[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49554-49555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20571]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
for a Dredge and Fill Permit Application for the IMC Phosphate 
Company's (IMC) Proposed Ona Mine Project in Hardee County, Florida

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers has regulatory authority to permit the discharge of 
dredge and fill material into wetlands and other waters of the United 
States. In compliance with its responsibilities under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Jacksonville District, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intends to prepare a DEIS as a result of 
the dredge and fill permit application for the IMC Ona Mine Project.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald H. Silver, (904) 232-2502, West 
Permits Branch, Regulatory Division, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, 
Florida 32232-0019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: IMC proposes to construct and operate a 
surface mine for the recovery of phosphate rock from its 20,595-acre 
property in western Hardee County near the rural community of Ona, 
Florida. Phosphate rock is the source of the element phosphorous, which 
is essential to life and for which there is no substitute. Phosphate 
rock recovered from the Ona Mine will be shipped to manufacturers who 
convert it to concentrated fertilizers used in high-yield agriculture.
    The project proposed by IMC envisions that initially, only mining 
and reclamation will occur on the Ona property, with beneficiation and 
shipment of the phosphate rock occurring at the existing IMC's 
beneficiation plant at the Fort Green Mine in Polk and Hardee Counties. 
At a later date, which is as yet undetermined, a beneficiation plant 
consisting of a washer, a flotation plant, product inventory, a 
shipping facility, and miscellaneous support facilities will be 
constructed at the proposed plant site, and the portion of the Ona 
Mine's phosphate reserve which has not been mined at that time will be 
processed at the new plant. There will be no chemical plant, gypsum 
stack or rock dryer at the Ona Mine site.
    Over many decades, significant portions of the Ona Mine property 
have been converted to agricultural use, chiefly as improved pasture. 
The natural ecosystems on most of these agricultural lands have been 
degraded or improved for agricultural activities. IMC proposes to mine 
these areas and to reclaim them to an appropriate blend of agricultural 
and habitat values. However, there are also some areas of less 
disturbance, which have the significant ecological value. Of these, IMC 
proposes not to mine about 4,900 acres of ecologically significant 
area, or approximately 24 percent of the gross acreage of the Ona Mine 
property.
    IMC intends to use the ``opencast'' variant of surface mining as 
its standard technique for development of the Southeast Tract, wherein 
large electrically-powered excavators (``draglines'') first remove and 
set aside the soils overlying the ore (``overburden''), and then 
excavate the phosphate ore (``matrix'').
    The matrix is placed by the dragline into a shallow depression at 
the ground surface, where the matrix is disaggregated and converted to 
a slurry by mixing it with water. The matrix slurry is transported by 
electrically powered pumps through pipelines to the beneficiation 
facility, where the phosphate rock is separated from the sand and clay 
with which it is found in the ore. The sand and clay are returned to 
the mine for use in reclamation, again by pipelines as slurries.
    Three distinct methods of reclamation will be used in creation of 
the post-reclamation landscape. These are known as: (1) The sand fill 
with overburden cap method, (2) the shaped overburden method, and (3) 
the crustal development methods for reclamation of clay settling areas.
    Alternatives: Alternatives considered include no action, mining a 
portion of the area only-based on identification of critical concerns, 
important natural resources, and sensitive ecological areas; in 
addition, alternatives will take into consideration: mining method, 
matrix transport, matrix processing, waste sand and clay disposal, 
process water sources, water management plan, reclamation, and wetland 
preservation. Various alternatives are available to satisfy the 
objectives of each of these components. Other alternatives that might 
be identified under the scoping process will also be addressed.
    Issues: The EIS will consider impacts on protected species, health, 
conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, 
wetlands (and other aquatic resources), historic properties, fish and 
wildlife

[[Page 49555]]

values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, 
recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, 
safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of 
property ownership, and, in general, the needs and welfare of the 
people, and other issues identified through scoping, public involvement 
and interagency coordination.
    Scoping: Public meetings have been conducted since early 1998 as 
part of the Ecosystem Management Permitting System as provided in 
Chapter 403.075, Florida Statutes. The process was facilitated by the 
Conflict Resolution Consortium of Florida State University and 
implemented by the Ecosystem Management Team made up of representatives 
of permitting entities, and by the Public Work Group composed of 
representatives of non-permitting government agencies, conservation and 
public interest groups, and unaffiliated interested parties. The issues 
raised by public participants at these meetings will be incorporated 
into the scoping process. At this time, there are no plans for a public 
scoping meeting. However, all parties are invited to participate in the 
scoping process by identifying concerns, issues, studies needed, 
alternatives, procedures, and other matters related to the scoping 
process and forwarding them to the information contact provided in this 
notice.
    Public Involvement: We invite the participation of affected 
federal, state and local agencies, affected Indian tribes, and other 
interested private organizations and parties by submitting written 
comments to the information contact provided in this notice.
    Coordination: The proposed action is being coordinated with the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Services 
under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, with the FWS under the 
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and with the following State of 
Florida agencies: State Historic Preservation Officer, Fish & Wildlife 
Conservation Commission, Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau 
of Mine Reclamation.
    Other Environmental Review and Consultation: The proposed action 
would involve application (to the State of Florida) for Water Quality 
Certification pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, and 
certification of State lands, easements, and rights of way.
    DEIS Preparation: It is estimated that the DEIS will be available 
to the public on or about January 31, 2001.

    Dated: August 1, 2000.
John R. Hall,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 00-20571 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-AJ-M