[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21713-21714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10687]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA-44014]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) on the Proposed Expansion/Modernization of an Existing Wallboard 
Manufacturing Facility and Associated Quarry Operation

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: United States Gypsum (USG) has proposed the expansion and 
modernization of USG's Plaster City wallboard manufacturing operations 
and Fish Creek Quarry operations located in Imperial County, 
California. Although USG's facilities are primarily on private land, 
several appurtenances cross public land. Using the U.S. government 
survey method, the areas within which the existing and proposed 
facilities are located are generally described as follows: SBBM, 
T.16S., R.11E. (Plaster City wallboard plant and portion of Interstate 
rail line; T.13S., R.9E. (Fish Creek quarry); T.13S., R.9E.; T.13S., 
R.10E.; T.14S., R.10E.; T.15E., R.10E., T.15S., R.11E.; T.16S., R.11E. 
(narrow gauge rail line between quarry and plant); T.16S., R.10E.; 
T.16S, R.11E. (water pipeline between Ocotillo and plant).
    Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, the BLM will direct the preparation of an environmental 
impact statement (EIS) by a third-party contractor on the impacts of 
this proposed project. Interested members of the public are encouraged 
to identify significant issues or concerns related to the proposed 
action to determine the scope of the issues (including alternatives) 
that need to be analyzed and to eliminate from detailed study those 
issues that are not significant. One public scoping meeting will be 
held. The location and time of the meeting will be announced in local 
newspapers or may be obtained by contacting Nicole Riven at 760-337-
4426 or e-mail [email protected]. Comments recommending that the EIS 
address specific environmental issues should include supporting 
documentation. Written comments must be received at the El Centro Field 
Office no later than June 10, 2002. Comments, including names and 
street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at 
the El Centro Field Office during regular business hours and may be 
published as part of the EIS. Individual respondents may request 
confidentiality. 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 extent allowed by law. 
All submissions from organizations and businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Greg Thomsen, Field 
Manager, Bureau of Land Management, El Centro Field Office, 1661 South 
4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Self (760) 337-4426.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USG's Plaster City wallboard plant has been 
in operation for over 55 years and is located adjacent to Evan Hewes 
Highway in Plaster City approximately 18 miles west of El Centro and 2 
miles north of Interstate 8. The Fish Creek Quarry operations are 
located on Split Mountain Road approximately 26 miles north by 
northwest of Plaster City. The quarry operations are located within 
designated critical habitat for the Peninsular bighorn sheep (Ovis 
canadensis). Water for the facility is delivered via pipeline from the 
Ocotillo-Coyote Wells Groundwater Basin. Generally, the overall 
expansion/modernization project consists of construction of new 
buildings, a

[[Page 21714]]

doubling in wallboard production by removing one operating production 
wallboard line, and installing a new state-of-the-art high speed line 
and increased mining of gypsum from 1.1 million tons per year (mty) to 
approximately 1.9 mty on land reserves owned and mined by USG. The 
project also includes expanding existing and planned quarry areas. The 
accumulated inert materials associated with the expanded manufacturing 
activities at the Plaster City site will be recycled or transferred to 
a landfill. To accommodate the expanded operations, water usage will 
increase from 400 acre-feet per year (AF/Yr) to a maximum of 767 AF/Yr. 
The project will include modernizing the existing warehouses, storage 
structures, and rail loading facility; upgrading electrical 
transmission lines (by Imperial Irrigation District); maintaining the 
narrow gauge rail line which runs between the plant and the quarry; 
replacing the existing pipeline that runs between Ocotillo and the 
plant and relocating a short portion of the Interstate rail line that 
runs through the Plaster City facility. Some of these facilities may be 
located within habitat for the Flat-tailed horned lizard (Phrynosoma 
mcalli). Although certain aspects of the project have already been 
implemented pursuant to Imperial County's previous decision to adopt a 
Negative Declaration for portions of the project, for purposes of this 
EIS, the `` baseline'' for evaluating the potential impacts of the 
project on the environment shall be the physical conditions that 
existed prior to project implementation.

    Dated: April 25, 2002.
Greg Thomsen,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 02-10687 Filed 4-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P