[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58011-58012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23296]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement To Disclose the Environmental Impact of Proposed Changes to 
the Kensington Gold Mine Project; Tongass National Forest, Juneau 
Ranger District, Juneau, AK

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice, intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, the USDA Forest Service, Tongass National Forest, 
under the direction of the Juneau Ranger District, will prepare a 
supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to analyze and 
display the effects of proposed changes to the Kensington Gold Project, 
located on public and private lands in southeastern Alaska. The mine is 
operated by Coeur Alaska, Inc. and is located approximately 45 miles 
north of downtown Juneau. An Environmental Impact Statement was 
completed and a Record of Decision signed on January 29, 1992. A new 
Record of Decision, based on a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement, was signed on August 1, 1997. The proposed changes to the 
Kensington Gold Project Plan of Operations are relative to the August 
1, 1997 decision.

DATES: Comments will be accepted throughout the EIS process but, to be 
most useful during the analysis, they should be received in writing on 
or before October 15, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and suggestions concerning the analysis 
should be sent to Jeff DeFreest, Minerals Program Manager, Juneau 
Ranger District, 8465 Old Dairy Road, Juneau, Alaska, 99801 or e-mail 
to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff DeFreest, Minerals Program 
Manager, Juneau Ranger District, 8465 Old Dairy Road, Juneau, Alaska 
99801; phone (9074) 586-8800; fax (907) 790-7464 or e-mail to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed operations are subject to 
approval of a Plan of Operations under 36 CFR, part 228, which is 
intended to ensure that adverse environmental effects on National 
Forest System lands and resources are minimized. The proposed changes 
to the project's Plan of Operations include the following:
    1. Marine access facilities would be relocated from Comet Beach, on 
the shore of Lynn Canal, to new facilities located at Slate Creek Cove.
    2. An access tunnel would be driven from the existing Kensington 
Portal to the Jualin claims.
    3. The Dry Tailings Facility and related filter plant, approved in 
the 1997 decision, would not be constructed. Tailings would be 
transported, as slurry, via a pipeline from the mill site to a 
subaqueous disposal site in an existing lake at the headwaters of Slate 
Creek.
    4. Process and support facilities for operation of the Kensington 
Mine would be located at the Jualin claims.

[[Page 58012]]

    5. Fuel storage and borrow source requirements would reduced.
    6. A permanent personnel camp would not be constructed. Mine 
workers would commute daily by ferry from a facility at Echo Cove to 
the dock facility at Slate Creek Cove.
    The purpose and need for the Proposed Action is to consider certain 
changes to the 1998 approved Plan of Operations for the Kensington Gold 
Project regarding access, tailings disposal and support facilities in 
order to improve efficiency and to reduce the area of surface 
disturbance and other environmental impacts.
    In addition to the Forest Service, the Environmental Protection 
Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have jurisdiction and will 
participate as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the SEIS. The 
Forest Service has agreed to be the lead agency. EPA will be 
responsible for assuring that the analysis provides sufficient 
information for issuance of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 
System permit under authority of the Clean Water Act. The Corps will be 
responsible for ensuring that the analysis provides sufficient 
information for issuance of permits required under Section 404 of the 
Clean Water Act permit and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 
1899 permit, and for compliance with Executive Order 11990 and 11988 
related to wetlands and floodplains. Memorandums of Understanding will 
be initiated with both of the cooperating agencies.
    The decision to be made is whether or not to approve the Plan of 
Operations as amended or require the operator to revise its proposal. 
The 1997 SEIS analyzed the effects of developing the Kensington Gold 
Project and the Record of Decision approved the conditions under which 
the project could proceed. This SEIS will analyze the effects of 
proposed changes to the Plan of Operations that differ from those 
approved in the 1997 decision.
    Key resources to be analyzed include water quality from the 
discharge to Slate Creek; impacts to wetlands; impacts to fisheries 
from the discharge; visual effects to the Berners Bay area; water 
quality effects to the Berners Bay area and potential for impacts to 
the recreation resources in Berners Bay.
    Fred S. Salinas, Deputy Forest Supervisor, Tongass National Forest, 
is the responsible official.
    The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from 
Federal, State, and local agencies as well as individuals and 
organizations who may be interested in, or affected by the proposed 
action.

DATES: Public scoping meetings are planned in Juneau at Centennial Hall 
from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 and in Haines 
at the Council Chambers in City Hall from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. on 
Thursday, September 19, 2002. If weather precludes travel to Haines on 
the 19th, the meeting will be held September 26th instead.
    The draft supplemental environmental impact statement should be 
available for public review by March 11, 2003. The comment period on 
the draft supplemental environmental impact statement will be 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 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised 
until after the completion of 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 draft supplemental 
environmental impact statement 45 day comment period so that 
substantive comments and objections 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 environmental impact statement 
should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer 
to specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also 
address the adequacy of the draft 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.
    The final supplemental environmental impact statement is scheduled 
to be completed by August 27, 2003. The Deputy Forest Supervisor for 
the Tongass National Forest will, as the responsible official for the 
SEIS, make a decision regarding this proposal considering the comments, 
responses, and environmental consequences discussed in the Final SEIS, 
and applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The decision and 
supporting reasons will be documented in a Record of Decision.

    Dated: September 3, 2002.
Fred S. Salinas,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-23296 Filed 9-12-02; 8:45 am]
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