line to the proposed facility, PFS proposes the construction and 
operation of a rail siding and rail line from Skunk Ridge (near Low, 
Utah) to the site of the ISFSI on the Reservation. This DEIS discusses 
the purpose and need for the PFS proposal and describes the proposed 
action and its reasonable alternatives. The PFS proposal requires 
approval from four federal agencies, NRC, Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA), Surface Transportation Board (STB), and BLM. The BLM decision to 
grant a right-of-way to PFS would be dependent upon the decisions made 
by the NRC and BIA. If the NRC issues a license to PFS for the proposed 
facility and BIA approves the lease, then BLM's preferred alternative 
would be to amend the Pony Express RMP and issue a right-of-way for the 
Skunk Ridge rail siding and rail line.

Sally Wisely,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 00-15586 Filed 6-22-00; 8:45 am]
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